We’ve seen a lot of questions out there on air duct cleaning, wondering if the service is a scam or waste of money. We understand the skepticism because it requires enlisting professional help, which can be both timely and costly. We’re here to put the rumors to rest and give you our honest answer. Air duct cleaning is not necessary on a regular basis like HVAC maintenance; however, we offer this service because there are times where it is needed. At LEGACY, our customers are our number one priority, and we would never deceive you for financial gain.
Today, we’re going over when you should sign up for this service and why it’s important.
When Should You Get Your Air Ducts Cleaned?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends having the air ducts in your home cleaned if:
- There is substantial visible mold growth inside the ducts or on other components of your HVAC system. Mold can create dangerous conditions within a home. It can make you and your family sick. Getting your air ducts cleaned is a good first step, but then you need to find the cause of the mold. Once you’ve found the cause of the mold, you need to correct the problem to ensure that the mold doesn’t return to your air ducts again.
- The ducts are infested with vermin, rodents, or insects. Vermin and rodents may be using the air ducts to move around inside your home. You may become alerted to their presence if you hear them shuffling around in the ducts or see evidence of their droppings. Once you have your ducts cleaned, it’s a good idea to call an exterminator to ensure you don’t have an infestation in other parts of your home. You also need to take measures to block any food or water sources for these critters in your home. You don’t want them returning for a snack.
- There is an excessive amount of dust and debris in the ducts. If you’ve lived in your home for a few years, and you haven’t had your air ducts cleaned, there is probably a lot of dust and debris in them. You can look at your air filter and get an idea of how much dust and debris can build up inside your ducts. You don’t need these allergens inside your home. Removing this covering of dust and debris from the ducts can help improve your airflow and help your heating and air conditioning system run more efficiently. An efficient HVAC system can keep your utility bills lower than when their all clogged up with dust and other allergens.
If you believe you are experiencing any of these issues but are hesitant to call a professional, you can perform a quick investigation yourself. Start by inspecting your duct register or grille — is it discolored or covered in dust? Next, remove the cover and use a rag to wipe at the sides of the inside. Did it come out filthy? If you answered yes, go ahead and consult a trusted HVAC company. While there’s no substantial evidence of duct cleaning improving air quality, clogged ducts can impact the efficiency of your heating and cooling system, which can be unsafe and pricey.
How Are Air Ducts Cleaned?
You know that the air ducts in your home are mainly above the ceiling you see or under the floors, depending on the home. It seems like cleaning your air ducts is a very difficult thing to do. Do we need to cut into your ceiling or floor to clean your air ducts? No, we don’t. Here’s a look at the process of cleaning air ducts:
- Our technicians will use zone bags to clean the separate zones that we create within your duct systems’ supply and return side. This is to ensure the entire system gets cleaned.
- After cutting a small hole in the supply line, our technicians will start the cleaning process in the supply zone. We will attach a vacuum to the supply line using a connector. Our technicians take every precaution to ensure that the dust and debris inside your air ducts don’t spill out into your home.
- Our team closes off all the supply registers to ensure as much negative pressure as possible during this process. We will repeat this process to clean each of the branches of the ducts. Our team also uses special tools to make sure that we vacuum up any stuck-on dirt and debris.
- After cleaning all the supply branches, we turn our attention to cleaning the main trunk. This is the largest duct, where all the supply branches connect.
- When the main trunk and all the supply branches are clean, we’ll turn our attention to the return side of your vents. When your heat or air conditioner is running, this is the side that the cooled or warmed air travels through before entering your home. Our team will follow all the same steps as they did on the supply side of your ducts.
- After the ducts are clean, we will sanitize them.
- Our technicians will patch the holes made on the supply and return side of your ducts.
- After a final walkthrough of your home to ensure that everything looks good, our team will leave your home with clean air ducts.
Depending on the size of the home, it can take between two and four hours to clean the air ducts. Since you can’t run the heat or air conditioner while we’re cleaning the air ducts, you might consider sending pets, small children, and elderly family members to stay with friends or family during our visit to ensure their safety and comfort.
Contact LEGACY
You can depend on LEGACY to provide honest, reliable, and safe air duct cleaning in the Las Vegas area. We are professionally trained and NATE certified, so you can rest knowing our technicians can handle the job. We offer a full range of duct services from cleaning to installation. Give us a call at (725) 237-2441 if you’re interested in learning more.
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