We get asked all the time if we clean ducts, and the short answer is no. The reason being, in most cases, it just isn’t necessary. Let’s look at some of causes and effects of truly needing a duct cleaning versus other issues.
If you have lived in your home for a long time and are good about keeping your filter clean- you don’t need your ducts cleaned.
Even if you’ve not been that great about keeping your filter clean- your furnace and coil become the filter long before the dirt and dust can make it to the ductwork.
If you have ductwork under the house and the vents are in the floor, simply lift off the grille and take the vacuum hose to clean the metal box where some debris may fall down into the duct (debris from inside the house, not down the line of the duct).
Sometimes you may see streaking along the wall or ceiling where the register is and think that is dirt coming from inside the ductwork when in fact, it is coming from the attic! When most homes are built, the metal box that connects the duct to the wall is just nailed against the frame. If you take the metal grille off there is a small air gap between the metal box and the sheetrock. As the air speeds down the duct and into the room it creates a suction that then pulls attic air through that slight gap along with it. The dirt from the attic air is what causes the streaking. The easiest way to fix this is by taking a trip to the local hardware store and purchasing a strong adhesive foil backed duct tape to seal that gap around each box. Put the grille back in place and you are good to go! No more streaking and no more gross attic air coming into your home. The same can be done for floor vents.
If you pull off any register and see any dirt visible in the duct itself you may consider having your ducts cleaned. Another time to consider this service would be if you’ve done any major remodeling while running the central HVAC system or have had any breaches in the duct system. If any of these are the case for you, please feel free to give us a call at 916-481-0658 or contact Perfection Home Systems and we’re happy to refer you to a local company we trust.
The most important thing to note is to not add additional filters at the room registers. You may see them advertised online or in catalogs, but you only want ONE filter inline in the HVAC system. Whether it is in a ceiling/ wall filter grille or at the furnace, placement doesn’t matter as long as it is on the intake side before the furnace. More is not better when it comes to filtration. Too much resistance on air flow can cut down on performance and potentially damage equipment.
If you are interested in more information on air cleaning options for your heating and air conditioning system, stay tuned…