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How Often Should You Clean Your Air Ducts

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 21:22:22 GMT

How often should you clean your air ducts? The answer isn’t simply when it smells dirty. Unlike the visible cleaning chores in your home, like vacuuming, dusting, or scrubbing, air ducts are often forgotten. But these hidden areas need cleaning, too.

One quick reminder is when that musty or dusty smell engulfs your home once you turn on the heater or air conditioning. Other signs are seeing dust or other particles floating around the vents, and if allergies get really bad, once your HVAC system turns on.

This guide is written with over 25 years' worth of experience in cleaning air ducts in the greater Omaha area. From the many homes we’ve cleaned, it’s amazing how proper air duct maintenance can transform indoor air quality. You’ll learn in this guide what air ducts are, how often you should clean your ducts, signs that you need to get them cleaned now, and our final thoughts.

The Basics Of Air Duct Cleaning

To answer “how often should you clean your air ducts”, we’re going to explain the role of your duct system and why it’s important to keep it clean.

What Ducts Do For Your Home’s Air

An easy analogy for your HVAC system would be to think of your home as a body. The HVAC unit is the heart, and the ducts are the veins. They deliver oxygen (or air) to the right places in the body (or, your home). Without any obstructions or buildup in those passages, the air flows smoothly and quickly. However, when impeded by debris or other materials, the entire system has to work harder and wears out more quickly.

Just like a person’s liver and kidneys filter out imperfections in the body, your HVAC system uses air filters to catch dust and other contaminants, but they’re not 100% perfect at trapping everything. So, naturally, there will be an eventual buildup in the ducts, and your system will have to work harder to get the home to the right temperature. More strain = shorter lifespan and more repair costs.

Common Contaminants in Your Ducts

So, if only air usually runs through the ducts, then what contaminants could get in there? Well, if you have kids, you’re well aware that they have and often do remove the vent covers and shove toys, crayons, paper, and almost anything they can get their hands on. Other than toddlers, the list of what can get in there may be surprising. Naturally, dead skin cells, or dust, are the most obvious ones, as any home that’s lived in has them.

Next on the list is pet dander. For those that don’t know, pet dander is the dead skin cells of animals and is the primary source of pet allergies. They can carry proteins from the animal’s drool, pee, and skin glands. So, if you have a pet, that’s in the air. Spring in Nebraska brings a lot of pollen, and fall brings a lot of dust as farmers till their crops and other plants dry up and crumble like leaves off a tree. Then, because of how humid it gets in the summer, mold spores can land and grow in the ducts if the ventilation is poor or there’s a lack of humidity control.

Dust, pet dander, pollen, and mold accumulate in ducts and recirculate with every HVAC cycle. These contaminants remain in the air you breathe, which may aggravate allergies, asthma, or respiratory issues, and even affect those without health concerns.

How Often Should You Clean Your Air Ducts?

Now that we know what the function of the air ducts is and some of the common irritants in the air (don’t forget cigarette smoke for those who smoke), let’s answer the question, “How often should you clean your air ducts?” Each home and situation is different, but we’ll first give you the general guidelines.

Recommended Cleaning Frequency

To help, the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA), formed in 1989, says that most homes need their entire HVAC system cleaned every 4-5 years , which includes air ducts. Keep in mind that the recommendation is under normal conditions. What would not be considered normal conditions are pets, smokers, or ongoing construction in or near the home. So, if your home is normal under these parameters, every 4-5 years could be right for you.

Now, cleaning the entire system is more difficult and evasive, so getting at least the ducts clean is better than nothing at all. That being said, the EPA’s recommendation is to clean your ducts whenever you see signs of mold, pest infestations, dust, or any other pollutant in the air. This is general advice and doesn’t apply to every home’s specific needs.

Some factors that reduce the time needed between duct cleaning include the number and type of pets, the number and health needs of the people living in the home, the environmental factors outside of the home, home improvements, and air filters.

Personalized Schedule Tips

So, how often should you clean your air ducts in your specific home? Here’s an easy list to go through to think about. If the recommendation is, let’s say, five years, then each of the factors below would hypothetically shorten the time between cleanings by six months to a year.

