5 Effective Duct and Vent Cleaning Tips for Homeowners

Why is duct cleaning important? Duct cleaning is important for a number of reasons – it will make your HVAC system more efficient, it will improve the air quality in your home and it will make your home a nice environment to spend time in. Do you turn on your heating or air conditioning system and smell a strange odor? – That odor is most likely dust, dander, mold and mildew that builds up and settles on the floor of your duct system. When you turn your HVAC system on – especially if you haven’t done so in a long time – you could spread these pollutants around your home, which can make the problem worse. Here are five effective duct and vent cleaning tips for homeowners.

1. Decide if you need it. There could be a chance that you don’t really need a duct cleaning. If you recently had your ductwork cleaned, you probably don’t need to clean them again – duct cleaning should only be done on an annual basis. If it has been more than a year and you are noticing the warning signs, you should definitely make plans to clean your ductwork.
2. Find out where all your vent gates are. Before you start cleaning out your ductwork, you want to map out where all the vent gates are – so that you know exactly where you should start and finish. You could wind up cleaning one part of your ductwork, but then push the dirt and debris to a completely different segment of your ductwork, which can make the whole process so much more frustrating. So, take a pad of paper and make notes – having a plan will make everything so much more efficient.
3. Use professional tools. You can usually head down to your local home improvement shop to purchase a few tools that you can use to clean your ductwork. In most cases, you want to use a suction device that links up to a vent gate and sucks all of the pollutants out of your ducts. In most cases, these tools are expensive to buy, so you may want to do your research on renting them – there is a good chance that you can find a retailer near you if you search online.
4. Always wear protective gear. If you have to get inside a vent for any reason, or if you are using heavy-duty tools, you want to wear gloves, a face mask and goggles. When working with dust, mold and other pollutants, you want to be completely protected. It is especially important to make sure that your eyes and your mouth is protected, because these pollutants can be incredibly irritating.
5. Call the professionals if you aren’t sure what you are doing. If you have any inking that you won’t be able to complete the job correctly – or if you have no idea what you are doing – you want to call a professional ductwork cleaning company. If you aren’t experienced with this type of cleaning, you could damage your ductwork and you could injure yourself.