The Ultimate Guide for Air Duct Cleaning

When it comes to air duct cleaning, we usually take it lightly.

Do you know a single duct cleaning removes an average of six pounds of dust per home? Isn’t it the awakening call that you need?

The air inside our homes is full of tiny particles such as pollen, dust, and pet dander. The air conditioner or furnace installed in our homes attracts airborne particles with the air. Over time, these contaminants get inside the ducts, thus degrading airflow and re-circulating your living space.

The air in your home circulates through ducts, and if the ducts are not cleaned regularly, it may affect the air quality. And everyone wants the air to be as clean as possible.

What is Air Duct Cleaning?

Air Duct Cleaning refers to the removal of various impurities such as contaminants and dust within the ductwork. This includes cleaning the air ducts as well as installing diffusers in each room.

Powerful vacuums used by air duct cleaning professionals filter away all the dirt, dust and debris, preventing it from re-circulating throughout the home.

Why is Duct Cleaning Important?

With the increase in the normal accumulations of dust and dirt in all homes with air ducts, there are several other reasons due to which you need air duct cleaning:

1. Pets
2. Cigarette or Cigar Smoke
3. Occupants with Allergies or Asthma
4. Home Renovation or Remodeling Projects
5. Water Damage to the Home or HVAC System

Moreover, air ducts are a quintessential part of your HVAC system. They help the hot and cold air to enter different parts of your home.

If they are not maintained timely, these air ducts will accumulate dust, dirt, and other types of debris naturally which can affect the air quality as well as the way your HVAC system performs.

Allergy and asthma sufferers along with the young children and the elderly tend to be more sensitive to the poor indoor air quality. But duct cleaning can help you in addressing these concerns without facing any hassle.

Benefits of Air Duct Cleaning

Many people think that duct cleaning a waste of money, but in reality, it is not! It is a must to perform routine duct cleaning for your home. Let’s have a look at these significant benefits of the duct cleaning:

1. Improved Indoor Air Quality:

Your home’s air duct gets contaminated by your pets, dirt particles, and everything around you. They re-circulate back, resulting in bad air quality.

Can dirty air ducts make you sick? Well, yes! While it might not be unhealthy air, but there is still the potential for it to cause health issues. When you opt for air duct cleaning, it will help you remove these contaminants, leaving you with clean and fresh air.

2. Reduces Allergens and Irritants:

From pet dander, pollen, mold spores, bacteria, mildew, and related toxins, many of these harmful contaminants are present in our air ducts. Especially people who have asthma, allergies, and other respiratory problems are sensitive to these airborne particles.

With periodic cleaning of ducts, you can promote healthier living for you and your family. Otherwise, the dirty air in your home will keep re-circulating over and over.

3. More Energy Savings:

The main source of duct cleaning is HVAC. The recent survey by the U.S. Department of Energy states that around 25-40% of the energy used by HVAC to heat and cool your home is actually wasted. It is all because of the contaminants in your HVAC’s air ducts.

Due to not getting cleaned properly, these ducts get so dirty that they strive to do their job properly, thus, force themselves to work harder than required to heat and cool your home according to the desired temperature.

By performing regular duct cleaning, your HVAC system needs not to work so hard, and the best part is you will save lots of money on your utility bill.

4. Eliminates Unpleasant Smells and Odors:

Vent or duct cleaning helps in removing unpleasant odors, pet smells, tobacco use, household cleaning agents, paint fumes, mold, and even food preparation smells to stale smells from the air ducts.

Every time your air conditioner or furnace is operating, these odors will regularly flow through the house. Moreover, a collection of dust and dirt over the years can commence a musty and dry scent coming from the ductwork.

With the help of air duct cleaning professionals, detailed cleaning of the air ducts eliminates all odor trapping particles, thus, resulting in a fresher smelling home.

5. Keep Your HVAC Working Longer:

When you do regular air vent cleaning, you increase the life of your HVAC. Do you know that most of the HVAC systems fail due to a lack of proper cleaning and maintenance?

So, if you do not want to spend your hard-earned money on buying a whole new system, the simplest thing you can do is investing in the maintenance of the current HVAC you have. And, scheduling air duct cleaning services for it, is the major part of its maintenance.

DIY Method

After determining the need for cleaning your HVAC system, there are 2 ways in which it can be done.

1. DIY duct cleaning
2. Getting help from professionals

Let’s explore the first option of performing a DIY method. Many of the householders prefer to go with the DIY method to save on costs. However, there are many things to know before you choose to opt for this method.

It is vital to do your research even before you start. You need to understand that the DIY air duct cleaning is no easy job. Doing it properly without damaging your air ducts or HVAC system is extremely necessary.

Secondly, you need to understand that you do not have all the same air duct cleaning equipment that a professional air duct cleaning company has. This makes the job harder and much more time-consuming.

