Why Should You Get Your Airduct Cleaned?  Not intended for the squeamish! Picture yourself taking deep breaths from your vacuum cleaner's bag - just before you empty it! As awful as this sounds, it gives you an accurate picture of what the air you breathe is like after it passes through the crud and decaying material in your furnace's ductwork.  That's because your ductwork is a lot like your vacuum cleaner.  If you think about it, the main difference is that your vacuum only runs a few minutes each day compared to the hours on end that your furnace fan runs.  Every time your furnace runs, things are sucked into your ductwork.  Things like dust, pet hair, cooking grease, cigarette smoke and other debris that will stay in your ductwork - until they eventually break down and are released back into the air stream for you and your family to breathe.  Anyone who has ever cleaned underneath or behind their refrigerator knows just how much gunk a fan will collect.  So if you want to know what's in the dark depths of your ductwork, just look in your vacuum cleaner - and see what you're breathing, too.  This alone is reason enough to get your ducts emptied. Maybe you just "thought" the cat ran away... This sounds extreme, but you wouldn't believe what we find in ductwork.  I can't say we've found anything as large as a cat, but we have seen everything else imaginable.  Everything from long forgotten victims of De-Con to lost pet turtles that now only resemble small ashtrays.  You see, even though you're the best housekeeper in the world, what about the person who lived in the house before you?  Unless it's a new house, you don't know what stuff remains in the ductwork from previous owners.  Stuff that depends entirely on what their hygiene, housecleaning and smoking habits were (not to mention how they took care of their pets).  In most cases it's probably better that you don't know.  You can be certain that if your furnace ductwork isn't clean, you're breathing air that passes through the accumulated dust and crud from everyone (and everything) that has ever lived there.  I hope this unpleasant picture doesn't make you swear-off breathing completely - remember, it's still safe to exhale.  All is not lost; this debris will be totally removed when you have your system cleaned!  The "Mushroom Theory" and "Mutant Rabbits!" The mushroom theory usually compare the "essentials of mushroom growing" with how politicians treat you.  Everyone knows that the best place to grow any type of mold, fungus, or bacteria is in a dark moist environment where it can feed on decaying organic matter.  Amazingly, this is also pretty descriptive of the conditions inside ductwork located in a damp basement or crawl-space.  In most cases, unclean ductwork is a perfect place to start a little fungus farm.  Not only will dirty ductwork act as a breeding ground for unwanted bacteria and mold, it also acts as a gathering place for everything else that enters a home.  Things like pesticides, lead, chemicals and other such unhealthy particles.  These unwanted substances enter the house through open windows or are tracked in, and upon entering, bind with household dust.  Unfortunately, once in the house and sucked into your ducts, nature has no way of dealing with these potential health time-bombs.  In fact, the pollution that gets trapped in your home today is 5 times that of outdoor levels.  You need to picture all those soft, fluffy, little "dust bunnies" living in your ducts as having large claws and nasty teeth.  Teeth that can really take a bite out of your family's health if you don't deal with them.              Important Facts You Should Know About Your Indoor Air Quality and Your Family's Health: Fact: 50% of all illnesses are caused by or aggravated by polluted air. Fact: Most fiberglass furnace filters are less than 7% efficient. Fact: The levels of some hazardous pollutants in indoor air are up to 70 times greater than outdoor air. Fact: One in six allergy conditions are caused by fungi and bacteria in the air duct system. Fact: Children are more likely than adults to be affected by polluted indoor air. Varney Clean Care, Inc. Call today for a free estimate: Worland (307-347-6161), Powell (307-754-9999), Cody (307-527-9998), (800) 660-6181 Home