If you have an HVAC system in your home and you care about having a good indoor air quality, you need to know something: it is not as easy as calling a cleaning company once in a while. Maintenance needs to be done, and it needs to be done by you. You need to take care of your system and to pay close attention to it. Yes, of course, the big, deep cleaning should -and must- be done only by truly trained professionals, and this service can be done once per year. If you decide to have your air ducts cleaned more often, that is okay, but you should know that there is no need to do so. The important part is that you should maintain the work that the company did on your HVAC system. Now, how do you do such thing? Is it difficult? We are going to explain everything to you.
DIY Cleaning of the air ducts in your house
You, as we all, probably do not know much about air ducts and even less about air duct cleaning. That is for sure. Many householders struggle when it comes to taking care of this expensive and difficult to understand appliance. Some people do not want to mess with it because breaking it accidentally means spending a great deal of money in repairing it. Yet, you are able to do it yourself by following some easy tips. You will need some duct cleaning tools that you are likely to already have:
- Furnace filter at the end of the job you will probably need a new furnace filter. Make sure to choose the correct option for your system.
- Gloves also, a dust mask or some googles would be appropriate for this job.
- Vacuum to suck up the dust and dirt from your air vents. A standard household vacuum can be not enough depending on the system and the vacuum itself.
- Brush any regular that you might have at home will do.
- Power drill to remove screws from the vents
Now, let’s dive in the task! First of all, you are going to remove the screws from your air duct covers and return-air grill plates. Then, cover up your supply vents with paper towels, to keep the dust and dirt form blowing in and out while you are cleaning other areas. Once you have done that, set your thermostat to the “fan on” position, it will help move the dust that you loosen while cleaning. At this point is when you will start cleaning, you need to loosen the dust in the air ducts. You can use the brush at the beginning, to break up any deposits of dampened dust that may have stuck to the insides of the duct. You need to also clean the supply registers and reach down into the ducts as far as you can. Vacuuming is necessary for catching any dust that is being pushed out while cleaning. Finally, if you notice that you have HVAC filter is clogged with dust, replace it for the one you already purchased.
Reasons to maintain clean your air ducts
Especially during summer and spring, cleaning is always a good idea and it applies to every aspect of your home, including obviously the HVAC system. An HVAC system in a household is in charge of the air you breathe and that air travels through that system, so it needs to be as clean as possible. Dust, dander, debris, hair, bugs or even vermin accumulate in the vents of the system, and you are breathing all that constantly if you do not take care of it regularly. By now, you should already know that cleaning your air ducts is crucial when it comes to improving your indoor home’s air quality. Suffering from any medical condition, such as asthma or any type of allergies only makes cleaning more important for your family’s health. Per year, an average family generates nearly forty pounds worth of dust, and this does not even take into consideration pet hair, mold or any sort of dust that blows in through your open windows. If you do not clean your air ducts constantly, that basically implies that most of this dirt stays inside of your house. You surely do not want that to happen, right? That is why you need to take action and start taking care -if you are not already doing it- of your HVAC system.
