Air duct cleaning is an essential part of a home maintenance program

 Air duct cleaning is an essential part of a home maintenance program. Air ducts can be a haven for dust, dander, dirt, dust mites, rodents, insects, and other unhealthy contaminants. These contaminants can be blown out of the system when your furnace fan turns on, degrading the air quality in your home. NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaners Association) suggests cleaning your ductwork every 3 – 5 years. 

How do air ducts get so dirty? Even brand new, freshly built homes can have debris in the ductwork. Builders and their subcontractors may not always look for a dustpan or a trash can, so they sweep the debris into the closest hole they can find. Out of sight, out of mind.  Once the system is turned on, the air returns, drawing in old stale air from each room, dragging debris and contaminants with it. For example, dirt that blows in when you open the doors or windows, construction debris from building the home or from renovations and repairs, dead skin cells that people and pets shed all day every day, the toys that your pets and kids lose, and so on. A lot of this debris builds up in the air returns, but some of it can make it down to the filter, and in some cases, it can even get around the filter and pushed up into the supply side of the ductwork. 

There are ways to help keep the air in your home clean, as well as your ductwork. Vacuum regularly with a HEPA filtered vacuum. Dust regularly using a damp cloth, so the moisture traps the dust rather than allowing it to become airborne. During construction projects, cover the vents with tape or plug them with a towel or shirt.  Invest in better filtration for your furnace or add an air cleaner/purifier. Your IAP sales representative can help you with these options.  

We utilize the Collom™ Air Duct Cleaning System

Although there are a few different ways to clean ductwork, we use a combination of compressed air and a high-powered, HEPA filtered vacuum system. The compressed air, powering through the ductwork at 185 cubic feet per minute, agitates the debris to break it loose and pushes the loose material towards the vacuum system. Our system scrapes the top, sides, and bottom of the ductwork, cleaning more of the interior perimeter than most competitors. It even scrapes the corners of the rectangular ductwork, where brushes cannot go. In most cases, most of the work is done from the basement, while another technician goes through the living spaces cleaning all the registers. Most of the other systems on the market have to go into the living spaces and from the basement, and even then, they only glide across the bottom. 

When you’re ready to have your air ducts cleaned the right way, give us a call.

Call 716-683-3000