Central air systems are responsible for circulating air throughout a living space to keep the inhabitants comfortable.  At times these systems become damaged with odors that stick to the air ducts and its associated components. Situations such as fires or floods can cause serious odor issues. Other times smells from smoking indoors, pets, rodents, or other smells may be drawn through the return ducts, which over time, contaminate the entire central air system. Odor damaged air ducts can cause quite a problem, as smells are then distributed to the living areas causing discomfort to the inhabitants. Over the years we have ran into this scenario many times, and this is how we restore a complete central air systems to achieve odor neutral status.

              In order to restore air ducts and associated components to an odor neutral condition first the entire duct system must have a thorough cleaning. A negative pressure cleaning and associated agitation of the ducts is performed. Once all visible dirt and debris has been removed from the ducts, an odor treatment or oxidizer is applied based on the causes of the smell problem. In the case of fire or flooding problems, the air ducts must be encapsulated in order to ensure no re-occurring smells by re coating or re lining the air duct interiors. Encapsulation should also be considered in cases where strong indoor smoking odors are present.

Next it is of upmost importance that the air handler or furnace be completely cleaned as well. This unit distributes the air through the air ducts and is crucial in solving odor issue. The air handlers blower wheel and casing as well as the evaporator coil and casing should be cleaned and decontaminated in order to assure a proper restoration of the central air system.

              Although a time consuming process, these restoration efforts can bring most central air system back to an odor neutral status. This can save considerable money over completely replacing the air ducts, and can often be performed with much less reconstruction than what is required to change air ducts out completely.  It is best to consult with our team of professionals, on what would be the best course of action for restoring your central air system if odor damage is present. Air ducts and ventilation system component restoration plays a big role in solving odor issues, however in severe conditions it should be conducted as one part, of the complete odor removal project. Steps such as cleaning and painting of walls, carpet replacements, and treatment of porous surfaces, etc. should all be performed when completely eliminating odors from an indoor area.