A couple moved into a rental house and had a little baby and the baby was always sick. They could not figure out why. Until they discovered this was inside of their air ducts, moldy fiberglass. Fiberglass emits the VOC compound styrene (Vinyl Benzene).
We have all seen it, in the movies the perfect escape plan is to crawl through the big, shiny clean air ducts. But the ductwork often really looks like this. Dirty old deteriorating fiberglass on the inside where air blows past it. A microscopic glass shower for all.
The inside of an air duct that was removed from an office building. It is lined on the inside with fiberglass, which is not only old, but dirty and deteriorating.
View inside of a fiberglass lined air duct that was removed from an office. The white on the duct is snow as it was placed outside after being removed.
These types of air ducts cannot be cleaned. When buildings are renovated often times while the walls get a fresh coat of paint and the floors are redone, the air ducts are left in place. Schools, movie theaters, restaurants, offices, stores, US post offices, hospitals, doctor's offices, apartment buildings, malls etc... if you see a shiny metal air duct on the outside there is a good chance the inside is lined with fiberglass.
Fiberglass lined air ducts are in use all over the place and still continue to be installed today.
A fiberglass lined air duct that was removed from an office building. The air in the building was making the employees sick. This is where the term "sick building" comes from.
A stack of air ducts that were removed from an office building.
A view from the inside of air ducts lined on the inside with old dirty fiberglass where the air blows past it.
Does your local hospital have fiberglass inside their ductwork?
Do the clothing stores you like to shop at have fiberglass lined ductwork?