Pets : for each short-haired pet or bird that doesn’t shed that often, consider reducing the gap by six months. If the pet sheds more frequently, consider cleaning at a minimum of every four years. Just like the drains in a shower, longer hair needs to be cleaned up more frequently than short hair. The number of pets you have also increases the cleaning frequency needed. Since fur and pet dander accumulate quickly in air ducts. If you have more than one pet, consider duct cleanings every 2-3 years.
People : The more people that live in a home, the more dust and debris are created. People also bring in more dust from the outside, young kids can leave doors and windows open longer than intended, and overall, more particles are circulating in the air. The health needs of people with allergies, asthma, or other respiratory ailments should also be considered. If a person smokes, that increases the contaminants in the air. For families of four or more, consider cleaning your ducts every 3-4 years. If respiratory or smoking is involved, perhaps clean every 2-3 years.
Environment : Before the rains come in the spring, and especially in the fall when things typically dry out, it gets dusty. Also, homes in new developments or near farmland also experienced increased dust and pollen. Humidity, especially in the spring to fall months in Nebraska, means your HVAC system is working with air that can grow mold. So, increasing cleaning frequency just due to the climate in and around Omaha is a good idea.
Home Improvements : Renovations in the home can create an excessive amount of dust, especially when drywall (or sheetrock) is involved. Passageways and doors are left wide open, letting unfiltered air in and all the dust from activity outside. Even though wood, tile, drywall, and dumpsters are outside, the air has easy access inside.
Air Filters : This is an easy one that homeowners constantly misunderstand or completely forget. The air filter is your duct’s main line of defense to catch airborne debris, dust, and contaminants. We recommend changing an air filter anytime it looks dirty, or every three months of use. Not doing this releases what’s caught and can promote buildup in your ducts.

So, those five factors above can reduce the time between cleanings in your ducts. If your home has pets, a larger family, is prone to a lot of dust, has recently had home improvements, and you don’t change your air filters, you may need a cleaning soon, if not now.

Signs Your Air Ducts Need Cleaning Now

If you have all those factors above, we’d recommend getting a cleaning now. Other than those listed above, there are other things to look for to know if you need a cleaning as soon as possible. Here’s a personal checklist to go through.

Visible Inspection

Take a minute and look at your vents. Is there any dust or debris that has built up on or around the vent covers? Then, take off the vent covers and use either the flashlight on your phone or an actual flashlight and look into the ducts as far as you can to see if Airflowthere is anything stuck on or building up on the inside. If not, get them cleaned.

Airflow

When you walk into each room, do you notice a major shift in the temperature or how much air is flowing in the rooms? Naturally, larger rooms get the flow dispersed a bit faster, but there shouldn’t be a major change.

Odors

Your nose is fantastic at noticing changes. If you are noticing something wrong and smells are changing, that could be due to debris collecting and reacting with your HVAC unit. Note: If you just installed a new furnace , there are some smells that come with it. If you’re not sure, go outside for a few minutes, then re-enter your home to prevent nose blindness (when your nose no longer smells an odor because it’s always present). You can also ask friends or family when they visit if they smell anything that is off.

Your Health

Listen to your body. If you are sneezing more than normal, your allergies get worse, or you are having a persistent cough, this can be from dirty air ducts and poor indoor air quality . One easy way to know is if you always feel ill when at home but feel better when you are outside, in another building, or someone else’s home.

Energy Bills

If you have buildup, debris, or mold reducing the air flow in your ducts, then your HVAC system has to work harder to either warm or cool your home. The harder it works, the more energy it needs. That energy comes from gas or electricity. So, if your bills have risen dramatically when the weather outside hasn’t changed much, your ducts could be clogged.

Keeping Your Air Ducts Clean

So, after all the information above, how often should you clean your air ducts? The short and sweet is about every three to five years for homes under normal conditions. If there are pets, bigger families, external environmental factors, home renovations, and dirty air filters, clean them more frequently. If you see buildup, airflow is down, something smells, your health declines, or energy bills have risen dramatically, get them cleaned soon.

If you’re ready to breathe easier, schedule a professional air duct inspection and cleaning with us today. As certified HVAC technicians here in the greater Omaha area, we can help you to breathe easier.

