What to Look for if You’re Wondering if Your Home Ducts Need Cleaning

Inspecting your ducts for signs of dirt, dust and grime is important to do on a regular basis. Here are some of the signs you should look for to see if your ducts need cleaning. Cleaned ducts will have a positive impact on your families’ health.

Do you need your ducts cleaned?

Spring is a great time to get your home ready for the summer months before we start experiencing that hot and humid weather. Even though majority of people like to spend their time outdoors in the summer, it is still important to maintain the indoor air quality in order to have a healthy home.

When developing your list of spring to-dos, don’t forget about your ductwork. Even though you can’t see what’s hiding inside your ducts, they could be housing things like mold, fungus, pet hair, construction debris, food, small toys and other debris. As a result, not only will the air you’re inhaling at home be unclean, the dirt and dust will restrict your HVAC system from working efficiently, causing your system to use more energy to cool your home in the summer.

Here are 5 quick hints and tips that a duct cleaning may be required:

1. Pull up a vent cover and look inside. This is the easiest way to see if there’s dirt, dust, pet hair or debris built up in the registers.

2. Look at the return air registers. If there is a buildup of dirt, particularly thick, fuzzy coatings of dust; this is an indicator that a duct cleaning is required.

3. Pull out the air filter. Judging from the condition of the filter, this could be a telltale sign as duct cleaning is required. If you find it’s clogged with dust, your airflow is most likely being blocked off, which causes dust to build up in the return duct work.

4. Get a furnace maintenance inspection. When your EM Air System technician completes a maintenance inspection, they will tell you about the conditions of your furnace. If there are large amounts of dust and dirt in the motor, fan and components; this could mean you need a duct cleaning.

5. Check your AC coil. A plugged and dirty air conditioner coil is a sign that air filter is not working and a duct cleaning might be required.

For more information contact one of our friendly Home Comfort Advisors!