If your family has asthma or allergies, you may want to have your home’s ductwork cleaned. Duct Cleaning Salt Lake City helps reduce harmful contaminants and allergens. Such as pet dander, mildew, bacteria, pollen, and mold spores from being circulated throughout the house.
Before duct cleaning begins, a technician inspects the ductwork system. Then, a truck-powered vacuum collects dust and debris from the ducts.
Your home ductwork system has collected dust, hair, pet dander, and other debris over time. This dust can affect your indoor air quality and may be contributing to respiratory problems such as hay fever and asthma. Dirty ducts also can reduce the efficiency of your HVAC system, increasing your energy bills.
While you can clean your air vents and air filters on a regular basis, professional duct cleaning is the only way to remove this dirt from the entire length of your ventilation system. Duct cleaners use a special vacuum that sucks up the particles and dust that have accumulated in your ductwork. They may also clean out the inside of your ventilation equipment using brushes and other agitation devices.
You should only hire a licensed, insured and certified duct cleaning contractor. A certified technician follows NADCA best practices for cleaning ductwork and exhausts the debris outside. This process will ensure that the dirt and other pollutants are not re-circulated into your home, where they can continue to affect your indoor air quality.
A properly-trained duct cleaning technician will also take steps to prevent any damage to your ducts, vents or other HVAC components during the cleaning process. A qualified contractor will cover your vents and air registers before beginning the cleaning process and will ensure that all access doors are closed and sealed. They will also use HEPA (high efficiency particulate arresting) vacuums that are specifically designed to capture small particles without releasing them into the air.
Another sign that you need to schedule a duct cleaning is an unexplained temperature difference between rooms in your home. This could indicate that there is a blockage in your air ducts, restricting the flow of heated or cooled air. This can make your home feel colder or warmer, and it can contribute to higher energy bills.
Duct cleaning should also be done if you have recently completed any construction or remodeling projects that produced a lot of dust. In addition, you should have your ducts cleaned if you have rodent droppings or shells in your vents.
A musty smell is one of the top signs that your ductwork needs cleaning. It can be caused by mildew and mold that has happily settled into any dust, pet hair, dander, and debris in the ductwork. These spores are then circulated throughout the house with the air conditioner, and they can cause respiratory problems for the people who live in the home. Duct cleaning eliminates these odors and can significantly improve the indoor air quality in homes.
Another common source of stale smells is from the use of tobacco in a household. The smoke from cigarettes and cigars can be drawn into the air duct system, where it can permeate the entire house. Cleaning the air ducts removes these odors and can drastically reduce the amount of cigarette odor in a home.
The last source of stale odors is from food preparation. Cooking certain foods such as fish and poultry can leave a strong odor that will get into the air ducts. The smell will linger in the air until the ducts are cleaned.
In most cases, a professional duct cleaner will be able to remove these unwelcome odors. The duct cleaning technician will usually start by removing the vent covers and vacuuming the inside of the vents. Next, the technician will turn on the duct cleaning machine, which creates negative pressure in the ductwork and sucks up any loose dirt and other particles.
Before your duct cleaning service, make sure to clear a path to the air handler and plenums that are typically located in the attic or basement. The technician will need to have access to these areas, so be sure to move any furniture out of the way and close any doors that may be in the way. If you have pets, be sure to keep them in a crate or out of the house during this time. The duct cleaning equipment will be loud and might disturb them. Finally, it is important to show the technician all rooms in the house so they do not miss any vents.
Many homeowners think of cleaning the house as a routine chore, but often forget to clean the vents. This can be dangerous because dust and dirt build up in ductwork, but so do microorganisms such as mold and bacteria. Mold, fungus, and mildew can all cause serious health problems when inhaled repeatedly. If your air ducts have visible signs of mold, it is important to call a professional for cleaning and sanitization.
Many air duct cleaning companies use chemical biocides in order to kill any remaining germs and prevent future growth. Others may propose applying a sealant to the inside of the ducts in order to encapsulate them and inhibit the release of dust particles into the home. Both of these practices have not been well studied and should be avoided if possible, as they can exacerbate allergies in some individuals.
If you are experiencing unidentified respiratory illnesses consistently or have noticed that your symptoms are worse in specific rooms, it could be a sign of mold in your air ducts. Mold spores can aggravate asthma and allergy symptoms, so getting them cleaned is a good idea.
Duct cleaning can also remove a variety of allergens from your ductwork, including dust, pet dander, smoke, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), and microbial volatile organic compounds. These are all known to trigger and aggravate allergies, so having them removed will improve your indoor air quality greatly.
In addition to reducing the amount of dust and contaminants in your ventilation system, duct cleaning can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems. This is because your system will have less work to do when it is running, which can result in a significant energy savings for you and your family.
It is essential to keep in mind that even if you have your air ducts professionally cleaned, it is crucial to correct the conditions that caused them to become dirty in the first place. Otherwise, it is likely that the problem will recur. For this reason, it is wise to invest in a comprehensive HVAC inspection in order to determine any underlying issues that should be addressed.
Ducts are a highway for insects and rodents looking to find shelter in your home. They carry disease, food waste, feces and body parts that cause allergies and asthma attacks in sensitive homeowners. In addition, they can chew wires and create nests that could lead to a fire hazard. Keeping ducts clean eliminates a pathway for pests into the interior of your house and prevents them from entering your HVAC system and contaminating your indoor air.
Insects that get inside ductwork can leave behind smudges and dark streaks you can see with a flashlight, such as cockroaches or mice droppings. You can also hear them scratching and scampering around your vents at night. These signs of pest infestation should prompt you to call for a professional duct cleaning immediately. In addition to treating any existing infestation, a duct cleaner can also repair and seal your ductwork so the pests cannot get back in.
Aside from the obvious health benefits of a clean ductwork, it can reduce dust levels in your home. Dust consists of dead skin cells, pet dander, pollen, mold and other toxins that can be circulated throughout your house and settle on surfaces like furniture and floors. A regular cleaning eliminates this buildup, which reduces dust levels in your home and makes it easier to keep them down with regular dusting.
If your ductwork is infested with insects or rodents, getting it cleaned is the best way to prevent them from spreading throughout the entire house. In addition, a duct cleaning professional can detect any leaks in the ductwork that could allow pollutants to enter your HVAC system and compromise its ability to heat and cool your home efficiently.
If you are planning to hire a duct cleaning company, it is important that you arrange the appointment during a time when you won’t be disturbed. The process requires access to your furnace equipment, which is typically located in the attic or basement. It’s also a good idea to move any fragile items out of the way before the technicians arrive. If you have pets, put them in a crate or arrange for daycare on the day of your duct cleaning. The loud noise and disturbances may frighten them, or they might get in the way of the work being done.