Getting Your Ductwork Cleaning Done

Ductwork cleaning is simply the cleaning of air ducts in your building. Ducts are the passages or conduits installed in your home for the air conditioning, ventilation or heating of the building. They remove unwanted air, and deliver the air that is needed. A system of ducts is what is called ductwork.

This system is very important and needs proper care.

Why You Should Clean Your Ductwork

Cleaning air ducts is very important because your ductwork is what brings all the air into the building and dirty air ducts, means impure air. This air is what is in your living environment and is what everyone in it breathes. As such, you must keep your ductwork clean to avoid this as much as possible. Air duct cleaning has many benefits such as;

1. Cleaner Living Environment is Created: Since your air ducts bring in the air that circulates in your home, when it is dirty, your home will be dirty as well. You will find yourself having to wipe down surfaces more often, finding stains on your clothes, and having dusty floors, all because your ducts are dirty and the air that comes in through them is filled with dirt. Air duct cleaning directly affects the cleanliness or dirtiness of your home. When you have cleaned out the dust in your air ducts and the air is clean, you will find less dust on surfaces, clothes, and floors, leaving you with a much cleaner home.
2. Gets Rid of Irritants and Allergens: It is not only dust that makes its way into your air ducts most times. Other harmful contaminants and micro-organisms like mold spores, mildew, bacteria and pollen often find their way in there as well. This way, those with allergies will continue to suffer reactions such as sneezing, watering eyes and deep coughs from the air circulating in the home, until ductwork cleaning is done. For those with already existing health issues such as asthma and lung disease, it could be very dangerous as they would continually have attacks and in the case of lung disease, develop infections which could harm their lungs permanently.
3. Rids You of Unpleasant Smells: If you have mold growing in your air ducts, along with dust, your home will never smell clean no matter how often you clean and try to freshen up the air. Mold has a foul smell that is damp and musty. This smell mixed with the smell of the dust becomes even more unpleasant. Since the air from the air duct is what brings in the air that circulates in the whole house, the musty smell from the mold and dust in the ducts will remain. This is why cleaning air ducts is important to keep your home smelling fresh, and get rid of the must smell of mold and all other foul smells in the home.
4. Better Air Flow Efficiency: When there is heavy buildup of dust and grime in your ducts, it can begin to restrict the flow of air through the ducts. Air would struggle to pass through and this will adversely affect the heating or cooling of the home. Not only would the air struggle to pass, when it blows against the wall of dust and grime, it narrowly passes through, taking dirt with it, so even the little air that makes it through is very dirty and completely impure. Making sure that your ducts are clean will keep this from happening. Your ducts will work at peak efficiency and be worth your installation fee.

How Ductwork Cleaning is Done

The process of air duct cleaning is quite simple and is explained in the following steps;

1. Make sure that the power to the heating and air conditioning system is turned off. You can not clean with it on. That would simply lead to a disaster.
2. Go to all the grilles in the walls and all of the air duct covers, and unscrew them. Then take a brush and scrub down the grates very thoroughly until they all but shine. Soap and water can be used here to help you get rid of all the dust and grime that might cling to it, and then you can wipe down to get the wetness off.
3. Get a heavy duty vacuum. Normal home vacuums are not strong enough to get into the crevices of the ducts and clean them. You need a powerful vacuum, with a really long hose. Vacuum the ducts as thoroughly as you can. Remember that there might be mold and mildew growing in there, so the vacuuming must be done properly.
4. The ceiling is not left out when cleaning air ducts. However, you will need a dust mask as the ceiling is above you and dust and grime will fall down when you are cleaning. Focus on the grilles on the ceiling the same way you did the ones on the walls. If you can climb up to take them down, then do so, but if your ceiling is too high, you can also use a broom to sweep the grilles clean.
5. The process is very simple, but it requires the proper material and diligent cleaning. If you cannot do it yourself, feel free to hire air duct cleaning professionals to help you with your ductwork cleaning problems. They are but a call away, and will do the job wonderfully, leaving you with squeaky clean ducts and a perfectly working system.

Conclusion

Ductwork cleaning is a very necessary process if you want a clean home. Since duct systems control all of the inflow and outflow of air in your home, it is a very important part and should be cared for. Otherwise you might be faced with a continuously dirty environment, irritants in the air, or unpleasant smells all over.

The process is uncomplicated and you can even do it yourself. If however you find it to be too much of a hassle, you could simply call a professional to take care of it for you.