Signs of Poor Indoor Air Quality In Omaha

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:58:09 GMT

If you’re like most people, you may not have the time or training to know the signs of poor indoor air quality. They’re easy to dismiss, especially during the winter when everyone is cooped up inside anyway. To start, do you constantly sneeze at home, but you have no other symptoms of a cold? Another question to ask yourself is if you’re constantly tired or sluggish at your work desk, but an outdoor walk makes you feel a lot better.

Many people with poor indoor air quality don’t know. For us, that comes as no surprise. We’ve seen how poor indoor air quality affects families, business owners, and employees in the greater Omaha metro. Since we spend about 90% of our time indoors (according to the EPA ), the air we breathe has a huge impact on our overall health.

Another factor to consider is that, especially in Omaha, we experience major weather swings from the 70s and comfortable to below freezing in just a day. Due to dramatic temperature swings, our HVAC systems are under significant strain to maintain comfortable indoor climates. If that stress wears out your unit and it malfunctions, the air you breathe suffers in quality.

We’ve put together this guide to help you identify the warning signs of poor indoor air quality so you don’t have to keep guessing. We’ll explain what causes many air quality problems, the warning signs, and what you can do to fix them. By learning the symptoms, you can reduce the likelihood of serious health issues.

Why Should You Care About Indoor Air Quality?

To start, indoor air quality refers to the condition of the air you breathe inside your home, office, or other indoor spaces. The air we breathe includes many particles and parts, including but not limited to:

Oxygen
Dust
Pollen
Humidity
Nitrogen
Chemical fumes
Carbon Dioxide
Pet fur

Since we take over 20,000 breaths a day , it’s easy to forget about what is going into our lungs until we feel the warning signs that something is off. It’s easy to see dust through sunlight or smell something musty in the basement, but the extreme health risks are often overlooked or not noticed until the issue has been airborne for a while.

As the primary system responsible for air circulation and conditioning, your heating and cooling system plays a central role in controlling and improving indoor air quality. Every time your heater or air conditioner cycles, it’s either circulating fresh air or spreading pollutants indoors. This is why we always stress the importance of scheduled maintenance and proper ventilation.

To further emphasize the seriousness of poor indoor air quality, some World Health Organization (WHO) experts believe that upwards of 30% of buildings may have excessive indoor air quality complaints. So, if one-third of the world’s indoor areas can have excessive air quality issues, chances are you’ve been in one of those buildings.

So, how can you tell if your building or home is one of those 30%? Some of the ways to protect yourself include recognizing and understanding:

Physical signs of poor indoor air quality
Mental signs of poor indoor air quality
Red flags to look out for
What you should do now to protect yourself

Physical Signs of Poor Indoor Air Quality

Respiratory Symptoms

To get the air outside into your bloodstream, your body transfers the air through your nose or mouth to your lungs. If irritants or impurities are in the air, your body will naturally induce a reaction, including sneezing and coughing, to reject the bad air. So, if you’re sneezing and coughing without having other illness symptoms, that’s a red flag. You could also experience shortness of breath, a sore throat, or a dry cough.

Airborne impurities that can cause these symptoms include pollen, dust, mold spores, and pet dander. These should be removed through the air filter in your HVAC system. However, if there’s a malfunction or a dirty air filter, those irritants circulate unimpeded, and your lungs notice.

Eye, Nose & Throat Irritation

Other body parts that are sensitive to air quality conditions include your eyes, nose, and throat. Exposure to dry or impure air can cause your eyes to burn or water quickly. Irritants in the air cause your nose to stuff up or run as the mucus collects the irritants and wants you to sneeze them out. Your throat can also become dry and itchy.

While many environmental factors can cause stuffy noses, itchy eyes, and a sore throat, you can track how you feel indoors and outdoors and see if you feel different after getting fresh outdoor air.

Headaches & Fatigue

Headaches are a clear sign from your body that something is wrong. Getting them occasionally is normal. However, experiencing frequent headaches without constant extraneous exertion is not normal. If you also get a full night of rest and you’re still feeling sluggish, that can be a sign of poor indoor air quality. Also, look out for dizziness or being light-headed, and pay particular attention to feelings of nausea.

