Prolong the Life of Your HVAC Unit with Duct Cleaning Services

The air inside your home might be more polluted than the air outside, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. When air circulates throughout your home, it travels through a series of ducts. This air contains dust, allergens and other microscopic particulates that accumulate in your home’s ductwork. HVAC filters do a good job at trapping the debris if you change them as often as the manufacturer recommends. However, air leaks, maintenance neglect or dusty projects (i.e., home remodeling) can cause dust, mold, pollen, dander, allergens and other pollutants to build up in ductwork over time. With the help of professional duct cleaning, Portland residents can breathe easier and save on energy costs.

Why Duct Cleaning is Beneficial

• Improve the efficiency of your HVAC system: When dust and debris build up in a home’s ductwork, air doesn’t flow as freely throughout the heating and cooling system. When this occurs, the system has to work harder tomaintain a consistent airflow throughout the home. Dust that accumulates on components such as the blower’s motor fan blades, coils and ducts, can block airflow by up to 40 percent. When an HVAC unit works harder, it uses more energy. As little as 0.042 inches of dust can reduce a furnace’s efficiency by up to 21 percent.
• Extend the life of your heating and cooling system: When an HVAC system works in optimal conditions, it doesn’t exert any extra effort to perform. Conversely, when machinery has to work harder to perform a task, the parts wear prematurely, resulting in frequent repairs.
• Leak detection: When ducts have air leaks, the warm or cool air that’s supposed to go into your home may escape into places that don’t need it, like between the walls. Therefore, to maintain the comfort levels in your home, your HVAC unit has to work harder to compensate for the lost air. While performing duct cleaning, Portland contractors may also inspect the ductwork for energy wasting air leaks or splits.
• Improve the quality of indoor air: Ducts are a treasure trove of allergens. Even if you don’t suffer from allergies, the dust that accumulates may become the perfect environment for bacteria and dust mites. Other items that may lurk in ductwork include dead insects, rodent droppings, cobwebs, dead skin cells, particulates from building materials and mold spores. Learn more on how to improve your indoor air quality here. 

How the Pros Clean Ducts

When you hire a duct-cleaning service, make sure the company holds a certification from the National Air Duct Cleaners Association. Reputable contractors use large trucks with a mounted vacuum system that blasts compressed air at 180 pounds per square inch and sucks at a rate of 15,000 cubic feet per minute.

To complete the job, technicians prepare your home, connect a vacuum hose to your home’s air handler and the air compressor hose the ductwork. The air blasts the debris off the insides of the ducts and the vacuum sucks it into the truck. The process generally takes less than a day to complete. For more duct cleaning resources, click here. 

Duct Cleaning, Portland Residents May Need it When…

• Purchasing a new home
• Musty or unpleasant odors come out of the registers
• There are dead insects, rodent droppings or mold in the ductwork
• Debris, dust bunnies or other particles blow out the registers
• Recently completed a remodeling project or some type of construction in the home
• It’s been more than five years since the last ductwork cleaning
• The HVAC unit receives regular maintenance and is in good shape, but the home seems overly dusty
• The HVAC needs frequent repairs because of dust buildup within the system

Duct cleaning is a vital maintenance service that your home and HVAC system occasionally need. While there are no studies that link a lack of duct cleaning with health problems, there is significant proof that the task can increase the efficiency and longevity of a heating and cooling system. The cost of the professional service more than makes up for itself in the energy saving that you experience and the reduced frequency of repairs. For any further questions or assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us.