mE GE Healthy Air, Healthy Home (NAPSA)—Inthelast severalyears, a growing bodyofscientific evidence has indicated that the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoorair in even the largest and most industrialized cities, warns the EnvironmentalProtection ‘Agency (EPA). Since mostpeople spend some90 percentoftheir time indoors, the EPA adds, for manypeople,therisks to health maybegreat. In addition, the EPA points out, the people who may be exposedto indoor air pollutants the most—the young,the elderly and the chronically ill—are often those mostsusceptibletoits effects. With cooler weather, many people spend moretimeinside homeswithall the doors and windowsshut,soit's even more importantto makesure indoorair quality is healthy. Oneeasy wayto help keep your fam- ily “Breathing Clean”is to clear out your HVACsystem. All homeswith air ducts accumulate dust anddirt, which can bea particular problem in households with: + pets allergies or asthma + smokers + water contamination + remodeling projects + youngchildren elderly people. After all, your heating and cooling system is, essentially, the lungs ofyour home. ‘The system takesairin and “breathes”air out. Through normaloccupation, people generate a great deal of contaminants andair pollutants, such as dander, dust and chemicals. These are pulled into the HVACsystem andrecirculated five to seven times day andcan meana buildup of contaminantsin the ductwork. What's more, clean ducts can save you energy and money. According to the U.S. Departmentof Energy, 25 to 40 percentof the energy usedfor heat- ing or cooling a homeis wasted. Con- taminants in the heating and cool- Keeping your HVAC system clean can help youprotect your home and family fromindoorair pollution. ing system cause it to work harder to maintain the temperature you desire. With a clean system, less energy is used, leading to improved cost effectiveness. Fortunately, it can be easy to get your system inspected by a reputable, certi- fied HVACprofessional.It helpsto heed these fourhints: 1. Ask the contractor for proof of insurance and any applicable licenses. 2. Have the contractorspecify which componentswill be cleaned. 3. Verify that the contractor will limit the release of dust,dirt and debris into your home duringcleaning. 4, Ask for proof of NADCA mem- bership andcertification. NADCAsets the industry standard for HVAC system cleaning and its members must haveat least onecertified Air Systems Cleaning Specialist (ASCS) onstaff, comply with a Codeof Ethics and acquire continuing educationcredits. Learn More Forfurtherfacts andtips andto find a nearby NADCA member, go to www. BreathingClean.com.Fora free Home- owner's Guideto air duct cleaning, visit https://nadca.com/sites/default/files/ docs/2017/nadca_homeowners_guide_ print_version.pdf.
