It is important to take all of the steps possible to maintain your air ducts effectively. The appropriate maintenance can provide an array of benefits, both to the level of comfort and the quality of the air in your building. Air ducts that aren’t maintained appropriately will inevitably require more repairs and will create much higher energy costs.

Signs that your Air Ducts Require Maintenance

It is useful to know the signs that your air duct requires maintenance to ensure that you can provide the appropriate maintenance. A few general signs that an air duct requires maintenance include rattling noises, an unexpected increase in energy-related expenses, and excessive dust present in the home. A home with uneven temperatures or an HVAC system that has difficulty heating or cooling the building may also indicate that air ducts require maintenance.

Benefits of Effective Air Duct Maintenance

When you provide the appropriate air duct maintenance, your home will ultimately be much more comfortable. A well-maintained air duct system will provide healthier air throughout the home, as it won’t redistribute harmful particles throughout your air. Effective air duct maintenance will work properly for longer and will work much more efficiently. Appropriate air duct maintenance can improve the comfort of your home, while minimizing your related expenses.

How to Maintain your Air Ducts

There are many steps that are required to ensure that you are able to maintain your air duct system. Here are a few of the best steps to appropriately and effectively maintain your air ducts and keep them in superior working condition.

Obtain Professional Cleanings

A professional cleaning should be obtained on a regular basis to help protect your air duct system. These cleanings will help to remove all traces of dust and other pollutants from the interior of your air ducts. It will also ensure that a professional will be able to find potential issues with the system in the early stages, which will go a long way toward minimizing possible escalation of issues and expensive repair costs. A professional cleaning is a great way to enhance the air quality of your home and keep your air duct system operating as effectively as possible.

Basic Cleaning

In addition to professional cleanings, you need to clean your air duct system regularly. Ensure that you clean grilles in the ceiling to prevent dust from circulating throughout the building. It is also important to clean all the interior pieces within the system. Cleaning dust and debris from these components will help to keep them operating efficiently and as effectively as possible. Ensure that you clear the coils, condensate pan and drain, and blower motor of dust and other issues. Without the appropriate cleanings, these pieces may develop and cultivate mold. This will circulate these harmful particles throughout the building, which can be incredibly detrimental to the health of those who regularly breathe the air within the home.

Inspect and Change Air Filters Regularly

Air filters need to be changed regularly to ensure that they continue to operate efficiently and effectively. These filters help to prevent pollutants and harmful particles from circulating through the air of your building. Unfortunately, this debris can build up over time and block the air filter. This will slow the flow of your air and decrease the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems. It may also result in more polluted, low-quality air circulating through your building. In general, air filters should be changed about every 30 to 90 days. However, there are several factors that may adjust this amount. For example, a home with pets that shed may require more frequent air filter changes. A home that houses people with allergies or asthma may also benefit from much more frequent air filter changes than the average.

Find and Seal Leaks

Air leaks in your air duct system can cause the system to operate more inefficiently. This will increase your energy expenses, put more wear and tear on the heating and cooling systems, and cause uneven temperatures throughout your building. If you are noticing these signs, it is possible that you have air leaks in your air duct system. You can detect air ducts by feeling for breezes around the air duct system. You may also wish to use a piece of toilet paper or incense to help you detect the air leaks. Paper or smoke blowing away unexpectedly likely indicates an air leak.

There are multiple options for sealing an air leak after you have located it. Take care to thoroughly clean the area prior to sealing. This will help to keep the sealing on the area for longer, as well as enhance its effectiveness. Then place your sealing solution over the air leak to fix the issue.

Use Caution During Home Renovations

Home renovations inevitably cause significant amounts of dust and debris to be present in the air of the building. It is vital to use caution whenever you use your HVAC machine during home renovations. This can cause issues with the dust circulating throughout your air duct system, which ultimately results in clogs, strain, and other problems. It will also damage the air quality of the building. Refrain from using your HVAC system as much as possible when you are currently undergoing home renovations.

Never Block Vents

It is important to refrain from putting furniture or curtains in front of or over vents. Unnecessary blockage will put more strain on the heating and cooling systems. This will raise energy costs, as well as make repairs necessary more often. It will also make it difficult for the air duct system to redistribute air.

Implementing the appropriate maintenance for your air duct system will go a long way toward improving air quality and ensuring that your heating and cooling systems operate more efficiently. This will improve the comfort of your home, as well as prolong the lifetime of your relevant heating and cooling systems. It is incredibly important to have your air ducts cleaned regularly by a professional. To obtain your air duct cleaning, contact us at Fresh Ducts today!

