Breathe Easier

By Author: Bryson Kaleb
Total Articles: 183
Comment this article

It’s all too easy to take fresh air for granted—until our air quality is negatively impacted, that is. Over the last several years, wildfires burning across the western United States have shown Americans just how devastating air quality issues can be to our health and enjoyment of life in general. California’s valley wildfire alone burned 70,000 acres, displaced 13,000 people, and destroyed nearly 600 homes before firefighters had even controlled it to 30 percent containment levels. At these destructive and prolonged levels, HVAC systems across the region have been put through greatly increased wear and tear to keep up. In turn, cleaning these systems up, proper maintenance, and repair services for facilities large and small has never been so critical.

The importance of HVAC maintenance

HVAC servicing is an important step in keeping our guests, patrons, customers, and employees safe and sound when they use or visit these spaces. Whether it’s restaurants, hotels, theatres, fitness centres and public facilities alike, patrons expect to breathe clean and high-quality air provided by well maintained and properly ...
... functioning air systems.

Where there’s fire, there’s smoky HVACs

While building owners and managers may not be aware, it’s not only when a fire occurs within a building that its HVAC system will require regular maintenance and TLC; a thorough, professional cleaning will also be required because of the abundant smoke and haze particles that are carried through the air across our state.

It’s important to remember that these particles contain chemicals produced through coal, oil, wood, and fuel combustion, as well as other metals, acids, and materials that are dangerous to our health or that may have long term effects. To put the danger held in these tiny particles into perspective, the Environmental Protection Agency warns particle matter that is 10 micrometers or smaller in diameter to be hazardous. Due to their size, there’s strong potential for these particles to enter the nose, throat, and lungs affecting the entire respiratory system. With soot particles measuring even smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, their hazard potential is clear to realize. The effects associated with these particles penetrating into the lungs include bronchitis, aggravated asthma in children, heart attacks, strokes, and premature death.

Airborne particulate

When conditions similar to those we’ve experienced over recent years in California occur, with wildfires persisting for so much time, the chances are vastly increased that these greater volumes of dangerous airborne particles will enter a building’s air system. Owners and managers should seek out trusted air quality system service providers to thoroughly check common soot entry points such as duct and grill connectors that are improperly installed, braced-open fire dampers, return and cold-air ducts. In fact, any operating air system will be drawing in smoke and ash through their “fresh” air intake from the outdoors. Once this poor-quality air enters the system, it quicky spreads, clogs coils, and circulates into the building’s indoor air.

Before the damage to the system, and the health of those using the space, grow worse and more expensive over time, a trusted air quality service provider can bring great peace of mind. When it comes to commercial and residential HVAC system and duct cleaning, kitchen exhaust hood cleaning, dryer vent cleaning, and power washing, certified technicians work with their clients to create the most effective solutions according to each building and system’s unique needs. It’s all about staying safe, breathing easily, and living well wherever we spend our time.

AirTek Indoor Air Solutions offers residential and commercial air duct cleaning, HVAC cleaning, smoke odor removal, fire and smoke remediation, smoke smell remediation services in Azusa (
air-tek/smoke-smell-remediation), Anaheim, Fresno, Sacramento, Riverside, San Bernardino, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego, Simi Valley, Aptos, San Jose, and Fairfield. To know more, visit https://www.air-tek.net/who-we-are/.