The ductwork in your home is the distribution system for your heated and cooled air. But that’s not all they can bring into your home. If they’re dirty, they also distribute a variety of pollutants that can greatly affect your comfort level and degrade your indoor air quality.

Indoor air pollutants come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and from many sources. For instance, carpeting and upholstery release chemicals into the air. These pollutants circulate through ducts into every room. These pollutants fall into three general categories; particles, biological contaminants, and gases and odors.

In the particles category you’ll find pollen, dust, dirt, pet dander, insulation and carpet fibers. A common trigger for allergies and asthma attacks, particles are small and easily inhaled into the lungs. Particles love ducts.

Biological contaminants include mold spores, dust mites, viruses, fungi, bacteria, yeast and algae. These little devils are also known as bioaerosols. They’re mostly organic and thrive in warm, humid environments. Like particles, bioaerosols are a major cause of irritation to allergy sufferers.

Gases and odors can be released from materials used during the construction, finishing and furnishing of your home. They can also come from everyday household items like aerosol sprays, paints, cleaning products and air fresheners.

Chemical vapors from gas appliances, fireplaces, carpets, furniture, perfumes, pesticides and tobacco smoke are included in the list of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in your home and circulated through the ductwork.

Now that you know what to look for, or rather what pollutants are likely to be floating around in your home, you can begin to tackle the problem. The solution is not really that difficult: call in experts to clean your home’s ducts and eliminate those pesky pollutants.

While the company does the cleaning, be sure they check the ducts to ensure there are no damaged areas or faulty seals that could be letting in more dirt and insulation fibers. In addition to letting in pollutants, improperly sealed or insulated ducts is a primary cause of energy-waste and high utility bills. Ask for the humidity levels to be checked as well, because too much moisture can promote the growth of fungus and mildew.

Cleaning your home’s ductwork will go a long way toward improving your home’s indoor air quality and ensuring the health and safety of your family.