Over time, air ducts accumulate dust from your home. This dust can build up into large accumulations that are then recirculated into your home via your air vents. Regularly cleaning your air ducts removes this dust. Dust-free air ducts produce better indoor air quality and can help your AC system run more efficiently.

Follow these easy steps for air duct cleaning in Weber County, UT.

Cover Air Supply Registers

All of those vents on the floor around your home that allow air to heat or cool your house are called air supply registers. Before you begin cleaning dust from your air ducts, you’ll want to cover these with washable cloths or disposable paper towels. This prevents the dust from inside your ductwork from flying out into your rooms while you work to clean it, and instead catches dust for easier cleaning.

Start the Fan

Running your heating and cooling fan helps bring the dust that you loosen during cleaning to the air supply registers. This makes it easy to get most of the dust out of your ducts. Turn the fan on with the heat/cool mode turned off so just the fan is running. During this process, check that your existing air filter is in place and doesn’t have any holes that might let dust into the unit’s fan.

Loosen Dust Inside Ducts

Gently tap along your ductwork with the handle of a clean toilet brush or similar cleaning brush to help knock dirt loose in the centers of your ductwork. Try to tap along any ductwork you have access to in order to get the most dirt out of your duct system.

Clean Registers

Have a vacuum running and ready to scoop up dust that has piled up underneath your air supply registers. With a vacuum in place, remove the towels and registers and vacuum up the dust as it is blown by the fan out of the duct. Push the vacuum hose as far into the duct as you can and move around to vacuum up as much dust as possible. Use your brush to remove any damp dust that has stuck to the inside of the duct and wipe down the air supply registers.

Using a screwdriver or other tool, remove the air return registers so you can vacuum and sweep them off. Air return registers are usually mounted to the wall and are likely to have more dust than the supply registers.

Clean Internal Compartments

Shut off the unit fan and turn off the power to your HVAC unit. Now you can take the front panels off of the unit to access the blower compartment and return air boot. These places are likely to have the most dust buildup. Use your vacuum to completely remove built-up dust and dirt. When you’ve cleaned all the dust from your ducts, replace your existing air filter with a brand new one to make your unit more efficient.

Professional Air Duct Cleaning in Weber County, UT

Cleaning your air ducts helps keep the dust down, but a professional air duct cleaning service can help remove dust and debris much better than any DIY method. Contact the duct cleaning specialists at Fresh Ducts today to learn more about what we can do for you!

It’s important to maintain excellent air quality in your home so you can ensure your family stays in good health all year long. A buildup of dust, hair, dirt, pollen and other allergens and contaminants in your HVAC system can lead to poor air quality in your home, which in turn can lead to you or other people in your household dealing with allergies, asthma or other types of respiratory conditions and symptoms.

One of the best ways to prevent these allergens and contaminants from becoming a problem is to invest in regular air duct cleaning in Weber County, UT. There are additional benefits to cleaning your air ducts beyond just improving the quality of the air in your home, too—you also stand to save some money on heating and air conditioning, as cleaner ducts contain fewer blockages, meaning your HVAC system doesn’t have to work nearly as hard to produce the results you’re looking for.

While the air ducts in your home should only be cleaned by professionals, you can at least manage cleaning your air vents in each room of your home yourself. Gather up a screwdriver, broom, cleaning brush and vacuum, and you can tackle this job yourself. Here’s how:

• Remove covers: Unscrew the air duct covers or grilles from the walls in the room you’re working on, and then clean the grates thoroughly with the brush. In some cases, these vents can become particularly dusty or even grimy, so it may take a little bit of soap and water to remove some of the more stubborn debris. A good cleaning can really liven up the vent.
• Vacuum the duct opening: You’re not going to be able to get deep into the ducts with equipment you have lying around the house, which is why professional assistance is needed for more thorough duct cleaning jobs. However, you can still use some equipment like portable vacuums or shop vacs to clean out the immediate opening of the vent and duct. Reach in as far as you can to remove any debris that’s built up inside, and if it looks like you’ve got a whole lot more that you can’t reach or if you notice any signs of mold, again, it’s time to call a professional.
• Clean ceiling grilles: You may have grilles in your ceiling that also need to be cleaned, especially if you’re in a room like a kitchen or bathroom that’s more likely to have air vents and fans. If you can’t get up that high with your vacuum, you may need to use a broom. Just try to stand clear of the dust and debris that is likely to fall out. It’s a good idea to wear a dust mask when looking up above you to clean vents filled with dust and debris.

For more information about how you can clean the ducts in your home and when you should contact a professional for duct cleaning in Weber County, UT, reach out to the experts at Fresh Ducts today.