Understanding of air duct cleaning is in its early stages, so a blanket recommendation cannot be provided as to whether you should have your air ducts in your home cleaned. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urges you to read this document in its entirety as it provides important information on the topic.

Duct cleaning has never been shown to actually prevent health problems. Neither do studies conclusively demonstrate that particle (e.g., dust) levels in homes increase because of dirty air ducts. This is because much of the dirt in air ducts adheres to duct surfaces and does not necessarily enter the living area. It’s important to remember that dirty air ducts are only one of several possible sources of particles which are found in homes. Pollutants that enter the home both from outdoors and indoor activities such as cooking, cleaning, smoking, or just moving around can cause greater exposure to contaminants than dirty air ducts. There is not any evidence that a light amount of household dust or other particulate matter in air ducts poses any risk to your health.

You should consider having the air ducts in your home cleaned if:
There is substantial visible mold growth inside hard surface (e.g., sheet metal) ducts or on other components of your heating and cooling system. There are several important points to understand concerning mold detection
Many sections of your heating and cooling system might not be accessible for a visible inspection, so ask the service provider to show you any mold they say exists.

You must be aware that although a substance may look like mold, a positive determination of whether it is mold or not can be made only by an expert and may require laboratory analysis for final confirmation. For about $50, some microbiology laboratories can tell you whether a sample is mold or simply.

If you have insulated air ducts and the insulation gets wet or moldy it cannot be effectively cleaned and should be removed and replaced.

If the conditions causing the mold growth in the first place are not corrected, mold growth will recur.
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Ducts are infested with vermin, e.g. (rodents or insects).

Ducts are clogged with excessive amounts of dust and debris or particles are actually released into the home from your supply registers.

If any of the conditions identified above exists, it usually indicates one or more underlying causes. Prior to any cleaning, retrofitting, or replacement of your ducts, causes or the cause must be corrected or else the problem will likely recur.

Some research indicates that cleaning heating and cooling system components (e.g., cooling coils, fans and heat exchangers) can improve the efficiency of your system, resulting in a longer working life, as well as some energy and maintenance cost savings. However, little evidence is that the system’s efficiency wills improve.

You might consider having your air ducts cleaned simply because it seems logical that air ducts will get dirty over time and should be occasionally cleaned. No evidence suggests that such cleaning would be detrimental. EPA does not recommend that the air ducts be cleaned routinely, but only as needed. EPA does, however, recommend that if you have a fuel burning furnace, stove or fireplace, they be inspected for proper functioning and serviced before each heating season to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning.

If you do choose to have your air ducts cleaned, take exactly the identical customer precautions you normally would in analyzing the service provider’s competence and reliability.

Air duct cleaning service providers may tell you that they need to apply a chemical biocide to the inside of your ducts as a means to kill bacteria (germs) and fungi (mold) and prevent future biological growth. They may also suggest the use of a”sealant” to prevent dust and dirt particles from being released into the air or to seal air leaks. You should fully understand the pros and cons of permitting use of sealants or chemical biocides. Their effectiveness has not been demonstrated by research in their possible health effects or duct cleaning while the use of sealants and chemical biocides may be appropriate under certain circumstances. No chemical biocides are currently registered by EPA for use in air duct systems.

Whether or not you choose to have the air ducts in your home cleaned, preventing dirt and water from getting into the system is the very best method to prevent contamination.