How Duct Cleaning Can Improve Your Air Quality

Have you noticed more dust lying around your home than usual or has your energy bill increased slightly, and you’re unsure why? It probably means you need your ducts cleaned. The quality of air inside your home can be crucial to the way you live and breathe. But how does cleaning the ducts inside your HVAC system help your air quality?

Duct cleaning refers to an HVAC technician intensively detailing the inside of your air ducts with cleaning equipment. While each piece of equipment may vary, duct cleaning essentially vacuums out the dirt and debris that builds up and hides inside your vents, especially locations that you cannot see.

Clean ducts inside your vents provide benefits such as:

If you’ve been delaying getting your ducts cleaned, not to worry, we’ll dive into the different benefits of duct cleaning and how it improves your home’s air quality.

The recommended timeframe to clean your ducts is about every three to five years. Depending on your HVAC system and lifestyle, an annual duct cleaning could also be beneficial. But, in any case, dirt, pollen, pet dander, and debris can quickly build up inside your ducts. The buildup can cause an uneven balance of the air that blows out and the air that gets sucked into the ducts.

When your ducts receive a proper cleaning on top of regular filter replacements, which often can’t catch every particle, you have a higher chance of eliminating allergens that live and circulate in your air. Even someone walking in and out of your home can drag in allergens. When the ducts don't have a clean slate to work with per se, the home’s air quality will slowly decrease.

Since your ducts reside in cool or dark places, mildew and other contaminants have a chance of building up inside and spreading throughout your home. Hiring an expert technician is the best method for determining if contaminants live in your ducts and are causing increased allergy symptoms. They can further inspect your ducts for mold and recommend mold remediation services.

If too much dirt lives inside the ducts, it may get into your HVAC system. Without proper cleaning, clogged ducts will force it to use more energy to heat or cool your home, resulting in additional strain, unwanted repairs, and a potential system shutdown.

Another issue that can happen from a blockage is frozen evaporator coils, which limits your AC’s full capabilities. The coils host a cold chemical agent, and if there isn’t enough warm air entering the system because of clogged ductwork, it gets too cold and eventually freezes over. Dirty ducts might further lead to broken motors and a failed compressor, both vital parts of an AC.

When you have your ducts cleaned, the HVAC technician can monitor any developing problems, saving you money on repairs or replacing a failed system.

An efficient cooling or heating system means little to no interruptions in the air that flows through the home. When dust particles block the ducts, the system must work twice as hard to blow cooled or warmed air into your home. This can reduce the efficiency of your system significantly. You’ll even notice certain areas of your home being colder or warmer than others or that your home is dustier than normal despite cleaning habits staying the same.

Cleaning your ducts is vital to efficiency, as it removes blockages and restores the overall long-term indoor air quality. An efficient unit results in a longer living unit. Plus, clean ductwork can improve the efficiency of the HVAC system or decrease your home’s energy bill.