Cleaning Air Ducts in Melbourne

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Melbourne is known to be the world’s allergy capital due to a combination of its wide open spaces and unpredictable weather.  The climate is well suited for the growth of rye grass, a main contributor to the high pollen count which can cause allergic reactions and aggravate asthma symptoms.  These fine particles can be trapped in our heating and cooling systems and circulated indoors during usage.

Heating and cooling ducts are essential in providing clean airflow into your home.  As dust can build up everywhere, it would make sense that air ducts require the attention in maintenance and cleaning like any other surface area in the home.  Although dust particles in dirty heating and cooling air ducts can circulate into the home environment, there are also many other pollutants and contaminants that can contribute to poor indoor air quality including odours from cooking, chemicals from cleaning products and toxins from smoking.   Many factors from poor air quality can cause concern for ill health; therefore cleaning air ducts may not be a bad idea towards helping prevent air pollutants.

Ducts should be cleaned when:

Mold growth is present – ducts are responsible for delivering cold and hot air within your home, as ducts have a potential to trap moisture, if water is left stagnant mold growth can occur.

Ducts are infested with pest – ducts can be a preferred hiding space for pests and insects, especially in the off season where the ducts are not in use

Excessive dust can be seen – dust can accumulate in hard to reach places and ducts are no exception.  Dust can exacerbate asthma symptoms and cause allergy reactions.

Before comparing quotes for Melbourne duct cleaning, it is best to carry out an inspection to determine whether you will benefit from getting your ducts cleaned as duct cleaning can be expensive and you may discover it is not necessary.  Here are some tips to help with inspection:

  1. Clean your vents and keep an eye on it, check how quickly your vents show signs of dust and cobweb accumulating. If your vents are showing signs of dust build up within 7 days, then you many need to call a professional duct cleaner in Melbourne.
  2. Remove the air vents from the ceiling or floors, invest in an inspection camera and probe into the air ducts. Inspection cameras come with extension cables allowing access to the most difficult spaces.
  3. Climb into the roof and inspect the air ducts, tape that seal entry and exit points in the unit can degrade overtime and come apart making terrific entrances for rodents and pests.

Duct cleaning requires the right equipment to be done properly.  Professional duct cleaners have powerful vacuums and rotary brushes that enable a thorough clean, although duct cleaning is not a task that you can do yourself, frequent inspects can help you determine if duct cleaning is necessary.

Evaporative vs Refrigerated Cooling for Melbourne

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Evaporative and refrigerated cooling systems are both designed to keep you cool in the harsh Melbourne summer, understanding how each of these systems work and their benefits can help you decide which one will be right for you.

Evaporative Cooling systems utilizes sponge pads that soak up water fed through supply lines, powerful fans within the unit blow air through the sponge pads and circulate cool air through air ducts into rooms throughout the home.  Windows and doors are required to be left ajar in order for air to exit the home, providing constant flow of fresh cooling air.

Advantages of evaporative cooling include:

Cheap to operate – an evaporative unit could cost as little as $40 a year in electricity costs, that’s 90% less energy than alternative cooling systems.

Clean fresh air – having a cooling system that allows old air to be expelled and new air blown in allows for constant fresh air.  This can reduce the amount of air borne pollutants and harmful odours in your home.

Good for the environment – as evaporative units are extremely energy efficient, it is able to produce less carbon emissions, making it a sustainable cooling option.

Refrigerated cooling systems operate by removing warm air and humidity in the room and replacing it with cool air that has been cooled through a process.  This cooling system provides ultimate comfort allowing control of the temperature within the home.  Unlike evaporative units where performance can be dependent on external climate, ducted refrigerated cooling systems can provide comfortable and consistent cooling power no matter what Melbourne’s unpredictable whether brings.

Advantages of refrigerated cooling include:

Heating and cooling in one –refrigerated cooling systems have reverse cycles which allow heat to be generated rather than cool air.  This is convenient for all year round comfort without having to install a separate heating system.

Cooling consistency – regardless of the weather, a refrigerated cooling system can provide the right cooling requirements by constantly circulating cool air in the home without the requirement to have ventilated windows and doors.

Temperature control – ducted refrigerated systems have the ability to zone all rooms in a home and control temperature to these zones.  This can help reduce energy costs as zones not in use can be shut off.