Air Duct Cleaning: Are Chemical Biocides Necessary?

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Air Duct Cleaning Are Chemical Biocides
Necessary?
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Introduction

• Its essential to clean your heating and cooling
  systems air ducts to control air pollution in
  your home, and consequently, free yourself and
  family from related health problems. A
  professional cleaner may employ any of the
  several techniques in air duct cleaning including
  brushing, use of blowguns, application of
  biocides, and utilization of hand-held vacuums.
  Most of the methods are generally accepted and
  have little or no health concerns, but questions
  and controversies emerge when it comes to the
  application of chemical biocides.

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Table of Contents

• When Should You Use Chemical Biocides?
• What Are The Concerns?
• What to Do To Ensure Safety
• Bottom-line
• Water Damage Restoration Awareness What to Do
  Before Help Arrives
• Complete Mold Removal When Is Testing and
  Sampling Necessary?
• How to Tell If a Mold Remediation Process is Done
  Professionally
• Can Duct Cleaning Boost the Efficiency of Your
  HVAC System?
• How Do Dust and Other Deposits Lower HVAC
  Efficiency?
• What the Solution?
• Duct Cleaning Vs. HVAC Efficiency Whats the
  Relationship?

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When Should You Use Chemical Biocides?

• An air duct cleaning professional may recommend
  the use of chemical biocides to kill odor-causing
  microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. As
  much as you are looking to eliminate bacteria
  growth and odor, you need to understand that
  chemical biocides come in different forms, with
  varying properties and pose certain health risks
  when not used correctly. Its generally agreed
  that the application of chemical biocides is an
  effective method of cleaning air ducts as long as
  a qualified cleaning professional uses the right
  product properly.
• Mild fungistats and bacteriostats remove mold,
  mildew, and bacteria odor from your ducts, and
  there is no need to vacate your home during the
  application. Stronger solutions are good at
  eliminating both disease and odor-causing
  microorganisms on hard and non-porous surfaces.
• Nevertheless, you will be required to vacate your
  house during application and wait for about an
  hour or so for the chemical to dry completely.
  Additionally, you should never allow a cleaning
  professional to use the substances if you or any
  other house occupant is sensitive to such
  treatments.

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What Are The Concerns?

• As mentioned earlier, there are health concerns
  associated with the use of chemical biocides in
  air duct cleaning. Exposure to the chemicals may
  result in respiratory, nerve system, eye, and
  skin problems. Environmental Protection Agency
  (EPA) regulates chemical biocides and does not
  recommend their application in air duct cleaning
  unless specifically proven. Its noteworthy
  mentioning that EPA has not approved any chemical
  biocide for use on fiberglass-lined ducts or
  fiberglass boards. So, check if the materials are
  present in your ducts before cleaning.

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What to Do To Ensure Safety

• Although chemical biocides are effective
  antimicrobial solutions, its of utmost
  importance to verify that the cleaning expert is
  duly qualified and is using the right product.
  Before the cleaning service provider applies the
  product, ask him or her to demonstrate the
  evidence of microbial invasion in your ducts, and
  explain why physical means such as brushing
  cannot be used instead. Moreover, let the
  professional explain the safety measure they
  undertake when cleaning with chemical biocides.
  Check the products label to ascertain whether
  its fit for air duct cleaning and ensure the
  service provider utilizes the chemical as per the
  instructions outlined on the label. 

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Bottom-line

• Chemical biocides are necessary for the
  elimination and prevention of microbial growth
  and odor in air ducts. Nevertheless, proceed with
  caution when applying these chemicals in your
  home. They are potentially dangerous, and its
  best to ensure that the professional cleaner uses
  an EPA-approved product to clean your ducts. All
  in all, chemical biocides are effective in duct
  cleaning, provided the cleaning provider uses the
  right product appropriately.
•  

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Water Damage Restoration Awareness What to Do
Before Help Arrives

• Leaky household appliances, broken pipes, and
  heavy downpour can often teach us an important
  lesson about how damaging water can be. An
  unforeseen and sudden water invasion in a home
  can not only be catastrophic, but also result in
  the loss of property and valuables. Even lives
  may be at risk, depending on the amount of water
  in the house. Assume you have just got home and
  instead of a warm loving family, you are greeted
  by 10 inches of stagnant water. What do you do?
  While calling a water damage restoration company
  is important, you need to stay safe until help
  comes. Here are the steps to take as you wait for
  help.

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• 1. Figure Out The Source Of The Leak And Stop It
  If Possible
• If the result of flooding in your home is due to
  a broken household appliance like dishwasher,
  washing machine, an overflowing sink, or a broken
  pipe, start by seeing if you can make the leak
  stop. Turn off the tap if you left it off, and
  turn the water source off if the problem has been
  brought about by a leaking appliance.
• 2. Stay Safe
• Sometimes, its impossible to turn off the leak,
  especially as the water levels keep on rising
  dangerously. In that case, your safety is of
  utmost importance. If you are unable to get out,
  identify the highest point in the home and remain
  there until help comes.
• 3. Have Electricity Connection Switched Off
• This helps you to avert shock hazards. Only after
  switching off electrical connections can you
  attempt to turn off your electrical appliances
  from power. This also helps to avoid damage to
  these appliances. If you must get into a wet
  place to switch off the power, do not try that.

