Air Vent & Duct Cleaning
Have you ever moved a couch or dresser drawers and
wondered how the heck all the dust bunnies accumulated under it?
Dust comes from outside the home: Doors open and shut and each time they do an air exchange takes place. The dirtier the outside air the more dirt comes in and circulates in your air. Dust comes through open windows, air leaks in the building envelope, animals whether pets or rodents, and leaks in the HVAC air handling system. Dust also enters the ducting during building renovation.
See our Duct Cleaning Comparison Chart
Dirty old ducting
Just as dust settles on surfaces inside your home it settles inside the air ducts as air moves through them. Dust mites and bacteria can develop, which may impact health, especially for those with allergies, respiratory illness, or young children in the home. The moving air in the ducts picks these up and pushes them into the living space. You inhale them and they settle in your lungs. Sore throats, sneezes, coughs, and any airborne illness may also settle in the air ducts.
Disconnected ducting
Cleaning Ducts Is Not The Only Issue
This is not to say cleaning them is not beneficial, it is. However, limiting dust infiltration at the same time so that they stay clean(er) just makes sense right? If we can stop, or at least limit dust from getting in after your ducts are clean then less dust will be circulated through the home and the air will be better for you.
A leaking duct sucking damp air from under the house or sucking air from the attic with bits of insulation or rodent feces... Enough said. Ducts need cleaning and they need to be kept clean afterward.
The Flue Season Way Costs You Less Money
Most of the time we will not quote you a price on duct cleaning over the phone. We want to see if your ducts are even dirty. They don't always need cleaning. Are they in good shape or do they need repairs? Most people don't want the ducts cleaned and contaminated air to still be drawn into the home. Why pay to get the ducts cleaned in the first place if that's the case?
Animal debris in duct
So, we're going to look and see what you have, what shape the system is in, and then, based on what we find, we're going give you a menu of choices with different options and prices. You will know up front what you are going to spend your money on and you won't get any surprises on your bill. By not paying for what you don't need or want guarantees you will save money by not spending it where it's unnecessary.
Tools
More and more duct cleaning companies across the U.S. are abandoning the big truck mounted units and going more portable. This shift is similar to the changing from truck mounted vacs to portable for chimney cleaning back in the '70s. We chose electric since we can move the machine where we need it, it can run inside the home, and it allows us access to multi-story homes and light commercial jobs.
Inside the ducts are used:
- Push/pull brushes, spinning brushes, or compressed air whips. Push/pull brushes are pushed in and out by hand. This "system" will dislodge dust where it touches it but it is removed from the system when your HVAC fan is turned on and blows it all over the home. These do have a place in big commercial settings where the ducts are so large that we need climb into the duct, hand brush it, and bring the vac into the duct to suck up the debris.
- Spinning Brushes, are like using an electric toothbrush over hand brushing. These systems have a motor which spins a brush at the head of a vacuum hose. It sucks out the dust as the brush dislodges it. It is best used on smaller ducts with shorter runs.
- Compressed Air Whips, are slithery snakes that slide and bounce all over the place while high powered streams of compressed air spray through holes and whips connected to the head. These work well in larger ducts particularly if there are dampers or air flow stabilizers that a brush could get caught in.
How Is It Done?
Inspecting the coils
There are two primary methods for cleaning ducts.
- Contact Cleaning: Rotary spinning brushes with a vacuum hose near the end. As with most tools there are better and worse tools to do the job. We have top of the line tools with powerful HEPA filtered vacuums. What most companies advertising duct cleaning have are cheap imitations of these tools.
- Negative Air Cleaning: This is where a big, powerful Vacuum is connected to the duct system and either spinning brushes or air whips are run through the ducting loosening the dust and allowing it to be sucked into the vac. The vacuum may be truck mounted, gas powered, or electric powered. Negative air can be used with spinning brushes or whips run by compressed air.
Both ways of cleaning work well depending on the duct system being addressed. Here is a breakdown of where each system best applies:
Heating and Cooling Maintenance
Your furnace and air conditioner needs service each year. The heat exchangers or AC coils should be cleaned as part of a thorough duct cleaning job - unless this has already been done earlier. Air conditioners and furnaces work more effectively if they are cleaned regularly. Your electricity bill will go down by reducing the burden on your AC's compressor.
Chemical Applications
Sometimes chemicals are used. Your duct cleaning technician will go over the various ones we use and which, if any, you might want to consider. If a negative air machine is not being used then there is no point in applying chemicals. The negative air vac sucks the chemicals all the way through the system. We can catch it in the vac so we know for sure that we pulled it through. Otherwise the spray applicator will only get them a few feet into the duct.
Some chemicals deal with odor from smoke, tobacco, mold etc. Some are anti-bacterial, some help to lock residual dust, if any, in place. Some are harsh enough to require
Plugged filter
Filters
Filters should be changed monthly. Few people do so. Even changing them regularly the paper filters trap small amounts of particulate, until they begin to plug up. We install high quality electrostatic air filters with a forever warranty - they never need replacing. They do need cleaning however and since they are very efficient at catching particulates they need to be cleaned monthly. Our "normal" duct cleaning supplies a set of these with the job. We recommend you purchase a second set so one can be installed while the other is being hosed off and dried.
Duct Sealing
The last part of a full duct cleaning job is checking the ducts for leakage. the average California home loses 40% out of the ducts. This brings contaminated air into the home not to mention the cost of 40% of the conditioned air going outside. Unless the ducting is relatively new (since the sealing codes came into effect) it makes financial sense to test the ducting.
Ready to
seal some ducts!
We use a tool called a "Duct-Blaster" which measures the air loss through the ducting. We are certified for duct sealing as well as a BPI certified building analyst.
Summary
Duct cleaning, like cleaning chimneys involves more than simply running brushes through. Once you understand the wider context, having educated yourself, you can make sure your money is wisely spent. This will save you money in the long run.
The health and economic advantages of professional duct service definitely outweigh the disadvantages.
