The American Lung Association (ALA) has this to say about proper housekeeping and grooming: clean your air ducts! According to the association, 60% to 90% of our day we spend indoors, and there’s nothing worse than putting a handkerchief over your nose outside the house or office, but inhaling just as much dust and dirt when you’re in the bedroom. Here are some basic facts about air duct cleaning:

• Dirty air ducts spread dust and germs around the house. This can cause poor indoor air quality, and in turn lead to a variety of illnesses.
• Symptoms include lethargy, malaise, trouble concentrating, runny nose, nose irritation, eye irritation, congestion, respiratory illness, headaches and nausea.
• Use a regular broom to reach further into the duct and sweep away the dust collecting there. You can also use some air spray freshener if you want.
• Sometimes using a broom simply won’t cut it. In this case, you can use a mop that was dipped into a mixture of cleaning solution and water. The mop need not be wet, just moist.

Risky Business

Seriously, this is some risky business we’re talking about here–allowing too much dust to collect in these ducts can have serious health implications. Now who’d want to get sick just because he or she neglected to clean the house? Bring out the broom and the vacuum and start cleaning.