Dirty Air Ducts Cost You Money on Cape Cod & The Islands

2/15/2016 (Permalink)

Photo of a air duct before and after cleaning. Notice how much dirt and debris is covering the surface of the duct before just one cleaning.

Like your dryer and furnace your air duct system can cost you more money if it is running inefficiently and that simply translates into you spending more money to heat or cool your home or business. Do you often find yourself wondering, how often should I get my air ducts cleaned? Or is it necessary to clean air ducts? Then you have come to the right place for answers. When it comes to the chores of spring and fall cleaning, we all know that we have to wash the windows, move the furniture, and clean the window treatments. Cleaning the HVAC system doesn’t even make the list because it’s not something we see or notice on a regular basis. A dirty heating and cooling system not only spews tiny particles of dirt, dust, and debris which can cause health issues it can cause clogging of vents which may shorten the life span of your furnace and electronical devices. Hiring a Cleaning & Restoration Company can in turn save you money and give you cleaner air to breathe.

What Makes Air Ducts Dirty?

Beyond the day to day pollutants such as dust and debris there is the question of do you have pets? Chances are their fur is not only collecting under the furniture and in corners, it can be collecting in air ducts as well. Speaking of animals, if there is any evidence that wildlife such as squirrels, chipmunks or mice are nesting in your heating and cooling system, immediately call a pest control company to eliminate the animals. Then a Cleanup Company can come in to remove the deceased animals, their excrement and any affected insulation followed by sanitizing the system. We recently responded to a job for a customer whose tenant was complaining of a strong odor throughout the home. Once we inspected the system we discovered not only to our surprise but to our customer too that over 60 mice had been living within the system and wall cavities of the home for some time. We were hired to cleanup up the deceased mice and their excrement. They were so relieved to finally have a solution to their hidden odor problem while saving their relationship with a good tenant.

If you have a furnace malfunction you can be affected by, in industry terms, a Puff Back. During a puff back event, oil based soot usually covers all areas of the property including drapes, bedding, furniture, clothing, cabinets, ceilings, walls and floors and is extremely difficult to remove. Most times, you will know that you’ve had a furnace puff back! But there are times when it is harder to detect since the soot coverage can range from a light dusting to a concentrated dark appearance especially on horizontal surfaces like countertops. While you may be tempted to clean the affected area, the "dust" will “re-appear” hours later. You can read more about Puff Backs and how to deal with them in a blog posting from earlier this year.

If you are planning to have work done that would include cutting wood such as carpentry it helps to seal off the ductwork during the renovations, but if they weren’t, dust could have collected in the ducts. If you recently remodeled or renovated a room in your home or business and this task wasn’t done the ductwork may need to be cleaned. Please feel free to contact us for a quote.