How Does Duct Cleaning Work?

Published On: October 27, 2022

Duct cleaning is a professional home or business cleaning service that clears your air ducts of contaminants. Throughout the day, the air in your home or business is recirculated multiple times through your HVAC system via the supply and return registers (or vents). Contaminants in the air and throughout the building are also processed through the registers, which build up over time. Duct cleaning helps to remove those contaminants and to improve air quality. Duct cleaning has other benefits as well.

How Duct Cleaning Works

While there’s more than one method of source cleaning, the one that’s recognized as being most effective is called source cleaning. Home or business cleaning services are performed in the same fashion.

1. Prep the home or business

·       The first step in duct cleaning is prepping your home or business for cleaning services. The duct cleaning team will enter the home and cover the vents or registers inside of the home or business.

·       They will use sheet metal or other covers to cover the equipment in the HVAC to prevent air flow to the return side to protect your system from whatever doesn’t get caught in the vacuum.

Returns are always the dirtiest; these are the vents that are located on the floors and lower walls in the kitchen and dining room, for example. These are areas where things like food can actually get swept into your ductwork. Registers or supplies, which hang in the ceiling, won’t have as much dust. Typically, supplies only collect drywall dust.

2. Hook up the air compressor and the vacuum

Next, your duct cleaning team will get up the air compressor. The air compressor provides the power needed to push the dust and debris toward the vacuum. The vacuum will be attached to a duct outlet using a large, sealed tube and will pull the contaminants out of the system into a HEPA filter.

Some companies use two filters: one to catch big particles that are push / pulled out of your ducts and one to catch microparticles. Microparticles are containments that aren’t visible to the naked eye until they begin to gather together.

3. Push the contaminants out of your ducts toward the vacuum

In house and business cleaning, with the other registered sealed off, the duct cleaning team will use the air compressor to start pushing debris through the ducts toward the vacuum. They usually start with the register that is farthest from the vacuum / HEPA filter and move toward the vacuum.

In duct cleaning, the team goes through each run or vent and will push everything through with the air

4. Clean lingering debris

When the team is finished, they clean the lingering debris that may have gathered in the ducts that could not be pulled into the vacuum. This is usually done with a smaller high-powered vacuum. This is done before the system is secured and turned back on.

The Benefits of Duct Cleaning

Making duct cleaning one of your home or business cleaning services is incredibly beneficial. Importantly, depending on whether it’s for your home or business, the service only needs to be performed every few years; however, a professional cleaning company can advise on if and when your ducts need to be cleaned. Certain, if you have mold presenting on your duct work or if you have rodents trapped in the ducts, you need to have the ducts cleaned. Those are situations that could pose a risk to your health.

In addition to mitigating unhealthy situations, duct cleaning has the following benefits:

·       Duct cleaning removes particles or contaminants such as dust, wood shavings, drywall dust, food bits, pet hair and dander, allergens, and microparticles from your system. When these items are not removed, you are breathing them in, and they negatively impact air quality.

·       Duct cleaning improves your home or business’s energy efficiency. This is probably one of the most desirable benefits as reducing your energy usage could also lower your energy costs.

·       Duct cleaning can increase the lifespan of your existing HVAC system. Lack of maintenance is a leading cause for costly HVAC systems to break down and to need repair.

·       Duct cleaning helps your home or business smell better; cleaner air smells fresher and less stale, which is especially important for business cleaning.

Duct cleaning is a relatively simple process that can easily be handled by a professional cleaning company. It is typically completed in a day, so professional duct cleaning does not impede life at home or business activities.

Professional duct cleaning has multiple benefits to your home or business. It is a quick process that professionals with years of experience like those at Advanced Cleaning Services can easily handle, giving you fresher air, better energy efficiency, and longer life to your HVAC system.

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