What Happens During a Duct Cleaning Visit?

A professional duct cleaning might not be the first maintenance task you think about for your HVAC system. However, homeowners in Streator, Illinois, should look into getting their air ducts professionally cleaned every five years or so to maintain HVAC system efficiency and improve indoor air quality. Keep reading to learn why professional duct cleaning is important, what happens during a cleaning visit, and its overall benefits.

Why Is Duct Cleaning Important?

Homeowners in Streator generally use their HVAC systems throughout the year to keep their homes at comfortable temperatures and humidity levels despite outdoor conditions. The air inside your home circulates through the HVAC system and its air ducts, leaving dirty air particles such as dust, pollen, and other debris inside your system and ductwork. Over time, these contaminants can collect and reduce airflow, impacting your HVAC system’s efficiency. Dust buildup also contributes to poor indoor air quality and can cause allergic reactions and other respiratory symptoms.

Therefore, it’s important to receive a professional duct cleaning to remove that collected dust, pollen, and other debris from your air ducts and HVAC system. This maintenance step can help improve your home’s overall indoor air quality as well as your HVAC system’s efficiency.

What Will the Technician Clean During the Visit?

During a duct cleaning visit, our technician will clean your air conditioner and heating system, including those hard-to-reach areas inside the air handler and the ductwork. We clean the following parts of your system to avoid recontamination: heat exchanger, air vents, entire duct system, motors, blowers, housings, plenum, VAV boxes, air handler, and evaporator coil. Because your HVAC system circulates so much of your indoor air, dirt and debris floating through the air are likely to collect on all these system parts.

While you might notice dust collecting on the air vents throughout your home, you might not readily see the dust that collects in your ductwork or inside your HVAC system. The essential parts of the HVAC system should be free of debris to function properly and efficiently. Dust-filled parts could mean your system is working harder to perform its regular functions, including pushing the heated or cooled air throughout your home. Therefore, duct cleaning will improve your system’s efficiency, preventing you from consuming extra energy when heating and cooling your home and potentially reducing your energy bills.

What Is the Process?

The duct cleaning process is simple yet critical. First, our team will evaluate your system and ductwork to locate areas in deep recesses. Then, we will seal all the register boxes with a special tape. We will then attach a commercial-strength vacuum system to the ductwork to begin removing all the collected dust and debris within. We also use motorized brushes and a compressed air whip to get out the difficult-to-remove, caked-on material.

While you can and should vacuum your air vents to remove visible dust as part of your regular cleaning routine, note that only a high-powered commercial vacuum and special brushes can clean your entire ductwork system safely and effectively.

What Are the Benefits?

There are several benefits to receiving a professional duct cleaning. As mentioned, collected dirt and debris can reduce airflow. If your home has poor airflow, your HVAC system will have to work harder to push enough heated or conditioned air throughout your home to reach and maintain your desired indoor temperature. If your system is continually working overtime, it can be prone to more costly breakdowns. Additionally, poor airflow can cause stuffy indoor air and poor air quality. Cleaning your ducts removes the pollutants and microorganisms that reduce air quality.

So, if you would like to improve the efficiency of your HVAC system, extend your system’s life, potentially save on energy bills, and improve your indoor air quality, consider getting your ducts professionally cleaned.

Take the next step in maintaining your home’s HVAC system. Call Popejoy Plumbing, Heating, Electric, and Geothermal today at (815) 692-4471 to talk to our team about receiving a complete duct cleaning in your home.

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