Air duct cleaning can be an effective step in improving the air quality in your house. Since air ducts are used in the heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems in your house, their contribution to the air quality in your house is indeed much.
Air duct cleaning involves the cleaning of all the components of your forced air systems. When you hire a contractor for air duct cleaning, these are the components they will clean in your HVAC system:
- supply and return air ducts and registers
- grilles and diffusers
- heating and cooling coils
- heat exchangers
- drain pans
- fan motor and fan housing
- the air handling unit housing
- plenums
Air ducts are responsible for delivering the clean and fresh air into your house. If air ducts are contaminated, the air being delivered into the house will be full of contaminants and may cause health problems to you and your family members. Here are some of the contaminants that are cleaned during air duct cleaning:
· Dirt and debris
· Dust and dust mites
· Pollen
· Molds and mildews
· Bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms
· Pet hair and dander
· Rodents and insects
These contaminants, when circulated in the indoor air, can lead to many health problems for the residents of the house. Some of these are:
- Sneezing
- Irritation in the eyes, nose, throat and ears
- Itching and rashes on the skin
- Difficulties in breathing
- Frequent colds and coughs
- Allergies
You should consider hiring an air duct cleaning contractor for the following reasons:
- If you or any other family member is a smoker, air duct cleaning is essential.
- If you have infants or young children, pregnant women and the elderly living in the house.
- If you or any other family member is suffering from asthma or any other respiratory disorders, regular air duct cleaning can help in reducing the symptoms.
- If you or any other family members have noticeable allergic reactions to the above mentioned contaminants, it could mean that these are present in your air ducts. You should hire an air duct cleaning professional.
- If you realize that you or any other family member is frequently falling ill, then it may be time for air duct cleaning. In case of frequent allergies, breathing difficulties, colds and coughs, unexplained fatigue and fever, poor indoor air quality could be the culprit. Getting your air ducts cleaned can prove to be one of the solutions in this case.
- If you have pets in the house. Dogs and cats are the most common pets in most households. Howsoever cute they are they constantly shed hair and dander. These can accumulate in your air ducts and get circulated in the air throughout the house. Since these are one of the major allergens, present in the house, they can lead to frequent health problems for you and your family. If you have pets, you should consider regular air duct cleaning.
- If your house or your HVAC systems have been damaged with water, you should hire an air duct cleaning contractor. When your house gets flooded with water, it can cause excess water accumulation in your air ducts and excessive moisture in your house and HVAC unit. Excess water, moisture and dampness may lead to the growth of biological contaminants such as molds, mildews, bacteria and viruses.
- If you just bought a new house, it is advisable that you hire a contractor for air duct cleaning and get your air ducts looked at. If they are unclean, have excess water accumulation, have molds and mildews, the contractor will advise you to get your air ducts cleaned.
- Home remodeling or renovation is another scenario when you should consider air duct cleaning. Whether it is a new paint job. Or you are rebuilding a part of your house. Or you are adding another floor to your house. Any construction will lead to construction material, dirt and debris floating in and around your house. Once the construction work has been completed, hire an air duct cleaning contractor to clean all the dirt and debris which has accumulated in your air ducts.
Now that you have decided to get the service of an air duct cleaning contractor, here are certain things which you should keep in mind while hiring:
- You can find an air duct cleaning contractor located near your house or in your town by looking in the yellow pages.
- Do not hire the first contractor you contact. Interview at least three to five contractors before making your final decision.
- Ask the air duct cleaning contractor to show you signs of contamination in your air ducts.
- Ask for references. Follow up on the references to make sure that the references are true and the job was well done for these people.
- Make sure that the contractor is an experienced duct cleaner. The air duct cleaning contractor should have worked on a forced air system like yours in the past.
- Inquire about the procedures they will use in air duct cleaning. The procedures should not cause any damage to your systems. They should be safe for you, your family and your pets.
- If you are residing in a state where carrying a license is mandatory for air duct cleaners, make sure that you personally check out their licenses.
- Find out about the total charges involved from the different air duct cleaning contractors. Compare the charges and make a decision. It is not necessary that the contractor with the lower charge will be the capable one. So don’t base your decision solely on pricing.
- Find out about the total process, the equipment, the methods and the safety precautions that the air duct cleaning contractor will employ while cleaning the air ducts.
Once you have hired an air duct cleaning contractor, here are certain things which should be kept in mind while the cleaning is done:
- Keep a watchful eye while the contractor is doing his/her job.
- The contractor should open all the access points to the unit.
- Ask the contractor if there are any materials containing asbestos in your HVAC. If there are make sure that the hired contractor is equipped and trained to deal with such material.
- Before beginning with the cleaning, the contractor should provide adequate covering and protection for your carpets, rugs, furniture and upholstery.
- The contractor should ideally use vacuum equipment which throws the unclean particles from the air ducts outside your home.
- The contractor should use a soft brush for cleaning the fiberglass duct board and any other component which is made of fiberglass.
- The contractor will probably use a vacuum to clean and a soft brush to remove dust, dirt and debris from the air ducts. Make sure that the contractor is careful while using the brush and the vacuum equipment. Hard and quick brushing may cause damage to your air ducts. Make sure that the contractor uses soft brushing.
- The contractor should clean each and every component of your heating and cooling system. All the components should be properly accessed and carefully cleaned.
- Once the cleaning has been done make sure that the contractor closes all access points properly. If the contractors made any access holes in the system make sure that they are properly sealed and re-insulated.
Once the cleaning is done, check whether the air duct cleaning has been effectively and properly done. Use this checklist to do a round on the key points:
- Ask the contractor to show you that the duct work and the plenums are indeed clean.
- Check whether the surface of the heat exchanger looks clean or not.
- Check the return and supply air plenums. They should be free of dust, dirt, moisture and contaminants.
- Check the interiors of the metal ducts. The surfaces should be absolutely clean.
- Check the cooling coil. Make sure that both sides are clean. Makes sure that the coil fins are straight. There should be equal space between them.
- Check if the drain pan of the coil is absolutely clean. Check whether water is draining properly from the drain pans.
- Check the blower blades. There should be no grease or dirt on them. The compartment in which the blower is housed should be clean and free of dust.
- Examine the registers, grilles, and diffusers. They should be completely free of dust and debris.
- Make sure that the duct work is sealed and properly protected. It should be airtight.
- Carefully check the fiber glass material. There should be no wear and tear or damage to them. They should be properly glued to the material under them.
- Make sure that the filters are properly installed and in good working condition.
- Operate the system and check whether both the cooling and heating systems are working efficiently. Make sure that there is no leakage through the access doors.
Air duct cleaning can help in improving the quality of air in your house. If performed properly it can improve the efficiency of your system and also reduce your electricity bills. So make sure that you hire the right contractor for the job.
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