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• 4. Get Your Valuables To A Safer Place To Reduce
  Risk Of Damage
• Where you are unable to get to the source of
  water and turn it off, try to move your undamaged
  goods from flooded sections and take them
  upstairs or even to the attic. The point is to
  try and salvage anything you can to minimize
  financial losses.
• 5. Remove Water
• As you wait for help, mop up the water to
  minimize destruction to your personal valuables.
  However, before you begin mopping, make sure this
  water is clean. Gray or black water often
  contains bacteria that may cause infections or
  put your life at risk of other health
  complications. If it is an external sewer line
  thats causing water to fill your house, do not
  attempt to remove the water. Just wait for help.

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• 6. Put Together Evidence For Your Insurance
  Company
• Do this by taking as many pictures as you can
  before help comes and sets off the damage
  restoration process.
• A water emergency can throw anyone off balance,
  and the implications of water damage can be
  far-reaching. As you wait for help to arrive,
  there are a couple of things you can do. Switch
  off the water source if you can, turn off
  electricity to prevent shock, and make sure you
  are safe.

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Complete Mold Removal When Is Testing and
Sampling Necessary?

• Mold is like a ninja. It is silent, smelly and
  most of the time, sneaky! If youve noticed
  lately that there is a stale odor in certain
  parts of your home, or you see discoloration in
  the walls, chances are you have mold colonies in
  your home. But before declaring a family meeting
  and deciding to sell your house, have mold
  testing done. Below are circumstances when you
  need to do mold testing and sampling.

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• 1. You Are Purchasing or Moving Into a New
  Building or House
• Buying a home is a massive investment and you
  shouldnt discover that there are moisture and
  mold problem after signing those escrow papers.
  Also, moving into a new rental property often
  requires that you sign a lease. Make sure you
  have a professional test and sample air just to
  ensure everything is fine.
• 2. The Moldy Air Tends To Be Stronger When Doors
  And Windows Are Closed
• In most cases, you can notice mold smell even
  before even seeing the mold itself. The mold
  visible to your naked eye is composed of millions
  of mold spores that arent visible without a
  microscope. Its important for a mold inspection
  to be done earlier and not wait until you see the
  mold. This might help to prevent damage to the
  building as well as save you lots of money in
  repair work.

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• 3. You Or A Neighboring Unit Has Experienced A
  Water Leak
• Water or a source of moisture is integral to the
  growth of mold. If there has been a water leak in
  the property for a few days, it could be all
  thats needed for mold to begin growing. Apart
  from ensuring that the water leak is repaired
  immediately, you also need to have a thorough
  test done to ensure that there is no mold. In the
  event that it is found, dealing with it now will
  be much better than waiting.
• 4. Your asthma or allergies become worse when you
  get inside.
• This is the strongest indication yet that your
  air contains allergens. Mold is a very common
  indoor allergen. It could be grown indoors and
  you wont see or smell it. A professional mold
  removal provider can not only test to see if
  there is mold, but also perform allergen testing
  for pet dander, mouse, cockroach, rat, and, dust
  mites.

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• 5. Condensation on the Windows
• When there is condensation on the inner part of
  your windows, it is possible for mold to grow in
  the wood neighboring your windows. Moisture on
  windows usually indicates high levels of moisture
  in your home. If this is the case, make sure the
  air is sampled and tested. It will help you to
  nip the mold problem in the bud, and forestall a
  possible disaster.
• Bottom-line
• If you suspect mold presence in your home or
  office, the most important thing you need to do
  is to invite a mold removal professional to test
  it. Mold can cause the structural integrity of
  the building to deteriorate, and cause allergies
  to kids and even pets. Also, if left unchecked,
  mold can lead to diseases that become expensive
  to treat. If you are moving into a new property,
  or you want to buy one, make sure mold testing is
  done first.

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How to Tell If a Mold Remediation Process is Done
Professionally

• No one likes mold on their property. The fungus
  gives your property a disagreeable and depressing
  look. The biggest problem, however, is not about
  mold messing up the appearance of your property,
  but its ability to make you sick. Mold is
  associated with disease-causing mycotoxins that
  you shouldnt come into contact with.
• Since mold likes invading wet places, its
  difficult to avoid it. Therefore, you are likely
  to find mold under the sinks, on the walls of
  your bathroom, and beneath the ceiling of leaking
  roofs. In the event that you have tried home
  remedies like ammonia and vinegar and theyve
  failed to work, you should consider hiring a mold
  remediation professional.
• Its important, nonetheless, to understand that
  not all mold remediation professionals and
  companies are really professional. Some just want
  your money and will not do a satisfactory job.
  So, how can you know that the mold remediation
  process is professionally done? To answer this
  question, here are 5 important things the
  professionals you hire needs to do