Specific factors that can cause those symptoms are high levels of carbon dioxide, or CO₂. If the CO₂ levels get too high, it can even be fatal. Levels can increase due to heavy breathing without being replaced with fresh outdoor air. Because having a tightly sealed home or office reduces energy bills, improperly working HVAC systems can cause CO₂ buildup.

Skin & Humidity-Related Issues

As temperatures drop outside, homes rely more on heated air indoors. When air is heated, the moisture naturally gets removed. Because of the lack of natural humidity, Omaha residents often complain about:

Dry, itchy skin
Static electricity shocks
Dry eyes
Worse eczema
Psoriasis

When humidity drops below 30%, these symptoms often indicate poor indoor air quality, though proper humidity control can help reduce them.

Mental Signs of Poor Indoor Air Quality

Reduced Focus & Brain Fog

Proper oxygen flow helps the brain function optimally. In fact, your brain uses 20% of all the oxygen your body uses. Interestingly, oxygen levels in the air are commonly around the 20% mark as well. Reduced oxygen levels in the brain can make it harder to concentrate, cause memory problems, make it difficult to finish sentences, slow down work tasks, and make decision-making more difficult.

The indoor spaces people spend the most time in are homes, workplaces, and schools. The lack of oxygen in these spaces affects loved ones, students, teachers, and employees. These are the people who need to be operating at their peak cognitive level.

Irritability & Mood Changes

First, people may become irritable or experience mood changes for many reasons, such as watching their favorite sports team lose, receiving a bad grade, or natural hormonal changes. However, just like brain fog, not having clean air going to your brain has been linked to people feeling unusually cranky, getting mad at small inconveniences, reduced motivation, or feelings of being overwhelmed.

Being grumpy or on edge not only reduces your productivity, but it can also damage relationships and your overall life. Constantly being on edge isn’t healthy because that heightened level of awareness can exhaust the body more quickly.

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS)

Many people outside the HVAC or health fields may not be familiar with sick building syndrome. This term describes situations where people experience multiple symptoms indoors that improve or disappear when they leave the building. In other words, you feel sick inside, feel better outside, but get sick again inside.

In addition to the symptoms listed above, sick building syndrome (SBS) can also include sensitive skin, muscle pain, and odor sensitivity. Although sick building syndrome is more common in offices and schools, it can also affect homes. So what causes SBS? Poor ventilation, improper humidity levels, and a source of pollution.

It’s important to note that sick building syndrome isn’t an official disease like eczema, but a term used to describe symptoms caused by poor indoor air quality and signals that indoor conditions need improvement. The best way to improve those conditions is through a complete inspection by a licensed HVAC technician.

The Red Flags To Look For

Signs in Your Home

In your home, the signs of poor indoor air quality are easy to see.

First , look out for dust that accumulates quickly after the surface has been cleaned. Dust naturally occurs from dead skin cells, but takes time to accumulate.

Second, check if there are rooms that are constantly colder or warmer than the average temperature of the home. That could indicate blocked ducts.

Third , be aware of musty or moldy odors coming from your vents. If this is happening, there is moisture in your home that shouldn’t be there.

Fourth , look at your vents when your HVAC system is running to see if any dust is blowing out. Your air filter should be filtering the dust.

Fifth , check your windows for condensation, which may indicate poor ventilation, unsealed windows, or excessive indoor humidity.

Signs in Your Office or Business

Unlike homes, businesses have many more people to help you to know when things are going well, and when things are not. So, if multiple employees come to a boss and report feeling similar symptoms, leadership needs to take note. Signs of poor indoor air quality in the workplace include:

When employees feel sick in a specific part of the building
Symptoms go away on the weekends.
The air smells stale despite professional cleanings.
People keep asking to open the windows for fresh air.
High turnover rates
Increase in employee sick days.
A reduction in productivity

If you don’t take care of your employees, expenses rise, and money earned from production falls.

