Chronic pain can occur for various reasons, and when it does, it can send you scrambling for a quick fix, which can lead to an ongoing cycle of temporary pain relief that never really solves the problem.
However, sometimes the remedy to your issue may be a simple solution that begins with your home or place of work. For instance, did you know that poor indoor air quality can contribute to numerous ailments? In this case, getting your air ducts cleaned can help improve them. Air duct cleaning provides many benefits for your indoors and overall health.
The benefits of getting your air ducts cleaned
- Reduces allergen buildup – Over time, pollen, pet dander, and dust can accumulate in your property’s air ducts, making the air hard to breathe and triggering allergy and respiratory symptoms in sensitive individuals. However, professional air duct cleaning removes many common antigens inside your ducts, thus restoring proper ventilation indoors.
- Reduces humidity levels inside your ducts – High humidity levels inside your ventilation system create the perfect place for mold and mildew growth, which can be hazardous to occupants. During air duct cleaning, the technician also inspects for signs of fungi buildup. If they notice spores, they will take the proper precautions to remove them safely. They also inspect the ducts for air leaks, allowing moisture to increase humidity levels inside your air system to prevent mold or mildew from growing back.
- Keeps your indoors smelling fresh – Cooking odors, chemicals from cleaning products use, and more settle on surfaces and inside your ducts when they are released into the air, which can build up inside your ducts and cause your home to smell unpleasant whenever your HVAC system is running. Air duct cleaning removes up to 99 percent of airborne particles, including odor residue, bacteria, and pollutants, inside your heating and cooling system’s airways for a fresh-smelling indoor environment.
- Makes Your HVAC system more energy efficient – Blocked ducts from dust, dirt, and other particles cause your heating and cooling system to run harder and contribute to a lower output than the thermostat’s setting. However, clean ducts support maximum airflow to your HVAC system, which causes it to run more efficiently for more accurate temperature outputs and lower utility bills. It also helps maintain your system so it runs longer for lower maintenance costs.
Do dirty air ducts/vents cause chronic pain sufferers more issues?
Chronic pain is often a result of inflammation in the body, which dirty air ducts can also bring on several reports.
Dirty air ducts contain both outdoor and indoor pollutants, such as smoke, radon, chemicals from household cleaners, and more, which end up in the tissues and bones where they can irritate the nerves, thus triggering aches in chronic pain sufferers.
At least one study by scientists in Asia found this to be true after conducting research on several residents in areas with polluted water, which they later concluded was the cause of chronic back pain in the participants.
The same report showed that another study conducted in a different region concluded that polluted water was also the cause of the chronic pain in the hands, feet, and heads of their participants, which they believe was caused by damage to their exterior nerves of the spinal cord and brain after ingesting the local water over a long period.
Both studies also concluded that participants could improve their chronic pain conditions by only drinking clean water.
The links between indoor air quality and chronic pain
Polluted indoor air caused by dirty air ducts has been linked to several health problems that can lead to chronic pain, such as inflammation, mineral-deficient bones, blood clots, and more.
However, as the two aforementioned studies suggest, you can protect against chronic pain caused by dirty air ducts simply by keeping them cleaned and the filters replaced regularly to prevent the build-up of toxins and allergens inside the ventilation system from being circulated into the air. And you only need to schedule professional air duct cleaning once a year to reap its benefits.
Author Brittany Cotton
Published by International Pain Foundation, iPain Blog, Team iPain
