Cleaning Your Air Ducts: What Are the Benefits?

From supporting a cleaner living environment and improved health to reducing allergies and breathing easier – there are hundreds of benefits of cleaning air ducts. Clean air ducts are crucial for avoiding health problems such as allergic reactions, respiratory and sinus infections, headaches, and more!

In this manner, experts suggest that we clean our air ducts every 2 to 3 years to ensure a healthy and thriving living environment.

There are different types of air ducts and cleaning techniques, and only a few know how to distinguish between all of them. Sometimes we may even need the assistance of professional cleaning services.

In this article, we’ll elaborate on the benefits of air duct cleaning and why you should clean them regularly.

Let’s jump in!

Why Clean Your Air Ducts?

So, why should you clean your air ducts? Ductworks are an essential part of the heating and ventilation system. Without properly installed and cleaned air ducts, the air entering the air vents won’t reach the heating or cooling component of the central air unit.

Additionally, old, rusty, and uncleaned HVAC may obstruct the outflow of heated, cooled, or poor-quality air out of your home. So, a disproportionally heated home and breathing poor-quality air are two other reasons for cleaning your air ducts.

However, the main reason for cleaning your air ducts is the health implication and prevention of various diseases, infections, and symptoms. Experts suggest that we clean our air ducts every 2 to 3 years, and the best way to do this is by hiring professional home cleaning services.

Nonetheless, you can also clean the HVAC by yourself. You can use your good old vacuum cleaner, buy new air filters, replace vent covers, and clean the supply grills. DIY or not – your air ducts must be clean to keep your home air temperature at a desired level and your close ones safe from pollutants, diseases, and allergens.

Cleaning your HVAC can be beneficial cost and safety-wise, also! For example, you can prolong the unit’s lifespan, improve air-flow efficiency, and decrease the need for annual repairs.

What Are the Benefits of Cleaning Air Ducts?

The benefits of cleaning air ducts are innumerable. For instance, a dirty air duct can worsen pre-existing pulmonary conditions, such as asthma or potential allergies. It can also cause you or your family to experience low-grade fevers, runny nose, coughing, sore throats, etc. Each condition can be related to or contribute toward the development of respiratory infections.

However, there’re also other types of benefits of cleaning air ducts. Some of the more important ones are increasing the air filters’ life span, boosting units’ efficiency, keeping your home safe, and discovering other technical problems.

Safety and Durability

The root causes for cleaning your HVAC are their efficiency, durability, and safety. A frequent and thorough cleaning process will help you get rid of all the dirt and lint accumulated in the system. This is very important because these deposits can ignite and cause a fire.

The risk of uncleaned ductwork causing a fire is even greater if you use older HVAC units or propane for your stoves or furnaces. Uncleaned ducts can cause fires in two ways: if in touch with extremely hot surfaces or through a burst of an electric spark. That’s why clean ductwork is crucial for keeping yourself and your family safe at home.

Another perk of cleaning your ductwork is increasing its durability. Regular cleaning can prolong the unit’s lifespan and save you a lot of time and money. The cleaning can benefit you by extending the life of the air filters and discovering other technical problems.

Air filters are sensitive to dust and dirt accumulation. Too much dust can cause the air filters to clog and stop functioning. This will force you to change them more frequently and spend a lot of time and money. In addition, regular cleaning can benefit you by enabling the technicians to discover other anomalies and damages on the ductwork.

Clean and Healthy Living Environment

Living in a clean and healthy environment should be the top priority of each one of us. Regular cleaning can support a healthy environment by increasing the overall air quality, reducing allergens, and eliminating irritants and mold.
Clean ductwork can improve air quality by improving the airflow within your home and maintaining the desired temperature levels. Moreover, the improved airflow will efficiently prevent allergens and irritants from circulating in your home. This benefit becomes even more far-reaching when you want to stop the circulation of animal fur, pollen, or mold.

Furthermore, living in a clean and healthy home will reduce the chances of developing respiratory and sinus infections. For instance, if your ductwork isn’t clean, some mild respiratory infections like coughing, sneezing, or nasal congestion can develop into infections like pneumonia or bronchitis.

On the other hand, air ducts can sometimes be a breeding ground for different types of bacteria. They can kick in your immune system and make you tired and unwell. Clean ductwork is crucial for preventing those bacteria from entering your house and your body.

Eliminating Bad Odors

From tobacco smoke and foods to paint fumes and cleaning agents – all the different odors will eventually find their way into your air ducts. They can get trapped in the uncleaned ductwork and continue to circulate through your home.

Mold and different types of bacteria can also grow in the ducts and emit awful smells in your house. In the worst cases, rodents and other animals may visit your dirty air ducts and leave their droppings there, only increasing the unpleasant and dangerous odors.

Regular cleaning of your ducts means only one thing – no free space for rodents, insects, and other animals and removal of all contaminants. Once you clean your ducts, the pleasant and typical smell will return to your kitchen, living room, and bedroom.

Improving Energy Efficiency

This is a rarely underlined benefit of cleaning your ducts. Did you know that regular cleaning can improve the energy consumption in your home. For illustration, if you have an air conditioner that alternately heats up or cools down your home, it cycles air through your ductwork.

However, if your ductwork is clogged, the air conditioner will use extra energy to heat or cool your home. The same goes for your furnace and other structures and objects connected to your ductwork. If your ductwork isn’t clean, your furnace will consume more energy to transfer the heat through the ducts to your living space.

Logically, if your HVAC system is clogged with dust and debris, it won’t be able to circulate the air efficiently, and it will use more energy. So, higher energy consumption equals higher monthly bills! That’s the reason experts suggest that you clean your HVAC system during the spring months to avoid paying higher bills during the summer or the winter.

Benefits of Cleaning Air Ducts: Final Words

The benefits of cleaning your HVAC system are innumerable. Most importantly, you’ll guarantee your family a clean, healthy, and thriving living environment free of irritants, pollutants, allergens, mold, and insects.

The frequency of low-grade fevers, runny noses, coughs, and sore throats will reduce, while the pleasant smell will return to your living space. Also, by cleaning your ductwork, you’ll increase your energy efficiency and slash the electricity bills for the winter and summer months.

Nonetheless, cleaning your air ducts can be very demanding. Before starting the cleaning process, you’ll have to consult with experienced cleaners and learn the characteristics of your HVAC system.

Understandably, this process can be time and energy-consuming. If you don’t have the much-needed time and expertise, don’t hesitate to contact professional and certified ductwork cleaning services, such as Certified Clean Care! We’ll provide you with flexible working schedules, natural cleaning products, and unmatched performance.

FAQ

Does cleaning air ducts really make a difference?

Yes, cleaning your air ducts can make a huge difference in your everyday life. The main benefits of cleaning your HVAC system are health improvements, energy efficiency, and elimination of unpleasant odors, mold, and airborne contaminants.

What are the advantages of air duct cleaning?

So, what are the benefits of air duct cleaning? The advantages are numerous: improved energy efficiency, maintaining a cleaner living environment free of allergens, irritants, and insects, prolonging the ducts’ lifespan, and boosting the overall HVAC efficiency.

How often should air ducts be cleaned out?

The average air duct cleaning interval ranges between 2 and 3 years. However, people who have breathing problems or have allergic children should clean their air ducts more frequently – approximately every year or every year and a half.

What happens if you don’t clean your air ducts?

There are many downsides to not cleaning your ductwork system. In particular, clogged ductwork can result in the emission of unpleasant and hazardous smells, the nesting of insects and rodents, increased energy consumption and bills, etc. What’s even more alarming is that clogged air ducts can cause diseases and infections in you or your loved ones.