Today, most North American homes have an HVAC system that needs to be working for the whole year. To ensure it never breaks down, you need to schedule regular maintenance of your system, and that should include your air ducts. Some people think that checking the ducts’ condition is unnecessary, while others believe it is important. Here we will solve that discussion by listing the air duct cleaning pros and cons.
Experts recommend cleaning your air ducts at least once every three years or when there are clear signs that it is time to take a look at your furnace. For instance, if you see mold growing in your ducts, if there is a presence of rodents or insects and an abnormal amount of dust accumulating on all the surfaces of your house.
An air duct inspection can bring you endless benefits, such as not having to clean your house frequently to avoid dirt buildups. But you need to learn how to differentiate the real benefits from the fake ones.
In this regard, some companies will tell you that cleaning your air ducts will improve your health, which is not scientifically proved. Cleaning your air ducts can indeed increase the air quality in your house but not your health condition. However, if you suffer from respiratory problems such as asthma or struggle with allergies, maintaining your air ducts is crucial.
Due to all the misinformation that you can find out there, we have created a list of all the pros and cons you should consider before hiring a professional to clean your ducts.
Air Duct Cleaning Pros and Cons
Although below, you will find a list of furnace duct cleaning pros and cons, where we will touch on some aspects of the air duct cleaning process. If you have any questions about how duct cleaning works or want to get a quote for the service, here, you will find all the information.
Furnace Cleaning Pros
Increase efficiency and lifespan of your HVAC
If you let your air ducts accumulate dust and debris, creating a great amount of buildup, your HVAC system will have to overwork. This happens because the air will not flow smoothly through your house, and consequently, the system will not be able to achieve the temperature you ask for. Your heating and cooling system will have to work more to push the air through the dirt and into your home.
Also, because your HVAC system is working more than it should, your energy and maintenance bills could increase. Once you clean your air ducts, your HVAC will last longer, and you will save money that otherwise you will have to expend on costly repairs.
Eliminating the risk of dangerous diseases
Even though above, we said that your air ducts’ condition could not impact your health, that is not always the case. When there is a presence of rodents or insects, these critters will hide in your HVAC system, infesting your home, which could be dangerous for you and your family’s health.
If these rodents start urinating over the dust accumulated on your air ducts, the air circulating around your house will carry those particles. In the unfortunate case that you breathe in those particles, you could catch Hantavirus or Leptospirosis.
These rodents can also urinate on the surfaces of your home, spreading bacteria to every inch of your house. With a regular air duct inspection, you can avoid all this danger. If you are dealing with this problem, call professionals right away and apart from cleaning your air ducts, they will eradicate the infestation.
A hygiene environment without allergens
Respiratory illnesses are a severe health condition that many people have to deal with. When there are several microorganisms in your air ducts like bacteria, allergens, harmful contaminants or mould spores. these particles will only worsen particular illnesses.
Cleaning your air ducts will stop those allergic reactions and help you or a family member get respiratory conditions such as asthma under control. Plus, if you have little kids, you won’t have to worry about them catching bacteria when playing and crawling on the floor. You will have a sanitized environment safe for your whole family.
Get rid of unpleasant odours
During the day, different smells can circulate in your house. It can be a special meal you cooked, cleaning products, paint fumes or even tobacco. The possibilities are endless. In an ideal world, these smells shouldn’t have to stay inside your house, sticking to your bedding or furniture.
It is possible that after spending a long time in your home, you become “nose blind” to these odors. But if you invite friends or family over, they will notice all the smells in your house. To avoid these embarrassing situations, get a regular inspection of your air ducts, which will ensure only pleasant scents get to every corner of your home.
Don’t spend money every year
Did you know that if you get your air ducts properly clean just once, you’ll only have to repeat this process in three years? This benefit is part of the ones that are actually true. When you decide that it is time to clean your air ducts, you want to make sure you hire the right person for the task. Because when a trained expert performs this task, you won’t have to get it done every year. You can wait up to five years to get another maintenance of your air ducts.
Furnace Cleaning Cons
A visual inspection is not possible
When it comes to your HVAC system, there are several tasks you can do alone such as basic maintenance and changing filters, but that is not possible with your air ducts. If you are having trouble with your air ducts, there is no way you will see it because most of the time, the issue is not visible.
You will expend some money to hire a contractor every time to come and check out what’s wrong. Technicians will have all the access tools such as cameras and mirrors to inspect the problems as well as the devices needed to fix the problem.
Some systems might need replacement
There are some cases in which air ducts are insulated due to different reasons. If mould grows inside these insulated ducts, no maintenance could eliminate this problem.
If this happens, the only option you have is asking the contractor to replace all of it. This means you will have to spend more money than expected, but it is better to have clean air ducts than mold spores floating in your house.
It was just a change of filter
When there is not excessive mold growing out of your air ducts, but there is still a significant amount of dust around your house, you might just need to change filters more often. All systems have a filter that catches dust and prevents it from accumulating in your ducts.
If there is a lot of dust around your house, just check your filters. Sometimes you can clean the filters, but you’ll have to change them if they don’t work anymore. If that solves the problem, you won’t need to clean your air ducts.
Furnace Duct Cleaning Pros and Cons
There is no damage to getting regular inspections of your air ducts if you notice that the air quality inside your house is reducing. But whenever you have doubts, go back to our list, consider the air duct cleaning pros and cons. Then take the decision you believe is the best for your house and your family.
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