How does duct cleaning work?

Ducts are part of your forced air heating and cooling system which are better known as your furnace and air conditioner. The ducts connect them to the different rooms of your house and allow warm or cool air to be distributed throughout your home. Ducts are like the lungs of your house.  The air you breathe is carried through the duct work, then out through vents and recirculated 5 to 7 times per day, on average. 

Over the years the ducts in your home become clogged up with dust, bacteria, dust mites and other allergens. They can also get dirty quickly if your house is new or you have recently renovated, if you have had a disaster such as a flood or a fire and even if you have pets. It is important to have them cleaned at least once every five years in order for the air that you and your loved ones breathe to be healthy and of high quality and also save on your energy bills . You should only entrust your duct cleaning service to a professional duct cleaning company and never attempt it yourself as you could cause irreversible damage to your heating and cooling system. 

A professional duct cleaning company worthy of that name will first evaluate your needs and get some background information on the use of your HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system. They will also ask you questions about your household such as if you smoke and if you have pets. They will then inspect the ductwork for any visible problems.
 
Once the assessment phase of the cleaning service is completed, they will then start the cleaning process. All the ventilation grilles will be sealed by means of tape or covers in order for your system to be under negative pressure. It will remain so until the cleaning procedure has been completed. 

They will then clean your air ducts using a pulsion, suction and friction process as recommended by the industry. This powerful cleaning method is done with the help of a truck-mount unit. All the dust, debris and allergens will be collected in the waste picker or vacuum collection unit inside the air duct cleaning truck-mount unit so that no dust, dirt, debris or dirty particles have the chance to spread around your home.

All the components inside your HVAC, the diffusers, the outlets, and the air flows will also be thoroughly cleaned. A real professional air duct cleaning company will also offer to fumigate the ducts of your system with an antibacterial treatment thus killing any remaining allergens. The whole duct cleaning process from start to finish will take several hours and this timing will greatly depend on the amount of dust in the ducts, the size of your home, the size of the HVAC system and the number of technicians working to clean the ducts. 

When contacting a professional air duct cleaning company, make sure to give them all the information that they request in order for them to have a good idea of the work to be carried out and for you to know the length of time the cleaning service will take and more importantly the price of the work from start to finish.