Hidden Asthma Trigger : Air Ducts
A few months ago a customer of mine was concerned because her son, who is asthmatic, was having increasing asthma attacks while in the home.
After performing an indoor air quality assessment for mold spores and other biological and non-biological particulates, I was able to conclude that the airborne mold spore levels and other biological particulates were within normal parameters. However, the non-biological particulates and background debris rating (a.k.a. unidentifiable dust) was significantly high for a “typical” indoor environment.
One of my suggestions was to have her HVAC unit and ducts cleaned.
She recently reported back to me letting me know that within a relatively short amount of time after the ducts were cleaned, her son’s asthma seemed to be under control and that he was not experiencing as many attacks and that if he did experience attacks, they were much less severe.
Actual picture of what was discovered in the client’s air ducts.
There are a number of potential sources of triggers for asthma. Some particles can be as small as .001% of the width of a human hair, which allows them to penetrate almost any part of a house.
Some triggers for asthma-like symptoms or symptoms like congestion, “hay fever” like symptoms, or other similar symptoms can be excessive household dust in the duct system, mold spores, smoking, burning candles or incense, plug-in air fresheners, outdoor dust or exhaust entering into the space, and many more.
People with mild asthma may find that when summer temperatures soar, along with humidity levels, their asthma symptoms begin to act up. Breathing in such hot environments could lead to coughing and shortness of breath, suggests research reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
This article was meant to serve as food for thought. If you have never had your ducts cleaned or its been several years, and you or a family member seem to be experiencing adverse health effects while in the home, you should consider contacting a NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaners Association) Certified duct cleaning specialist. https://nadca.com/ We have contacts with great air duct cleaning specialists that we can recommend, just contact us.
You should also consider hiring an industrial hygienist or other indoor air quality professional, like NoVA Environmental Solutions to assess your home.
Contact us with any questions or if you would like to discuss having an air quality assessment performed, please fill out the form below:
