Have you ever had your air ducts professionally cleaned? If you haven’t, you may be wondering what’s involved in the process.
If you have a forced air furnace in your home (as opposed to electric baseboard heaters), you have ducts. They distribute warm air from your furnace, and cold air from your a/c unit (if you have one) to all corners of your home. Usually your ducts don’t require a lot of care and attention, but sometimes it’s a good idea to have them professionally cleaned.
For example, if you just moved into a brand new house, you’ve completed a big renovation, you’ve had a flood (even a small one) or you have reason to believe that vermin have taken up residence in your ductwork, you should think about having your ducts cleaned. If you have a cold spot in your house, it could indicate that a duct is being blocked by construction debris, or maybe a dead raccoon. If you have a mold problem, your nose knows – sniff around your register openings to see if they smell moldy.
You can get an idea of how clean or dirty your ducts are by reaching down through a register opening and talking a photo with your cell phone. If you see pet food, animal droppings, an ant farm, anything that looks like mold, or chunks of 2×4, you should probably get your ducts cleaned.
When a duct cleaning service provider arrives at your house, it will probably be in a big truck or van equipped with a massive vacuum unit. They’ll open up your furnace and a/c unit and clean the interior surfaces, cooling coil, and blower unit.
Next, they’ll thoroughly clean all of the floor, wall, and ceiling registers. Now the fun part starts. They’ll use duct brushes and that huge vacuum unit mounted on their truck to remove any dust, dead mice, construction debris, mold, and pet food from your ducts. When necessary, they’ll cut access holes into the ductwork so they can reach every corner of your system. When they’re done, they’ll close up the access holes and your ducts should be clean enough to eat off.
If they notice anything unusual like mold or dead animals, they’ll be able to make recommendations on preventing a re-occurrence of the problem. After all, you don’t want to clean your ducts only to have the same problem rear its ugly head again six months down the road.
If you’re concerned that dirty ducts might be affecting the air quality in your home, give us a call at Kettle Valley Duct Cleaners.
