We occasionally will get a phone call asking about duct cleaning. We don’t offer duct cleaning services because, for the majority of homes, it just isn’t necessary.
If you have lived in your home for a long time and are good about keeping your filter clean, chances are good that you won’t ever need your ducts cleaned.
Even if aren’t 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. As seen here:
If you have ductwork under the house and the vents are in the floor, you can simply lift off the metal (or wood) supply grill and vacuum out the metal box where some debris may fall down into the duct. This debris is usually from things falling down into the opening from inside the house, not coming down the line of the air duct.
Some homeowners 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 actually coming from the attic.
When most homes are built, the metal box that connects the duct to the wall is just nailed against the wood framing. If you remove the metal grill, there is a small air gap between the metal box and the sheetrock. As the air flows 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, not dirt inside the ductwork.
The easiest way to fix this is using simple supplies you can find at the hardware store. A strong adhesive foil backed duct tape can be used to seal that gap around each box. No more streaking and no more dirty unconditioned attic air coming into your home. The same can be done for floor vents.
When you might need Duct Cleaning
If you pull off any register and see any dirt visible in the duct itself you may want to consider having your ducts cleaned. Another time you may need duct cleaning would be if you’ve done any major home 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 to take a look at your options.