Air ducts play a key role in indoor air quality and maintaining a healthy home for your family. Dirty ducts cause your HVAC system to circulate more dust and allergens around the house and can also attract pests that negatively impact air quality. Another concern with overly dirty ducts is that they decrease an HVAC system’s ability to perform effectively, leading to higher energy bills and the house not always being fully comfortable. Professional duct cleaning allows you to overcome these problems so that you can enjoy better indoor air quality and improved home comfort.
How Often Should Air Ducts Be Professionally Cleaned?
How often you should have your ducts cleaned depends on a variety of factors. Some people say that you should schedule the service every three to five years. However, regular duct cleaning usually isn’t necessary for every home. In fact, the EPA doesn’t recommend routine duct cleaning and instead just says that it should only be done on an as-needed basis in specific situations or when certain issues are present.
Signs You Should Schedule Air Duct Cleaning
While regular duct cleaning isn’t always necessary, there are times when the service can be extremely beneficial in terms of improving indoor air quality or boosting HVAC efficiency and performance. If you’ve started to notice that your HVAC system is putting out less air and struggling more to maintain a consistent temperature, it can be a sign that your ducts are overly dirty and partially clogged with dust and debris.
Another good indication of dirty ducts is if the covers on your supply vents frequently get clogged and need to be cleaned. If your home has started to become excessively dusty or the air coming out of your vents always smells musty, it’s also a strong sign that your ducts are extremely dirty and should be professionally cleaned.
One situation where professional duct cleaning is always recommended is after completing any type of construction within the house, such as a remodel or putting on an addition. Construction is inherently messy and creates lots of dust and debris. Ideally, the construction company will take steps like sealing off the area and covering vents to keep the debris contained, but this doesn’t always happen. Even when the appropriate precautions are taken, some dust and debris still typically end up getting inside the ducts and then circulating throughout the entire house.
If you’ve recently dealt with a pest infestation, such as mice or cockroaches living in your house, it’s also highly recommended that you hire a professional duct cleaning service. Air ducts provide a perfect place for pests to hide out of sight and to build their nests. You can then encounter issues with pests dying inside a duct, resulting in foul odors and decreased indoor air quality. Duct cleaning ensures that any pests, nesting materials, urine and feces are removed. It also decreases the chances of the pest problem recurring.
The Importance of Ensuring Your Ducts Are Properly Sealed
Ensuring that your air ducts are fully sealed is important for numerous reasons. Duct sealing reduces the need for professional cleaning by lessening the amount of dust and allergens that get inside the ducts. It can also greatly improve the efficiency and performance of the HVAC system.
Duct leaks allow cooled or heated air to escape and essentially result in it being wasted. In severe cases, leaky ducts can cause your energy bills to be 20-30% higher. Leaky ducts in an unconditioned space like an attic, crawl space or garage are especially problematic. Another concern with leaky ducts is that they often result in some rooms not receiving sufficient airflow, leading to hot spots in the summer and cold spots in the winter.
Improve Your Air Quality Today
When you need professional duct cleaning in Amherst or the surrounding area, Heatwave Heating & Cooling is the company to call. Our family-owned business has been serving the community for over 15 years and is dedicated to providing top-notch comfort services tailored to our customers’ needs.
We also specialize in aeroseal duct sealing. This process allows us to identify leaks and seal the entire system from the inside out, eliminating the need to cut out drywall to access the ducts. The process is also far more effective at sealing and eliminating leaks compared to the traditional methods of using mastic or foil tape. To schedule an inspection with one of our NATE-certified technicians and determine if you should have your ducts cleaned or sealed, contact us today.