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• 1. Initial Site Inspection
• When you give a mold remediation company a call,
  the first thing they do is send some experts to
  your place. The experts will primarily come to
  examine your site to determine the extent of the
  mold attack. Theyll come with advanced tools for
  inspecting mold, especially in areas you wouldnt
  expect, including your basement, on the ceiling,
  and behind the walls. They actually do site
  inspections before giving you a budget estimate.
• 2. Mold Testing and Reporting
• Once the mold remediation professionals have
  visually examined your site, theyll collect air
  samples to be taken to the laboratory for
  testing. The whole idea is to know the kind of
  mold they are dealing with. This helps them to
  come up with an effective treatment for the fungi
  and its ideal removal technique. To confirm that
  the testing has been done, youll receive a
  conclusive report from the company.

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• 3. Permanent Mold Removal
• This is the highlight of professionalism in as
  far as mold remediation is concerned. The removal
  process is very elaborate and its characterized
  by physical and chemical techniques. Physically,
  mold is removed by cutting out infected parts,
  vacuuming, and surface cleaning. Chemically, the
  experts will use biocide, an EPA-approved mold
  killer. Though most people use bleach and
  ammonia, these two are not EPA-certified.
• 4. Permanent Mold Disposing
• When the mold is removed, it has to be totally
  disposed of to prevent a reinvasion. So, the mold
  remediation professional will put the mold in
  plastic bags. The bags will be sealed and taken
  for safe mold disposal.

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• 5. Professional Follow-Ups
• Lastly, professionals always make follow-ups to
  ensure that the job was well done. So, expect the
  mold remediation company that you hire to send
  some experts over to you to check your site. If
  theres something you are not happy about, you
  can talk to the expert about it during the
  follow-up.
• So that you can be sure that you are not wasting
  money on mold remediation, its important to know
  what to expect from the remediation process. The
  above aspects are indications of a
  professionally-done mold remediation process. So,
  keep watch to see if the expert you hire will
  accomplish them.

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Can Duct Cleaning Boost the Efficiency of Your
HVAC System?

• Considering that the ductwork of an HVAC system
  is ordinarily hidden, most homeowners tend to
  forget about it entirely. You only come to
  realize that you should have taken proper care of
  it when your HVAC system is failing. One major
  ductwork challenge that may make your HVAC system
  to fail is dust. Nowadays, even mold and vermin
  invade HVAC systems. So, you also need to be
  aware of them. The accumulations generally lower
  the efficiency of your HVAC system.

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How Do Dust and Other Deposits Lower HVAC
Efficiency?

• Generally, dust and other deposits clog up your
  ductwork. As a result, your system suffers
  airflow resistance. This means that air cannot
  flow as efficiently as it should. The resistance
  forces your HVAC system to work harder in order
  to maintain acceptable indoor temperature levels.
  The problem, nonetheless, is that your system
  needs more energy to meet the new requirement and
  to conquer airflow resistance. So, youll have to
  pay more for the HVAC energy costs.
• Theres also the danger of the deposits
  interfering with your ductwork, resulting in
  premature breakdown of your HVAC system. Now,
  youll not be dealing with a less efficient
  system but one thats not efficient at all.
  Simply put, youll have to consider repairing or
  replacing your HVAC system. Unfortunately, its
  never easy to incur either cost.

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What the Solution?

• Dust, dirt, and mold need to be removed from your
  ductwork. This means having to clean your
  ductwork. Luckily, there are a number of duct
  cleaning experts you can approach. Most of them
  employ advanced technologies like compressed air,
  pneumatic agitation, and visualization tools. The
  technologies ensure that no deposit is left in
  your ductwork.

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Duct Cleaning Vs. HVAC Efficiency Whats the
Relationship?

• As aforementioned, duct cleaning is all about
  removing dust, dirt, mold, and other deposits
  from the ductwork of your HVAC system. This means
  that your ductwork will not face airflow
  resistance after cleaning. In other words, the
  HVAC system will perform at its peak. Minimal
  energy will be required to power your HVAC system
  and to keep the indoor temperature of your home
  regulated. In the end, duct cleaning guarantees
  you reduced energy bills.
• The other thing that you are guaranteed is
  improved in-house air quality. Youll be able to
  breathe air thats free from allergens like dust
  and pet dander. The greatest benefit in all of
  this is having a long-serving HVAC system. Since
  duct cleaning ensures that your HVAC system is
  not overworked, the chances of the system failing
  because of a ductwork problem are reduced. So,
  youll be able to not only enjoy an efficient
  HVAC system but also one that serves you long
  without breaking down. Of course, you have to
  continue cleaning your ductwork periodically or
  as advised by your HVAC expert.
• Clearly, duct cleaning will help to boost the
  efficiency of your HVAC system. Thus, its
  advisable to consider doing it regularly.
  However, its important that you let
  professionals handle the job as its not a
  straightforward task. It requires specialized
  tools and techniques. The cleaning will cost you
  money but the cost cant be matched by what
  youll be saving when having a fully-efficient
  HVAC system.