With the South Texas winter weather blowing in, you may find yourself lounging indoors more often these days. All that time inside may mean you start to notice things in your home that you didn’t before, like dust or odors. Dust and odors are the biggest reasons we hear from folks looking for help cleaning their ducts.
What to Know About Air Duct Cleaning
If you call an air conditioning maintenance company to clean your ductwork, they will likely ask you a couple of diagnostic questions about your system to determine whether your ducts need cleaning. They may even decline to clean your duct work. But there’s a reason for this, and it’s to protect you and your home.
Excessive Dust? Probably Not A Duct Problem
It’s very common to notice dust on our around a register grille. This is the metal “plate” that covers your A/C vent. Naturally, when many people see, they fear that their ductwork may be dirty and to blame. In actuality, when you see dust collecting around the register grille, this is usually an indicator that there’s a filtration issue or ductwork that isn’t properly sealed in the attic.
Stinky Smells? It Could Be Your Ducts
The major purpose of duct cleaning is to get rid of any lingering odors in your home. If your home’s prior owner was a smoker, or there was a fire inside of your home, then you should have your ductwork cleaned to remove the odors.
Is Duct Cleaning Right For Me?
Duct cleaning is a service meant for only certain types of ductwork — specifically for metal ductwork. Metal ductwork is the only kind of duct that can be cleaned without being damaged. Most modern ductwork has an inner lining that prevents dust from sticking to the inner core of pipes, preventing the clogging of your system. If there is any dirt or dust inside the ductwork, the little remnants that are there will mostly likely stay put. If you begin to see dirt and dust around the outside of the vent or register grille, simply wipe it off with a damp rag or vaccum cleaner. Once you have done this, check your air filter to see if it needs to be replaced. Dirty air filters are also a common cause of dust around the vent or register grille. Persistent dust on the ceiling around the grille could also be poorly sealed ductwork in the attic, which can be corrected by an HVAC professional.
If you do not have metal ductwork and need to remove odors, the best approach is to have the duct work replaced. While this may seem costly, cleaning non-metal duct could double your expenses. If you have your non-metal pipes cleaned out, chances are they can be ruined, in which you’d need to have them replaced in the end.
If you have questions about your ductwork, call our specialists today to help you determine if your system meets the standard requirements for a cleaning.
