You probably don’t have the ability to have your ducts cleaned if you live in an apartment but if you see those mailer “Val-Pak” coupons that offer a free inspection you can have them looked at and if they’re bad you can probably more or less force your landlord to have them cleaned upon threat of calling the health department. This may bring about retaliation which is pretty bad considering its not a lot to ask to live in a clean environment but be prepared for such a battle if you choose to go that route. Know your rights in your state and talk to a lawyer first. Landlords generally aren’t without money or resources which include lawyers. I’m sure that they know numerous tricks to get good tenants out for retaliatory reasons while telling the judge “oh no your honor… I evicted them because of X” which sounds legit to the judge. Then not only are you out the cost of your attorney you’re out your living space and probably your security deposit too so be careful.
In college my buddy told me the story of how they had the apartment in college and were planning on having it for the next few years as bachelors but due to city law, the landlord couldn’t raise the rent until a new tenant came in. One day my buddy gets a letter and it says that he and his roommates are being evicted due to “violation of state statute X” and need to be out by the end of the week. Luckily his dad knew some real estate lawyers who looked up the statute. It didn’t exist. The landlord just made up a statute to scare poor naïve college kids who can’t afford a lawyer to move out so he can get new tenants in at a higher rent. He just wanted them out and it had obviously worked before so he tried it again. My buddy could have sued but again, there probably would have been more retaliation so sometimes its best to let sleeping dogs lie. So, again, be careful.
If you live in a house you will probably have to have the ducts cleaned every so often. Honestly 10-12 years might be sufficient but you’ll have to ask the cleaning company. Then again, the cleaning company will no doubt tell you that the cleaning recurrence should happen more frequently but use your best cost judgment. If you own a house and aren’t saving even $20 a month for such expenses you’re aiming for world of hurt.
I mentioned in the Vet section that you should put aside $10 a week from each paycheck until it hits $1000 and put it into a vet fund for your bird (or any pet) in a case a vet bill comes up. Vets are expensive whereas birds are not. You will quickly find out how unfortunate of a situation that could be if not prepared for it. When that bird steals your hear you WILL pay that much money to keep them with you. Saving some money insures that you won’t have to let fate disappoint you. That way, if any other emergency comes up you can tap into that fund and hope that your bird doesn’t get sick soon after. However, even if you reach the goal, simply keep saving that money and put it into a different account specifically for your car, then your health care deductible, then whatever leftover use for your house and cap it off at the next project’s projected goal.
I know that rant tangented in several directions but I mention air ducts because its not something we really think about. Air ducts get dirty. My mother said that she had hers inspected and they guy could tell not only that she recently had some remodeling done, but because of the way the dust looked he could tell that it was a bathroom remodeling. So he’s either the Drywall Whisperer or the dust that remodeling creates is that conspicuous. Now imagine all that dust being pushed into the rooms with your birds, your kids and YOU. So if you can have your ducts cleaned on a regular basis its highly recommended.