Dan and Rachael Polakovic London Ontario Real Estate Professional

Should You Have Your Ducts Cleaned?

Most people are now aware that indoor air pollution is an issue of growing concern and increased visibility. Many companies are marketing products and services intended to improve the quality of your indoor air. You have probably seen an advertisement, received a coupon in the mail, or been approached directly by a company offering to clean your air ducts as a means of improving your home's indoor air quality. These services typically but not always range in cost from $450 to $1,000 per heating and cooling system, depending on the services offered, the size of the system to be cleaned, system accessibility, climatic region, and level of contamination.

Duct cleaning generally refers to the cleaning of various heating and cooling system components of forced air systems, including the supply and return air ducts and registers, grilles and diffusers, heat exchangers heating and cooling coils, condensate drain pans (drip pans), fan motor and fan housing, and the air handling unit housing.

If not properly installed, maintained, and operated, these components may become contaminated with particles of dust, pollen or other debris. If moisture is present, the potential for microbiological growth (e.g., mold) is increased and spores from such growth may be released into the home's living space. Some of these contaminants may cause allergic reactions or other symptoms in people if they are exposed to them. If you decide to have your heating and cooling system cleaned, it is important to make sure the service provider agrees to clean all components of the system and is qualified to do so. Failure to clean a component of a contaminated system can result in re-contamination of the entire system, thus negating any potential benefits. Methods of duct cleaning vary, although standards have been established by industry associations concerned with air duct cleaning. Typically, a service provider will use specialized tools to dislodge dirt and other debris in ducts, then vacuum them out with a high-powered vacuum cleaner.

You should consider having the air ducts in your home cleaned if:

Ducts are infested with vermin, e.g. (rodents or insects); or

Ducts are clogged with excessive amounts of dust and debris and/or particles are actually released into the home from your supply registers.

There is substantial visible mold growth inside hard surface (e.g., sheet metal) ducts or on other components of your heating and cooling system.

Does Duct Cleaning Prevent Health Problems

Duct cleaning has never been shown to actually prevent health problems. Neither do studies conclusively demonstrate that particle levels in homes increase because of dirty air ducts or go down after cleaning. This is because much of the dirt that may accumulate inside air ducts adheres to duct surfaces and does not necessarily enter the living space. It is important to keep in mind that dirty air ducts are only one of many possible sources of particles that are present in homes. Pollutants that enter the home, both from outdoor and indoor activities such as cooking, cleaning, smoking, or just moving around can cause greater exposure to contaminants than dirty air ducts. Moreover, there is no evidence that a light amount of household dust or other particulate matter in air ducts poses any risk to health. Duct cleaning is not considered to be a necessary part of yearly maintenance of your heating and cooling system, which consists of regular cleaning of drain pans and heating and cooling coils, regular filter changes and yearly inspections of heating equipment. Research continues in an effort to evaluate the potential benefits of air duct cleaning.

The EPA does not recommend that air ducts be cleaned except on an as-needed basis because of the continuing uncertainty about the benefits of duct cleaning under most circumstances. If you think duct cleaning might be a good idea for your home, but you are not sure, talk to a professional.

September 20th 2009 in the City Of London Walk A Mile In Her Shoes took place. This is a charity for Women's Community House of London Ontario where those who are Man Enough (men only) walk one mile around Victoria Park of London in a pair of red high heel pumps.

This year we were proud to be a part of such an exciting event. Not only was $45,000 dollars raised for Women's Community House of London but to see the support of our community for such an important organization was breathtaking.

For an album of pictures please visit our website at www.two-realtors.com

A special thanks to those who came out in support of this great event! We hope to see you all again next year!

Dan And Rachael Polakovic

Sales Representatives

Realty Executives Elite Ltd Brokerage

I am very passionate about my career. Not just my career.. but anything to do

with Real Estate at all. This is really starting to show. We were out at the local fall fair. Us, our kids, some friends and their kids. We were enjoying a slice of pizza and a chat. It all started with how the company that used to offer pizza from that station is no longer there. It had been replaced with another really well known name in the business that can be found at various other stations throughout the fair grounds. This observation then spun into how possibly there was a clause in their contract that no other pizza vendor be within a certain distance and if the old vendor's lease expired or if they were paid out and asked to leave. Then if something like this is allowed and so on and so forth.

This carried on for about 20 minutes. Then a friend at the table (who is in Mortgages and equally as passionate about her line of work and this type of business) looked at us and said, "Did you just turn pizza into Real Estate?" Yes! I guess we did.

When you are this excited and enthusiastic about what you do. Then I guess it isn't hard to turn almost anything into a conversation about what you love. We are always looking to learn more about Real Estate and the market in general that even Pizza with the family can turn into a new discovery.

10 Tips for Creating a Household Budget

MAKE GOALS
Goals can be as short-term as buying a new pair of shoes next week, or as long-term as going on vacation next spring.

INVOLVE YOUR ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD
If it's just you, great. But if you have a spouse and/or children, create a budget together, and explain to everyone that they may be asked to make sacrifices.

BUDGET IN FUN
A budget that leaves no money for an occasional dinner out or for a family outing at an amusement park is designed to fail. Your budget should help you, not put you in a bind.

MAKE THE EFFORT TO SAVE
Most people look at saving as putting away money for a rainy day. But a better way to look at it is putting away money for a nice vacation.

TAKE INVENTORY
If you don't know where your money goes, how do you expect to manage it?

DISTINGUISH BETWEEN WANTS AND NEEDS
Buy what you need first. The wants belong in the "what's left over" category.

EXPECT CHANGES Look down the road, and get into the habit of thinking ahead.

GET RID OF HIGH-INTEREST DEBT Focus on identifying high interest-rate debt and work on paying that debt off.

FIND A SYSTEM THAT WORKS FOR YOU It could be the envelope system, a bank or a credit union. If it works for you, use it.

STICK TO IT Creating and sticking to a budget that works won't be easy, but in the end it will help you make the most of your hardearned money.