Should You Have the Air Ducts in Your Home Cleaned?

Air duct cleaning is one of the most straightforward home maintenance tasks that a person can carry out in their house. This is because air ducts circulate air all around your rooms, and therefore, it would become necessary to think about how it might affect air quality, energy efficiency, and health, and you can determine whether to have cleaned AC ducts. A closer look at the benefits of air duct cleaning, when to do it, and potential risks, and why leave it in the hands of a professional follows.

Air Duct Cleaning Definition

Cleaning air ducts means making clean system bits that push air. It covers supply return tubes, vents, heat parts, coil things, fan motors, and some system parts. These can have junk like dust, pollen stuff, pet bits, and mold seeds. These yucky pieces stay stuck in the duct areas for a while. Duct cleaning tools suck dirty bits from the tubes and help make inside air feel better and fresher.

Benefits of Duct Cleaning

Irrespective of the opinion, there are some established written benefits for frequent duct cleaning, especially when you find certain spots of your system that require attention, like mold or severe dust. Some key benefits include:

Better Air Quality: Cleaner ductwork will remove suspended pollutants in the air, thus reducing allergy and breathing-related problems in inhabitants.

Increased HVAC Efficiency: Clean ducts make your HVAC work efficiently, so it indirectly saves your money on energy costs as the unobstructed free circulation of air is ensured.

Less Odors: The duct carries odors like your kitchen does which are usually caused by cooking, your pet, the cleaning products, and whatnot. It helps in reducing the smell that remains when cleaned.

Longer System Life: To protect your HVAC system from potential damage that may shorten its supposed lifespan, which you bet cannot fail, minimizing the deposit inside AC ducts is possible.

Cleaning Air Ducts When to Clean Air Ducts?

In general, the Environmental Protection Agency recommends that air ducts be cleaned only if certain conditions are present. The need for duct cleaning is critically required in the following:

Mold should be found in the AC duct system or on any other part of your HVAC immediately after you notice it, as spores that float in the air can cause health risks to patients with pulmonary problems and allergies.

Infestation by Pests: If you suspect infestation by rodents and insects in AC ducts, cleaning is done with the hopes of aborting the dispersal of more contaminants and allergens in your dwelling home.

High Levels of Dust and Debris: Dust is falling from your vents or accumulating in your furniture, and you would be inclined to get it duct cleaned.

Lack of Proper Airflow or Uncommon Smells: If some of your rooms have that stuffy smell or your air ducts and HVAC smell musty when working, most likely that there is a buildup inside the AC ducts system that needs cleaning.

Risks You May Face When You Do Not Clean Your Air Ducts

The risk of harboring dirty air ducts for an extended period is that it might lead to the following:

Health Risks: Dirty ducts can quickly become breeding places for allergens, mold spores, and even bacteria after months. This can soon turn out to be a home problem where the patient is an asthma case, an allergic case, or an inactive person with a history of respiratory problems. Higher Utility Cost:

Dirty ducts ensure that your HVAC system maintains a constant environment. Such usage will drastically increase energy consumption and higher utility bills.

Possible Damage to the System: Stuff gathering in the system makes filters and parts get blocked. This makes things wear out faster and cost more to fix.

When Should Air Ducts Get Cleaned?

The frequency of air duct cleaning varies according to place, lifestyle, and general air quality. Normally,

3 to 5 Years: A house, as a rule, needs cleaning once in three to five years. If your house is situated in a polluted region or is adjacent to construction sites, there are pets, or it is full of smokers who live behind the walls, then you most probably need AC ducts cleaned once every year.

At least once a year: If the members of your family or you are sensitive to dust pollen, or other allergens, you will have to clean your air ducts every two years.

Following Major Home Renovations:

You should clean your air ducts when you have finally completed major home renovations or construction as it is sure to have all construction dust and debris in the system.

How Long do You Anticipate Hiring a Professional Air Duct Cleaning

It may take between two and four hours to complete professional air duct cleaning services, depending on the size of the house as well as the intricacies of the system. Here’s what you could see.

Inspection: When the technician inspects the duct, he checks the system for buildup mold or any damage. Specific areas of concern that require special cleaning will be brought to light on primary inspection.

Specialized Equipment Used: The experts use powerful vacuums, brushes, and blowers to dislodge dirt and debris inside the duct. The tools are made with such designs that the pollutants cannot enter the house.

All the Components are Cleaned Thoroughly: The cleaning technician should clean the entire system of ducts, vents, coils, and fans.

Waste disposed of appropriately: After cleaning, experts should dump their waste appropriately so that your house’s air will not get tainted.

Are There Any Downsides to Duct Cleaning?

Well, there are a few negatives even though cleaning your AC duct system  benefits you in many ways:

Cost: The average professional duct cleaning ranges between $300 to $700, depending on the dimensions of your home and the system’s complexity.

Risk of Damaging the Ductwork: The improper cleaning of ductwork may also damage the ducts, especially if they are older or fragile. Involving the most professional company will indeed eliminate this problem.

Not Required in Some Houses: Cleaning ducts is seldom done in houses with maintained ducts and sealed or even house-inhabiting individuals who have no problem with allergies or any respiratory ailment.

DIY vs. Professional Duct Cleaning: Which is Better?

While accessible parts of the HVAC system can be cleaned DIY, professional duct cleaning does much better at getting into all areas. These experts are trained and equipped with specialized tools you are unlikely to have access to, thus offering a more effective removal of pollutants and allergens.

When You Know, You Need Professional Duct Cleaning

Even if you are not sure whether your house needs its duct to be cleaned? Here are some sure signs:

  • You find a lot of dust deposition on your furniture even after it has been cleaned regularly.
  • Members in your house have respiratory disorders, allergic reactions, or drowsiness.
  • Your electricity bill consumption is much higher but with no improvement in your usage.
  • You could feel that there is somehow some kind of persistent, steady smell in your house when your HVAC is running.

Contact Us

Do you feel that AC ducts need to be professionally cleaned? Then Duct Technical Works LLC is just the place for you. All these years, we have been committed to quality service, and we ensure air duct cleaning is appropriate to your needs, guaranteeing total cleaning and effective cleaning. From mold and dust removal to indoor air quality improvement, the experts with the latest Equipment will treat your air ducts to perfect condition. Call Duct Technical Works LLC today to schedule your consultation and breathe easy with healthier indoor air.