EPA Form EPA-4U24, October 1997

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Deciding Whether or Not to Have periodic duct cleaning continues, no evi­ Your Air Ducts Cleaned dence suggests that such cleaning would foe' detrtmental, provided'that '■■'':|X'nowledge about the .poteritlal '^bene- Iffsdone'pioperty. ■ iXfits and possible problems of air duct X cleaning is limited. Since conditions In .On the other hand,' If a service-provider. every home ai» different, it is impossible fails to follow proper duct cleaning pro­ to generalize aboi4 whether or not air cedures, duct clearrtng can cause duct cleaningin your home would be indoor air problems. For example, an beneficial. inadequate vacuum collection system can release more dust, dirt, and other .If noione in your household suffers from ■ contaminants than'iiyou hid-.left'fee'.:. allergies or unexplained symptoms or ducts alone. A careless or inadequately illnesses and if, after a visual Inspection trained service provider can damage of the inside of the ducts, you see no your ducts or heating and cooling sys­ indication that your air ducts are con­ tem, possibly increasing your heating taminated with large deposits of dust or and air conditioning costs or forcing you mold (no musty odor or visible mold to undertake difffeult and costly repairs growth), having your air ducts cleaned or replacements. is probably unnecessary. It is normal for the return registers to get dusty as Wu should consider having the air dust-laden aif is pulled through the ddets in your home cfeanf^ if: grate. This does not indicate that your air ducts are contaminated with heavy / There Is substantial visible mold deposits of dust or debris: the registers gnpwth Inside hard surface (e.g., /'cart'be easily vacuumed cr,'removed- ■ sheet metal) ducts or on other com­ '■■' ■.an^^eleahed.'/ ■"' ponents of your heating and cooling system. There are several important ''.'Orfih® other hand, if family' members ^points to- understend'concerhing mbld; • ■ are experiencing unusual or unex­ detection in heating and cooling plained symptoms or illnesses that you systems: think might be related to your home environment^ you should discuss the sit­ Many sections df ^wr heating uation with )teur dtwtor. ERA has pub­ and cooling system may not be lished Moor Mr Quslity^ An Intro­ accessible for a visible inspec­ duction for MesHhPM^sionals^^ tion, so ask the service provider / ■ can foe obtained free of charge by cOn- •' to show you any mold they say tacting IAQIN FO at the number listed in ■■exists,, e i ’e <th©'back of this fooeW'et, You rhwobtain another free ERA booklet from lAQINFO \ ■’ft^'Showld be aware -that. ■; ■"•' '.iF-''■entitled Tdo Story: A (3uidoto although a substance may look ' indoor Air Qua'lh/'fer guidance^ on iden­ like mold, a positive determina­ tifying possible indoor air quality prob­ tion of whetner it is mold or not lems and ways to prevent or fix can be made only by an expert them. and may require laboratory anal­ ysis for final confirmation. For Vbu may consider having your air ducts about $50, some microbiology cteaned simpif ieeause-it seems tegi- laboratories can tell you whether ':",pa{ ^at Wi docts wtO get dirty 'oyer time^ a sample sent to them on a clear ?aftd ■' sfibuld occasionally de; cleaned. strip of sticky household tape is While hie debate about thevatue of ■<; . rnold'^or eimply a substance '.that. '■ '■■resembles it.

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