How Poorly Maintained Air Conditioning Makes Your Family Sick
When it comes to protecting the health and safety of your family, one of the things that many homeowners often overlook is their routine air conditioning maintenance. While your air conditioner is a great way to prevent things like heat stroke and mildew from humidity, it can also be a source of health concerns when you don't maintain it. Here's a look at some of the things you need to know about the risks of skipping air conditioning maintenance.
Respiratory Illness
Air conditioners work by drawing humidity out of the air. All of that moisture has to go somewhere, and it results in a persistent moist, damp, dark environment inside the air conditioning unit.
When you don't keep up with routine air conditioner maintenance, including annual servicing and semi-annual unit cleaning, that environment can quickly become a breeding ground for black mold and a variety of microorganisms that can make your family sick.
If you find that you're struggling with respiratory illnesses in the house, including pneumonia, it could be the result of a neglected air conditioning unit that's spreading these pathogens throughout your home.
Allergies
Air conditioning units don't draw air in from outside. Instead, they circulate the air that's already inside, which allows the unit to maintain low humidity and cooler temperatures. Unfortunately, that also means that anything that's residual in the indoor air will simply be continually recirculated throughout the space.
If you notice increasing problems with allergies in your home, it could be the result of persistent dust, pet hair, and other allergens being recirculated throughout the space by the air conditioner. Keeping the air filters clean will help with this, but you'll still need to schedule routine air conditioning maintenance to help remove anything that's built up inside the unit beyond the air filter.
Ear, Nose, And Throat Illnesses
If you find that the spring and summer months, when your air conditioner is running heavily, bring repeated visits to the doctor for problems with your ears, nose, or throat, the culprit could be your air conditioner.
When air conditioners aren't kept clean properly, they can release irritants into the air that will cause all sorts of different symptoms. You may find that your sinuses are irritated and clogging up in response, or you might suffer irritation in your throat due to the particles being released by your air conditioner.
Make sure that you work with an AC maintenance technician to complete routine cleanings so that you can avoid many of these potential illnesses.
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