{"id":314,"date":"2019-12-25T21:01:13","date_gmt":"2019-12-25T21:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.njairquality.com\/?p=314"},"modified":"2021-02-10T11:33:11","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T16:33:11","slug":"how-often-should-you-clean-your-air-ducts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/how-often-should-you-clean-your-air-ducts\/","title":{"rendered":"How Often Should You Clean Your Air Ducts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last week, I had the\nopportunity of spending some time with my family at my brother\u2019s home in\nLivingston, NJ. The kids got to play with their cousins and the wives chatted\nabout the recipes that they planned on making for the upcoming holidays. As the\nmen were sitting around the den waiting for halftime to commence on the last\nGiants game of the season, I began taking note how my brother, Greg neatly\ndecorated his man cave. During my scan, I noticed that there was a significant\naccumulation of dust on the return air grille which draws in the air into the\nHVAC system. I asked my brother, \u201cDid you ever think of getting professional\nair duct cleaning done?\u201d Greg responded, \u201cWhat is air duct cleaning?\u201d I\nexplained to him the process of how they clean the ductwork and recommended\nthat he should get his ducts cleaned at least once every four years. My brother\nended up making an appointment with the HVAC cleaning company I used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What does air duct cleaning do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before going into the details of air duct cleaning<\/a>, we need to first get a quick overview of how a basic central air conditioning and cooling system works. The concept of air conditioning is that it draws in the hot\/cool air from a room(s) and passes it to the HVAC system situated in your home. Before entering the air handling unit, it will pass through a filter. Yes, these are the filters which can range from seven to fifty dollars, depending on the filter type, size, and how much you\u2019re willing to spend. At this point a good filter which is changed twice a year can capture 90 to 95 percent of the dust and dander. Now that the air is clean it will blow through a cooling\/heating element and then return into your home, cooling\/heating the room(s).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When there is an accumulation\nof dust on the return air grille which sucks the air into the ducts, it\u2019s time\nto think about getting them cleaned. It can be a localized problem, or it could\nmean that your air ducts need to be cleaned. The only way you can know is by\nremoving the plate and peeking into the duct work with a flashlight. Even with\na bright light and a good peering angle, your sight will still be somewhat\nlimited and there can be an accumulation of dust further into the air duct. The\nbasic idea of getting vents cleaned out, is to have all the parts of your HVAC\nsystem free of dust, dirt, dander, allergens, and any other unwanted air\nparticles. Once this is done by a professional duct cleaning service, the air\nquality and system efficiency will be greatly improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does dust in the air duct get into the home?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are a few reasons why\nthe dust stuck in your air ducts gets back into your home. True, it appears to\nthe common homeowner, that there is separate air intake (return air grille) and\nair output (air register vent), as the air is passing back and forth through\nthe same ductwork. When the air is cooled\/heated and heading back through the\nair register vent, it may pick up dust, dirt, dander, and allergens which are\nstuck in the supply and return plenum. Both residential and commercial ducts\ncan build up an accumulation of thick dust over the course of years and even\ndecades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air ducts of newly constructed homes should be\ncleaned.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the construction of\nyour new dream home has been completed. You\u2019ve called the moving truck and you\nbegin packing up your belongings which are crammed into your third temporary\nrental. The family walks into their newly constructed home and begins the\nunpacking process. Your oldest daughter is excited to have her own room and\nquickly brings up her box of clothing to the newly furnished room. As she is\nlaying her sweaters on the shelves of the expensive closet system you had the\ncontractor install, she notices a film of dust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With new construction comes\nlots of sawing and sanding which results in a large accumulation of dust. Some\ncontractors keep the windows open and run a Shop-Vac which sucks in the sawdust\nand keeps the particles from flying around the room. Not always does this work\nand very often airborne particles either land somewhere or get sucked into your\nHVAC system. After months of work, large amounts of dust can accumulate in the\nduct work. Prior to moving into your dream home, have an air duct cleaning\nspecialist have the ducts cleaned properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My township told me not to have my ducts\ncleaned.