Twice a year, I pulled up the air vent covers. I clean the air vent covers in hot soapy water, and then I vacuum the air duct. I try to get the air vents as clean as I can. Once every two or three years, I’ll call the HVAC company and have them come to the house to clean and sanitize the ductwork. They inspect the ductwork before cleaning, and look for any holes or cracks. They have a special adhesive they can blow into the ductwork that will attach to the holes and cracks and heal them over. This year, I was calling the HVAC company as soon as I cleaned the air vent covers and the air ducts. I was cleaning them in my teenaged daughter’s room, and I was getting angrier by the minute. She wasn’t supposed to be chewing gum because of her braces. I was not just finding chewing gum wrappers in the ductwork, but there was chewing gum hanging off the bottom of the air vent covers. When she got home from school, I confronted her. I wanted to know where the chewing gum came from. She wanted to know why I was in her room without telling me first. She knew I cleaned air vents, so I ignored the question. I told her that if I found out she was chewing gum again, I would make sure she wore the braces to her senior prom. If I found gum in the air vents again, she would be sporting it in her hair, just like a new hairdo.