What To Do If You See The Signs of Poor Indoor Air Quality

Preventative Measures

The best defense is a great offense. Don’t wait to see the signs of poor indoor air quality. Rather, take steps to prevent your air from getting to that point, such as:

Change your air filter every one to three months.
Schedule annual and regular HVAC maintenance.
In Omaha, test for radon.
Control the humidity levels.
Clean out your vents, ducts, and registers.
Move obstructions away from vents and registers.
Fix water leaks.
Following building codes for exhaust fans in bathrooms and kitchens.

Conduct A Self-Assessment

You are responsible for your own health. A self-evaluation is one of the quickest ways to recognize the signs of poor indoor air quality. Go through the following checklist:

When's the last time I changed my air filter?
Are my vents dirty?
Do I see or smell any mold or water stains?
Does it feel too humid or dry?
Are there any odd smells?

It’s a good rule of thumb to always track how you’re feeling and notice patterns. Also, paying attention to how coworkers or loved ones feel while visiting your home can help confirm or rule out your suspicions.

When to Call a Professional

So, having a periodic headache, smelling something off, or just having a few moments of brain fog can and do happen to everyone. However, if any of the red flags or symptoms above persist, it’s time to call a licensed HVAC professional to come and inspect your space. A locally-owned Omaha HVAC company not only understands what your home and office need, but is also able to respond quickly to any weather or climate changes.

Final Thoughts About The Signs Of Poor Indoor Air Quality

The signs of poor indoor air quality are not commonly discussed. However, having the right air in your home or office affects not only your health, but your productivity and quality of life. Because symptoms can have many different causes, it’s important to stay in tune with your body and pay attention to any patterns you notice.

We’ve not only created the guide above to help you know what symptoms and red flags to notice, but we are also able to come into your indoor space and check to see what the quality of your air is , what may be causing the poor indoor air quality, and steps to take to get it fixed.

IYou breathe about 20,000 times a day. Make sure every breath counts by contacting us for a free indoor air quality assessment.

Understanding New Furnace Smells: A Guide for Homeowners

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:17:40 GMT

So, what’s up with the new furnace smell? You’ve just spent thousands of dollars on a new HVAC system, you turn it on, and immediately you’re second-guessing your life decisions because an odd smell comes out of what’s supposed to be a brand new furnace. Well, you’re not the first. As HVAC professionals who have installed new furnaces for small businesses and homes all around the Omaha metro, we hear this a lot. The good news is that most smells that new furnaces make are to be expected and are short-lived. However, not all smells are harmless. It’s good for you to know what harmless new furnace odors are and what smells should be a red flag.

This guide is where we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about new furnace smells, what causes those odors, and when you should be concerned.

What Is "New Furnace Smell" and Is It Normal?

To start, most new furnace smells are harmless and short-lived. During the manufacture of furnaces, some materials stay on the furnace and remain there until you turn on the unit for the first time. Those materials burning off are the smell that you smell. Most of the time, any odors will dissipate and no longer be detectable within less than a month of normal furnace use. Once the furnace has run and broken in (like you would a new pair of shoes), the smells go away.

However, to put your mind at ease, we’re going to dive into what those manufactured materials are and why their odor is harmless.

The Five Sources of New Furnace Smell

Alright, here is the list of what is being burned off or what materials are causing the new furnace smell:

1. Adhesives and Sealants

This may come as no surprise, but furnaces are made of many different parts and need to be bound together to make a complete unit, so furnace manufacturers use adhesives and sealants to connect metal parts and secure them in place. When you turn on your furnace, these bonding agents release fumes, but this is normal. As the parts break-in and function repeatedly, any odor will go away.

2. Protective Oils on Metal Parts

To prevent the furnace unit from corroding, rusting, or becoming less efficient from the time it’s made to the time it’s used, protective oils are used to cover metal parts, like the heat exchanger. It’s rare for a furnace to go into service within days of manufacture. Given the fact that the average timespan between manufacture and first use is between six months and a year, the manufacturing company needs to ensure its product doesn’t break down before its first use.

Those oils stay in place until a buyer has the unit installed and turns it on for the first time. The oils will safely burn off, pose no health issues, and dissipate after continuous normal use.

3. Heat Exchanger Insulation

Within the furnace is what’s called the heat exchanger, where the heat is transferred from the inside of the unit to the air that ultimately warms up your home. To prevent heat from leaking out of the furnace and not blowing into all the rooms of a house, there’s insulation that goes around the heat exchanger. Since the insulation is new, it will release some chemicals when heated. Just like the oils and adhesives, the smell is temporary and harmless.