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some government agencies will\nnot recommend getting your ducts cleaned. Their primary concern is that the\ncircular brush which is inserted into the ducts will end up damaging your duct\nwork. It\u2019s for this reason that you ask the right questions, understand the\nduct cleaning process, and are working with a reputable company that\u2019s fully\ninsured. You may decide to stick your vacuum into one of the HVAC vents to\nclean the ducts. What you may not know is that the vacuum hose or bristle head\nmay damage the duct work. Redoing your HVAC ductwork can be a hefty expense in\ncontrast to hiring a professional air duct company. Standard HVAC contractors\nknow the process but may not have the sensitive air duct cleaning equipment to\nproperly clean the ducts, doing more harm than benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beware of air duct cleaning scams.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s normal to want to get the best Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal, but when it comes to HVAC vent cleaning, it\u2019s important to hire a reputable professional who is specific to this service. Homeowners may see an advertisement which say, \u201cAir Duct Cleaning Deal – $79.99 For- Whole Home\u201d. Always go in with your eyes and ears open and understand the process before anyone steps into your home. Certain people may have the backbone to stand up, but most will cave into their demands that certain parts of the HVAC system needs to be repaired or replaced. Often, these service providers will leave you with a bigger invoice, well exceeding the $79.99 price which you saw in the ad. In addition, how can one possible know how big your home is, and give you one price, whether you live in a one-bedroom apartment in Union, NJ, or in the governors, Drumthwacket mansion<\/a> in Princeton, NJ?. Whenever you see a great price on air duct cleaning, make sure you’re on alert for potential scams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaky air ducts pushing out dust into your home<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is possible to have clean duct work and still have dust, dander, and allergens flying around your home. This may be due to leaky air ducts allowing the particles to escape back into the home through tiny holes. Besides for the airborne elements flying around your home, you may find that the HVAC system is not running efficiently. Most air duct cleaning specialists<\/a> should provide duct leakage testing. This will determine if your ducts are allowing the air to flow efficiently. The service professional will then locate the deficiencies and repair them. This should impact the system performance and keep the particles flowing through the ducts and finally getting caught by the filter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Other factors that may contribute to your house\nbeing dusty.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When considering flooring for\nyour home, it’s important to know that carpet generally leads to higher dust\nand allergen levels. It’s not that there is anything inherently wrong with\ncarpet, it\u2019s just that it is a haven for particles like dust, dander, and\nallergens. The soft fibers in the carpet are close together which keep these\nparticles stuck within the fabric. A good vacuum can get rid of the elements\nand keep the dust levels low. But, over the course of time, it tends to build\nup and its important to have a professional carpet cleaner to clean the carpets\nand rugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently replaced the\ncarpet in my girls\u2019 room with wood laminate flooring. It helped the air quality\nin the room and there is little to no dust at all. True you need to wear\nslippers during a cold winter night, but the no-dust advantage outweighs\neverything. If you do have carpet like most homes, it\u2019s important to get a\nvacuum with a HEPA filter. This type of vacuum provides the highest level of\nfiltration and does not allow the particles to escape. Every so often the\nfilter should be removed, washed, and dried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Words<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re ready to hire an air duct cleaning company, it\u2019s important that they come by recommendation. The best way to know who you are working with, is by speaking to a local neighbor who was happy with the service they received. In addition, it\u2019s important to get a complete picture of what the duct cleaning company will be doing in your home and how long it will take. Also, if it\u2019s possible, someone should be home and have them explain the procedure. During the cleaning process, make sure there are no dust particles flying around the room. A good HVAC duct cleaning service<\/a> should have sealed all the vents properly and is there to improve the air quality and not make it worse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, I had the opportunity of spending some time with my family at my brother\u2019s home in Livingston, NJ. The kids got to play with their cousins and the wives chatted about the recipes that they planned on making for the upcoming holidays. As the men were sitting around the den waiting for halftime […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=314"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":677,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314\/revisions\/677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njairquality.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}