You also need to consider all the conditions that you may encounter while starting with the duct cleaning work. It might be mold, insect, and animal droppings, and even possibly dead rodents.

It is always advisable to call for professional help to take care of the mold removal immediately if you encounter mold. They can do it with absolute safety and effectively, thus, eliminating the chances of it coming back.

While the DIY process may seem like it can save you money, the truth can be different than that.

You might end up paying much higher air duct cleaning cost than what expected since the ducts can get damaged while doing the cleaning yourself and moreover in the end, the duct cleaning may not be that much effective.

How to Examine the Need for Hiring Air Duct Cleaning Professionals?

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), air duct cleaning is something that needs to be done on a regular basis. For a detailed examination of getting the duct cleaning services, notice the below-mentioned points in your home:

1. If you find a visible and abundant amount of mold growth inside the sheet metal or other hard surface ducts.
2. In case, there is any kind of mold on the HVAC system, it is necessary to schedule air duct cleaning services.
3. If your air ducts are filled with any kind of vermin, such as insects or rodents.
4. When your air ducts are obstructed due to extreme amounts of debris and dust, it is the right time to find and hire duct cleaning professionals.

Due to the placement of HVAC systems and air ducts, all the parts of the system may be challenging to see. Hence, it is beneficial to find reliable air duct cleaning companies to perform an inspection for mold growth.

Related – Is Cleaning Air Ducts Worth It?

Finding a Reliable Duct Cleaning Service

Since DIY duct cleaning may not be suitable for everyone, they may look for some professional duct cleaning services in their area or nearby. Contacting a reliable company is necessary. These air duct cleaning companies have highly trained professionals to perform thorough air duct cleaning services for their customers.

One of the ways to find a reliable duct cleaning service provider is to check your local listings and their customer reviews. Moreover, you can also check with the NADCA for their recommendations for duct cleaning.

Pro Tip: Be aware of the various claims that air duct cleaning services try to tell you. For example, they may say that they are EPA-approved. But, in reality, the EPA doesn’t endorse, certify, or approve air duct cleaning companies, so claims of being “EPA Approval” are completely false. 

All in all, you should always verify that the air duct cleaning service that you are hiring is in good standing with the Better Business Bureau so that you become sure that you are hiring a trustworthy company.

Opting for Professional Services

One of the most important benefits of working with professionals over DIY duct cleaning is that they have profound and effective equipment.

This equipment helps the duct cleaning job go much quicker. You can anticipate the company to do a thorough heating duct cleaning job by inspecting the ducts at the very start before even beginning to assure that there are no asbestos-containing materials.

Once they are done with that, they will move on to the substantive duct cleaning. It includes vacuuming the entire duct and carefully brushing the ducts to make it free of dirt and debris. Once the main part is done, the professional will then apply a sealant to close any possible air leaks within the ductwork.

How Much Does Air Duct Cleaning Cost?

While taking the help of a professional air duct cleaning service is the best option, many homeowners are concerned with the air duct cleaning cost. The duct cleaning costs can vary based on multiple different factors, it includes:

1. the number of ducts,
2. the size of the home, and
3. the duct configuration.

Most of the air cleaning companies tend to charge for each air vent in the home. You may also find companies that offer great deals on air duct cleaning in Cincinnati, but the thumb rule is that if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Companies offering unrealistic prices just to seek your attention may initially succeed in getting you in their grasp. But, in the end, they will charge you much more, potentially even thousands of dollars, and could possibly leave you with an even worse situation to deal with.

According to Angie’s List, a reliable, trustworthy and honest company offers air duct cleaning services for the average home anywhere between $300 to $500.

While this may seem like a high cost, but it is reasonable, particularly if it means you are getting expert duct cleaning services from a reputable company. There is no denying that air duct cleaning is a good investment.

When you hire a professional duct cleaning company, you keep your ducts clean, which in return allows your HVAC system to work more efficiently, thus, saving you money on your utility bills.

Also, by hiring a licensed air duct cleaning company, you can be assured that the job is done right for the very first time. They will use efficient and time-saving products to make sure that the ducts are cleaned, and you are saving money on your utility bill.

How Dry Effect Can Help?

If you are searching for the best air duct cleaning services in Cincinnati, Dry Effect is your perfect air duct cleaning and ventilation mold remediation partner. Our team utilities products that will seal in all contaminates. This easy step makes your ducts smell fresh and clean once again!

Have Breathing issues? Dust problems? Pet Odor? Dirty blower and coil? House fire or smoke restoration? Flood? Recent home remodeling or any other reason for contaminated air ducts? Don’t worry!  Our technicians will properly clean your air duct and ventilation system today.

To avail the nearest service to your home, call us at:

1. Cincinnati 513-763-2121
2. Northern KY 859-757-2055