4. Trapped Manufacturing Odors

Just like the furnace, ductwork can retain residual odors from when it was manufactured. As the air warms up and is pushed through the ductwork for the first time, those odors will get blown into the home and will be prominent at first, but will dissipate as more and more fresh air moves through the system.

5. Burning Dust, Debris, and Insulation

Manufacturers make furnaces in large plants with a lot of automation. Just like most manufacturing operations that don’t involve food, it’s natural to get some dust and other particles into the furnace parts as they’re assembled and sealed together. When you heat the furnace, some of that dust and particles burn off. These odors will go away within the first day of operation.

Identifying Different Smells

So now that we know what causes the different smells, how can you know if what you’re smelling is one of those “don’t worry about it” smells? We’ll look at the short list below.

Burning or chemical odor : This is the typical break-in smell from protective coatings and manufacturing materials.
Oil or burned dust scent : Expected from accumulated dust burning off.
Hair dryer-like smell : Common with new heating systems as components heat up for the first time.

Timeline : Expect these smells to fade within 1-4 weeks of regular operation.

Tips To Lessen Those New Smells

Even though these smells are normal and safe, it doesn’t mean they are fun to have. So, here’s a quick list of what you can do to air out your home:

Depending on the weather, try cracking open a few windows to let fresh air circulate through the new furnace.
To break in the furnace, let it run for a few hours without interruption to circulate the air.
Remember to replace the air filters after the first 3-6 months of use to take out impurities.
Schedule regular maintenance to ensure proper function and reduce dust accumulation.

Warning Signs: Smells That Demand Immediate Action

We’ve covered what new furnace smells are, where they come from, what they smell like, and how to reduce the overall smell in your home. Now onto the smells that you should not smell, and if you do, call Millard Heating & Cooling immediately:

Burning Plastic or Rubber

Where It’s Coming From : insulation melting, or electrical wiring getting too hot.

What It Means : The motor is running too hot, the blower motor isn’t running as it should, or other electrical problems.

What To Do : Turn off your furnace and call us immediately.

Why It’s Important : If the electrical parts of your furnace are too hot or getting warmer than they should, it could cause an electrical fire, which could spread to the structure of your home.

Gas or Rotten Egg Odor

Where It’s Coming From : Leaking gas, such as natural gas or propane.

Why It Smells : Odorless gases can leak and cause health issues, so gas companies add mercaptan to the gas to produce that smell so you can smell any leaks.

What To Do : Get out of your home quickly and safely and call 911. Do not turn on any appliances, make any sparks, or rub cloth, causing static electricity.

Why It’s Important : This is the most dangerous smell that can come from your furnace. Gases like natural gas and propane are pressurized and need to be contained. Any spark or ignition could cause an explosion, resulting in significant property damage or injury.

Gas Smell Outside

What It Means : Your furnace isn’t burning the gas correctly (improper combustion) and is venting through the exhaust outside.

What To Do : Turn off your furnace’s gas and electrical supply, then call Millard Heating & Air immediately

Why It’s Important : Anytime there’s a gas leak, unintentional sparks can happen, causing a fire where they shouldn’t be. Also, any fire not in intended locations produces carbon monoxide, which is toxic to breathe.

Musty or Muddy Smell

What It Means : You have a buildup of materials in your ductwork or furnace that shouldn’t be there. Some materials include mold, mildew, dirt, or debris.

Where It’s Coming From : Water leaking into the ducts from an external source, such as excessive moisture from humidifiers , rain/melting snow dripping into the exhaust stack, a clogged drain, or waterlines in the home near the ducts or furnace.

What To Do : Call your HVAC technician to get your ductwork looked at and cleaned.

Why It’s Important : Extra pollutants in the air can cause respiratory health issues. Additionally, excess water or buildup may enter the furnace, leading to malfunctions, costly component damage, or electrocution in extreme circumstances.

Long-lasting Burning Plastic Smell

Where It’s Coming From : The furnace is overheating or malfunctioning.

