How long should duct cleaning take?

Having your home’s air ducts cleaned by a reputable professional company is essential to ensure the quality of the air that you and your loved ones breath. It will also lower your electricity bills and provide you with peace of mind that your system is running to its full potential, keeping your home cool or warm depending on the weather conditions. 

But how long should this cleaning process take? The length of time for air duct cleaning depends on quite a few factors that all need to be taken into consideration. It is also very important to consider quality over speed. Some companies claim that they can clean your whole system in under an hour, this is a very good indicator that such companies are of ill repute and should not be trusted regardless of their claims. They will merely stir up dust inside of your system but will not do a proper cleaning job.  

The main factor to take into consideration when you want to know the time that it will take to clean your air ducts is the size of your HVAC system and the complexity of the ductwork. The size of your home is a good indicator as to the length of time this cleaning service will require. Another consideration is the state of the air ducts and when was the last time you had them cleaned if ever. An important accumulation of dust will make the cleaning process longer. Finally, the size of the cleaning crew will also have an impact on the length of time that will be required to thoroughly clean your air ducts. 
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You must also keep in mind that the air duct cleaning process includes some very important steps that cannot be rushed such as the inspection of your ducts, putting your system under negative pressure, the cleaning of each duct one at a time, the pulsion, suction and friction process done with professional rotating brushes and compressed agitation air whipping tools to move settled dust, the cleaning of the supply side ducts and return vents, to name a few. Some highly professional companies will also offer a fumigation of your ducts once the cleaning is completed to make sure all moulds and bacteria have been killed. 

For a home that is under 3 000 square feet and with two technicians doing the air duct cleaning service, it should roughly take between 3 to 4 hours. For larger homes then, anything between 4 to 6 hours. It is very important to have an assessment done of the work that will be required for your particular air ducts and for the cleaning company to attach a free quote to this assessment. Also ask if they will stick by the price quoted or change their mind and ask for more once they see what work needs doing. This is crucial as you do not want to pay way more than you were promised. 
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When you keep in mind that air duct cleaning should be done at least every five years, the few hours that will be taken to do that cleaning will be insignificant compared to the difference air duct cleaning will make to your health, your comfort and your well-being.