Be wary of a contractor who suggests more frequent cleanings. When you move to a new home, unless you know that the previous owner repaired the air ducts in the past three years. You may consider cleaning the air ducts simply because it seems logical that the air ducts become dirty over time and be cleaned from time to time. As long as cleaning is done correctly, there is no evidence to suggest that such cleaning is harmful.
EPA does not recommend that air ducts be cleaned routinely, but only when necessary. However, the EPA recommends that if you have a furnace, stove, or fireplace that burns fuel, it be inspected for proper operation and serviced before each heating season to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning. While duct cleaning operations may insist that duct cleaning is essential to your health, the evidence does not support their claims. Companies that perform duct cleaning often advertise health benefits or suggest that duct cleaning will lower your energy bills by improving the efficiency of your system.
Some ads even use language such as “Studies have shown. but there is no data to support these claims. Even if your ducts are dirty, cleaning them probably won't provide any measurable benefit. In fact, the little independent research done on duct cleaning indicates that the process removes so much dust that it creates a bigger problem than it solves.
The average duct system should be cleaned every two to five years. If your system is properly maintained and filters are changed twice a year, you can increase the time between professional cleanings. If your system has never been cleaned and has been active on your property for more than three years, it is likely due to a clean. Even a single season can accumulate enough dust and debris in your system to make it less efficient than it was when it was first installed.
After Completing a Home Remodeling Project. When service providers arrive at your home, ask them to show you the contamination that would justify cleaning the ducts. However, it turns out that how often you need to clean the air ducts can vary depending on who lives in your home and what problems may arise. Whether or not you decide to clean the air ducts in your home, preventing water and dirt from entering the system is the most effective way to prevent contamination (see How to Avoid Duct Contamination).
This is because much of the dirt that can accumulate inside the air ducts adheres to the surfaces of the ducts and does not necessarily enter the living space. Equally important for the pre-cleaning inspection of ducts is to determine if asbestos is present, which is a problem with older installations. Although it intuitively makes sense to clean the ducts, after all, you dust and clean the rest of the house, the fact is that the dust that settles on your ventilation system usually stays where it is, it is unlikely to be dispersed into the air unless you are disturbed. Ultimately, it will be up to your home and your particular needs to determine if and how often you clean the air ducts.
Cleaning the ducts of your HVAC system can be a DIY project, with proper instructions from a trusted online source or a DIY manual. Researchers at the Environmental Protection Agency measured dust levels and efficiency of the HVAC system in test homes over a one-week period during the cooling season and found that cleaning the ducts did not significantly improve dust levels or the. You may think that regular cleaning of air ducts is a good way to ensure cost-effective heating and cooling and avoid unnecessary repairs. Since the conditions in each home are different, it is impossible to generalize whether cleaning the air ducts in your home would be beneficial or not.
Most HVAC companies will set a specific frequency or schedule for cleaning ducts, but regular HVAC cleaning is not necessary to maintain the health and air quality of the home. You can also contact professional duct cleaning service providers and ask them about the services they provide. Small amounts of waste do not affect the air quality inside the house and HVAC ducts do not need frequent cleaning. Considering how air ducts appear in many different areas of your home, it makes perfect sense to clean them from time to time.
These products are specifically designed for use in ducts or as ducts, and are tested according to standards established by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). . .