What It Means : On the first day of use of a new furnace, nothing. If longer than the first day, something is wrong.

What To Do : Call your HVAC technician to take a look and find out why it’s happening.

Final Thoughts About New Furnace Smells

It’s ok to have those new furnace smells for the first little while. Like anything new, there’s a short break-in period while the system adjusts and the parts begin working together. Due to the manufacturing process, packaging, and storage, certain elements and chemicals are used as part of the process. But, after running the new furnace for a few days to weeks, those smells will go away. Those are not dangerous, even if they’re a bit unexpected.

However, if you're smelling something different from the normal new furnace smells (burning or chemical odor, oil or burned dust scent, or hair dryer-like smell), call your HVAC technician immediately. Also, cutting corners and trying to install a new furnace yourself is a bad idea. There are too many things that can go wrong.

If you need a new furnace installed, inspected, or help with any home or small business heating and cooling needs, call Millard Heating and Cooling for professional HVAC service.

Guide to Controlling Home Humidity in Winter

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:18:13 GMT

In addition to staying warm and sheltered from the cold, maintaining proper home humidity in winter plays a crucial role in maintaining comfort and health. Due to harsh Nebraska winters that can require furnaces to run nonstop, especially during winter vortexes, we’ve seen that indoor humidity isn’t necessarily a priority for homeowners. However, it is crucial for comfort, health, and protecting your home.

Why Home Humidity in Winter Matters More Than You Think

During the winter, furnaces run nonstop, warming the air to keep homeowners sheltered from the elements. But most people don’t realize that the warm air you’re paying to heat is unusually dry. Home humidity in winter is a balancing act between staying warm and avoiding dehumidification that can affect your family and your home’s structure.

Maintaining a healthy indoor humidity level promotes better respiratory health, helps protect wood furniture and flooring from damage, and also helps your HVAC system work more efficiently. Low humidity levels can lead to cracking wooden floors, respiratory illnesses, and an uncomfortable home.

Understanding Relative Humidity: The Science Made Simple

To start, homeowners need to understand what relative humidity, or RH, is. RH is the percent of moisture in the air compared to the total amount the air can hold, depending on the temperature. Warmer air is able to hold a lot more moisture, while colder air isn’t able to hold as much.

So, the percentages on the RH scale run from measuring bone dry air at 0% to air completely full of moisture, indicated by 100%. The reason this matters to Nebraska homeowners is that cold, winter air is naturally unable to hold moisture, so it is drier by default. When that cold, dry air goes through a furnace to warm a home, the air becomes even drier.

Because dry cold air is what most homes heat up, the air needs to be humidified to maintain a healthy RH level of between 40% - 60% as recommended by the CDC . Having the right humidity level will provide better health and comfort for you and your family.

The Ideal Humidity Range for Winter Months

Now that you know the ideal home humidity in the winter months is 40%-60%, the challenge is maintaining those levels, which is difficult to do. Older homes that lack modern air sealing often leak air, allowing humid indoor air to escape into the colder outdoor environment. Unless your home is newer with tight seals and modern HVAC systems, maintaining a humidity level above 40% could require a humidifier to consistantly run. However, old homes can have condensation when the air touches cold windows.

Although people have different comfort levels when it comes to humidity, we recommend purchasing an inexpensive hygrometer, or humidity gauge, to see what the moisture levels are in your home and to see what your comfort level is.

The Health and Home Dangers of Low Humidity

While different people have different comfort levels, there’s a reason why the CDC and others recommend specific indoor humidity levels, as your body has basic environmental needs to thrive. If humidity levels drop below 30%, both you and your home will start to show the effects.

Health Problems from Dry Air

Often, being stuck indoors during cold winters with the furnace constantly running is associated with getting a dry and irritated nose and throat. Your respiratory system, including your nasal passages and throat, uses moisture to trap viruses, bacteria, and other particles in the air that you breathe. Air that is too dry can lead to the following issues:

Membranes in the nose and throat crack and dry.
Flu, sinus infections, and the common cold
Airways that become irritated
Chapped lips
Dry skin that cracks
Frequent nosebleeds
Persistent coughs
Scratchy throat
Dry uncomfortable eyes

There’s a reason that all these symptoms are associated with winter because most homes in Nebraska don’t maintain the right humidity level in their homes. Yes, everyone is stuck indoors getting less fresh air and sunlight, but humidity is also a major factor of health.

