Feeling Sick? It Might Be Your Ventilation System

Did you know poorly ventilated buildings or residences are the perfect way to spread disease? Microorganisms can be transmitted by the ventilation system, particularly when it hasn’t been well maintained, or if it isn’t appropriately sized for location.

Have you heard of sick building syndrome? It refers to a residential or commercial building that doesn’t have proper air flow, and leaves the occupants feeling sick when they spend too much time there. The EPA has stated that Americans spend as much as 90 percent of their time inside, so ensuring your air supply is safe is important.

Professional maintenance should be performed by an HVAC company at the beginning of each season, when you’re starting up your furnace and air conditioner for heating and cooling. Lack of maintenance can cause contaminants to show up somewhere in the system, be distributed through the living space via the ventilation system, and ultimately enter your lungs.

If you have allergy symptoms that seem to get worse when you spend time inside, it might be sick building syndrome. How does it happen?

While our construction and building practices have significantly improved over the years, they only work well if your systems are operating correctly. Newly built homes are being built with airtight efficiency, meaning they are good at keeping conditioned air inside and outside air out. That’s great if your HVAC is working well, but if there’s a problem somewhere in the system, it can keep mold and other contaminants inside the ventilation system, impacting the air you breathe.

Think of your ducts as the lungs of your home. They intake air and circulate it back through the system. They force conditioned air back out through the registers and into each room. If they are dirty, don’t work properly, or are contaminated, they can introduce problems into your air supply.

Occasional cleaning is important. Maintenance and inspections should be handled regularly. It’s the best way to ensure your ventilation system is operating the way it should. And your air supply is as clean as it can be.