Have you serviced your ducted air conditioner?

Ducted air conditioners are becoming more popular in homes because of their streamlined looks. However, these systems require specialised maintenance that typical service providers aren’t equipped to perform. Do you have a ducted air conditioner and aren’t sure how to keep them free of mould and other allergens? The specialists at Duct Doctors tell us more about ducted air-con servicing and how to keep the air in your home clean.

Why regular ducted air-con servicing is essential

While ducted air conditioners keep things neat, this ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach often means we forget to look at regular maintenance. Poorly maintained ducts can also collect buildups of mould, fungus, bacteria, dust and other allergens. All of these can cause a nasty array of health problems from allergic reactions to autoimmune diseases. The issues caused by mould and allergens may also have a more severe effect on children and the elderly. Regular ducted air-con servicing can also prolong the system’s life and make it more efficient at cooling your house.

While Duct Doctors specialise in servicing ducts, their expertise also allows them to sleuth out tangential issues related to ducted air conditioners. This can include mould and fungus in unexpected locations.

How duct doctors helped solve my mould woes

It was six months ago when I noticed spots of mould growing on the wall behind my living room sofa. It was frustrating, as a year earlier I had a similar issue and repainted the walls to get rid of the mould.

The Duct Doctors team came over to investigate and quite quickly discovered the cause. My usage of the air conditioner in the adjacent bedroom at night was causing condensation to form on the shared living-room wall. This created a damp and dark space behind the sofa that was perfect for mould to form.

To fix the issue, the Duct Doctors team painted a sealant over the affected walls followed by a layer of anti-mould paint. They then fogged the room with natural tea tree oil, which also offers anti-mould properties. The entire process was handled very precisely and with the use of a checklist. This was to ensure that surfaces were covered and any cleared material stored appropriately. After all, mould and allergens are biohazardous materials! My living room was also left spotless.

Though my walls were now pristine, the team emphasised that mould may reoccur if I didn’t take preventative measures. This includes increasing the airflow and using the fan function on my air-con to prevent a sharp rise in temperature and the formation of condensation.

Preventative measures are better than corrective ones

In my case, the measures taken were clearly corrective. But with regular ducted air-con servicing, issues like this can be rectified before becoming a larger issue. While there are no hard rules about the frequency of ducted air-conditioning servicing, the general advice is once a year. With working from home becoming such a common arrangement, people are using air-conditioning units more frequently, and requiring more frequent maintenance.

Set up an obligation-free assessment for ducted air-con servicing

If your ducts haven’t been serviced, there’s no better time than the present to get them checked out. Duct Doctors offers an obligation-free scope assessment that will allow you to see first-hand the state of your ducts. For more information on Duct Doctors and the services they provide, click here.

Written in collaboration with Duct Doctors.

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Dinesh Ajith

Dinesh is a seasoned writer and editor with seven years of experience covering travel, restaurants and bars. His interests include film photography, cheesy 90s monster flicks, and scouring the island for under-the-radar craft beer bars.