Property Damage from Insufficient Humidity

Not only can your physical health be affected, but your home can also feel the lack of moisture in the air. Given that most homes are made from a wooden structure, changes in humidity levels cause expansion and contraction. If the air in the home is too dry, some problems you could see include:

Hardwood floors are cracking or developing gaps.
The joints in wooden furniture are splitting or loosening.
The window trim is separating from the walls.
Gaps in door frames
Paint on the walls is cracking.
Artwork flaking or cracking
Pages in books become more brittle.

Although these problems may seem superficial, having to replace or repair any of the items on the list above can become expensive or result in the loss of irreplaceable cherished goods.

Problems of High Humidity

Now that we have a grasp on what too little moisture in the indoor air can cause, the other extreme can cause a completely different set of problems. Humidity levels above 50% provide an opportunity for new things to grow and thrive inside your home.

Health Risks from Excess Moisture

High levels of moisture in the air are perfect for growing allergens and pathogens:

Mold and mildew can develop in walls, ceilings, and hard-to-reach spaces.
Dust mites reproduce at high humidity levels.
Increased bacterial growth
Asthma attacks from mold spores
Discomfort from saturated air

Property Damage from Too Much Humidity

Your home will feel the effects of too much moisture, causing expensive damage:

Damage to electronics from water exposure
Paint is loose on the walls.
Mold is growing on the pages of books.
Expansion in wood is causing doors not to close.
Wood rot
Window frame rot
Dripping water from condensation on pipes
Musty smell

If the humidity in your home is too high, that’s typically due to overuse of humidifiers, having humidifiers that are too big for the space, bad ventilation, leaking pipes, or water leaking into the home, all of which need to be addressed immediately.

When to Call an HVAC Professional

Knowing when to call in professional help takes some awareness on the homeowner’s part. First, try either reducing or increasing the use of humidifiers to alleviate the problems you’re experiencing. If that doesn’t work, check areas around doors and windows to ensure proper sealing and insulation.

If problems continue despite your best efforts, there could be underlying issues. Hidden air leakage from your home or ductwork problems are real issues that need professional tools to find and fix.

HVAC experts can properly integrate humidifiers into your heating and air systems without jeopardizing system performance. Humidifiers that are too big or installed incorrectly can cause condensation, molding, and electrical failure.

For humidifiers to work correctly for your entire home, professionals need to assess your home to ensure the humid air is being distributed evenly. Assessments include complete home evaluations. Key factors during those evaluations include duct placement, HVAC system capacity, overall air sealing, and humidifier compatibility.

Additionally, having a licensed professional take a look around your home allows them to see into areas that you normally don’t access, and can find unknown leaks or problems.

Taking Control of Home Humidity in Winter

During the winter, it’s easy to be caught up in holiday celebrations, drinking hot cocoa, going sledding, or cuddling up in a warm blanket. Despite how great those things are, it’s important to remember to care for those in your home. Healthy indoor RH levels improve respiratory health and prevent physical damage to your possessions.

You can start monitoring your home’s humidity levels by purchasing a hygrometer and a personal humidifier. If the levels aren’t where you’d like to be or your entire home needs to have a more stable humidity level, our team at Millard Heating & Cooling can come evaluate your home and get your RH levels where they need to be. Take control of your home humidity in winter by scheduling a professional indoor air quality evaluation with us today.

Make the most of the season by following these simple guidelines

websitebuilder@thryv.com — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 18:59:04 GMT

The new season is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Whether it’s eating right or cleaning out the garage, here are some tips for making and keeping resolutions.

Make a list

Lists are great ways to stay on track. Write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too.

Check the list regularly

Don’t forget to check in and see how you’re doing. Just because you don’t achieve the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress.

Reward yourself

When you succeed in achieving a goal, be it a big one or a small one, make sure to pat yourself on the back.

Think positively

Positive thinking is a major factor in success. So instead of mulling over things that didn’t go quite right, remind yourself of things that did.