When Should You Have Your Air Ducts Cleaned?
It’s easy to overlook a task like having your air ducts cleaned. Out of sight, out of mind, right? But good air quality is important to your health. Without proper maintenance, air ducts can become contaminated with harmful dust, debris pollen or mold, leading to allergies or illness.
What Does an Air Duct Cleaning Service Do?
A professional air duct cleaning service will clean your home’s entire forced air system for heating and cooling. That includes the heat exchangers, coils, drip pans, air ducts, registers, the fan motor and fan housing - essentially, everywhere harmful contaminants build up.
Methods of cleaning vary from one service to another, although most use some kind of tools to scrape dirt and debris from the ducts, then vacuum out the debris with a high-pressure hose.
How Much Does Air Duct Cleaning Cost?
Most professional services charge anywhere from $400 to $1,000 for a complete cleaning. The price varies based on the size of the system, how easy it is to access, and the amount of dirt and debris. Prices also vary from one region of the country to another.
How Often Should I Have My Air Ducts Cleaned?
This is really a personal choice. Don’t let a cleaning service bully you into hiring them by saying you MUST have your air ducts cleaned on a regular basis. Conditions vary from home to home, so there’s no standard cleaning schedule that is right for all homeowners.
Many people opt to have their air ducts cleaned when they notice dust or debris inside the registers or ducts. Others decide to have the ducts cleaned because someone in the home suffers from allergies. And some opt for air duct cleaning every so often simply to prevent contaminates from building up.
Hiring an Air Duct Cleaning Service
When you hire an air duct cleaning service, it’s important to make sure the service cleans ALL components of your heating and cooling system. Failing to clean just one system component - the fan motor, for example - can render the entire job useless. That one component can recontaminate the entire system.
Do some background research on any company you’re thinking of hiring. Sloppy work is not only detrimental to your health; it can damage your home’s heating and cooling system. Ask for references, conduct an interview and check the company’s track record with consumer organizations like the Better Business Bureau.
Always ask for a detailed quote explaining the services that will be provided and the total cost before hiring an air duct cleaning service. And get it in writing.
Author: Ashley Smith