How Often Should You Clean Your Air Ducts at Home?
How often clean air ducts work in your home influence the air quality, you breathe. HVAC systems play a crucial role in filtering the air you live in at home. However, the system gets less attention from the homeowners because of the invisible dirt. For example, you will only see the dust and other pollutants once you open the air ducts.
Due to the invisibility of the dirt in the ducts, most homeowners do not clean them. However, the duct cleaners recommend that homeowners clean their air ducts after three to five years. But other factors like if a family member suffers allergies can force you to clean frequently.
Some homeowners will only clean their ducts once they see signs of needing a wash. DIY duct cleaning can be challenging, but you can hire an expert like Clover Services to do the work. This article explores the signs it is time to clean the ducts and the benefits of cleaning. Let us get started.
Contents
How Often Should You Clean Air Ducts?
Sometimes, waiting for three years after your last air duct cleaning is unnecessary. For example, if you notice signs of dirt and debris, or inefficiency in the machine, you should hire an air duct cleaner immediately. Some of the other characteristics your system needs a wash are;
Mold
When blowing air into the rooms, mold could grow in the duct due to moisture in the tubes. Mold is dangerous, and it causes respiratory problems and allergies. Also, homeowners who opt for DIY duct cleaning could not deal with the mold efficiently.
When you employ professional air duct cleaners, they remove all the mold and treat the affected parts. Most cleaners use chemicals to kill and prevent future old growth. However, homeowners should ensure the chemicals don’t contain allergic elements.
Dirty Vent Covers
Sometimes the dirt accumulates in the vent covers and is visible outside. If you notice any matted dust or debris, it is a good sign to call a cleaner. They know how to clean the covers and return them.
Noise in the Duct
Noisy ductwork indicates that you have rodents and other animals in the system. These animals leave their droppings, and some die and rot in the ductwork, causing an odor. The odor makes the rooms uncomfortable to live in.
Raising Energy Bills
When the air ducts are dirty, they prevent air circulation into the system. Therefore, the machine’s parts do not work efficiently, consuming more energy than usual. Cleaning the air ducts ensures the proper functioning of all the parts, which lowers energy usage.
Increased Respiratory Problems
Although not all respiratory problems are due to dirty air ducts, some are due to dust and mold. People with asthma will get more attacks, and others will sneeze and get allergies. Cleaning the air ducts slows down the infections.
Benefits of Air Duct Cleaning
Once you notice any signs that your air ducts are dirty, hire a cleaning company. Hiring duct cleaning companies after every three to five years can be expensive. However, cleaning the ducts has the following benefits.
Reduced Allergies
Your family members suffer allergic reactions, asthma, and other respiratory infections because of mold and dust in the ducts. Once professional cleaners wash the air ducts, there will be no allergies. Since the ducts are clean, you will notice fewer asthma attacks among the family members. Also, cleaners treat the parts attacked by mold to ensure no future reoccurrence and build-up.
Improved Air Quality
The air your family breaths is crucial, so you should ensure it is as clean as possible. Once you clean the air ducts, there will be fewer smells of dust and dirt in the air. Also, the cleaners will remove the pollen, mold, and mildew particles. If you had rodents in the system that caused odors, you would breathe fresh air.
Reduced Repairs
Besides causing odors and respiratory problems, dirty air ducts can lead to more frequent system repairs. It happens when some parts of the machine don’t function as they should, breaking down.
Some breakdowns are easy to fix, although you will spend cash and time repairing them. Other failures cannot be fixed, forcing the homeowner to buy a new machine. There will be fewer breakdowns to worry about when you wash the ducts, reducing maintenance costs.
Save on Energy
Inefficient ductwork makes some parts work harder than they should. When it happens, a lot of energy is used to operate the machine. Cleaning your air duct system ensures that all the system parts are correctly working and using the right amount of energy.
Cleaning Commercial Air duct
How often should ducts be cleaned? While homeowners can wait for three to five years to clean the air ducts, commercial ducts need yearly maintenance. The commercial premises include office buildings, educational premises, and malls.
Owners of these commercial buildings can also clean their ducts if they see the signs of a dirty air duct. Also, if you are moving into a new house, consider cleaning the ducts before you move in. How often clean air ducts work will affect their effectiveness.
Cleaning the new home’s air ducts is essential because you don’t know the previous owner’s lifestyle. If they were smokers or had pets, the ductwork would be dirty and cause allergic reactions. Also, if you have allergies or family members with asthma, you need to clean your system more frequently. Another reason you require immediate duct cleaning is if you have pets—their fur blocks the air ducts.
Beware Of Scammers When Hiring an Air Duct Cleaning Company
There are many people who claim to be air duct cleaners, but you should always go with the best. Most scammers offer pitiful rates in order to attract customers, but they don’t perform a decent job. The standard charges for cleaning professionals are between $200 and $1000, depending on where you live and how big your ductwork is. Look for other certificates like licenses and insurance to ensure these air duct cleaners are legitimate.
Clean Air Ducts at Home: Final Words
Deciding to clean your dryer vents can be a challenging task. However, the machine will not function correctly without cleaning the ducts, increasing energy usage, and higher maintenance costs. To avoid these, hire air duct cleaners every 3-5 years. That’s because how often clean air ducts operate in your house influences the air quality.
