How Ducts Get Dirty
Ducts get dirty by trapping contaminants and objects inside your ducts that come from outside air and inside your home’s walls.
Leaks in your ductwork let air that blows into your attic, walls, or crawl space get sucked into your ducts and then blow throughout your entire home.
A telltale sign of leaky ducts is consistent layers of dust on furniture and flat surfaces during periods when your windows are most often shut.
When Duct Cleaning Makes Sense
Through normal occupation in a home, we generate a great deal of contaminants and air pollutants, such as dander, dust, and chemicals. These contaminants are pulled into the HVAC system and re-circulated 5 to 7 times a day, on average. Over time, this re-circulation causes a build-up of contaminants in the duct work.
Sometimes it’s necessary to have your ducts cleaned. In fact, we refer ducts for cleaning when we see signs of serious contamination. However, most times duct cleaning is not required prior to duct sealing because the sealant only adheres to the leaks.
How often should I have my ducts cleaned?
Neither the EPA nor the Center for Disease Control (CDC) offer any guidelines as to how often you should clean your air ducts. It is important to consider that neither of these two agencies recommend how often you should have your carpets, windows or furniture cleaned either. An honest and ethical duct cleaner will help you decide how often you should have your vents and coils cleaned based on; household size, pets, environment and individual health issues.