Having your air ducts cleaned is an investment in your ventilation system and your indoor air quality. Naturally, any investment that is improving your quality of air and overall lifestyle will come at a cost. How much money you spend depends on the size of your house and what other value-added services you choose. Knowing when to have your air ducts cleaned is also important because no one wants to spend more than they must.
The general rule is to have your air ducts cleaned every 3-5 years. If you have children and/or pets, every three years is what we recommend. Without kids or pets, five years is an acceptable average to wait before having your air ducts professionally serviced. They are some exceptions to consider; for example, you have had any recent construction or restoration work, that would be a good time to get the ducts cleaned again.
Cleaning Ducts After Renovation or Restoration
In a renovation or restoration, there is likely to be sawdust, drywall dust, and maybe even larger pieces of debris that can enter the ventilation system. Construction workers, wood floor installers, painters, and carpet layers are notorious for dropping debris into floor vents. Also, if you have had a water intrusion into the ducts from a sewer backup, overflowing toilet, or a flood, you will want to get the ducts, and the furnace cleaned. An anti-microbial treatment would also be in order. If you have had a fire in the home or mold contamination, a duct cleaning should be on your shortlist. Your restoration company can include the cost in their submission to the insurance company.
When You Move To A Pre-owned Home
When you are moving into a pre -owned home, getting the ducts cleaned should be an automatic result. Without knowing the history of all the previous owners, it is a good idea to get the duct cleaned so you are breathing in someone else’s filth into your lungs. This can be a closing condition that a buyer can ask for as part of the real estate transaction. This can also be done by requesting a duct cleaning allowance. Then you as the new owner can choose a professional duct cleaning company instead of some bargain coupon company.
Moving Into A New Home
Some homeowners and realtors are under the assumption that a newly built home will have clean ventilation ducts. The truth is that newly built homes have some of the dirtiest air ducts. Again, construction workers and trades people are notorious for dropping things down the air ducts due to sloppiness or laziness. Unless you have ensured that the ducts are taped over during construction, you should demand the ducts be cleaned prior to closing.
Installing A New Furnace
If you recently purchased a new high efficiency furnace to replace the dinosaur in the basement, you need to get the ducts cleaned. Why would you ever want to connect a new clean furnace to a dirty ventilation system? The ducts return panning and trunk lines should be clean to allow the most unrestricted and clean airflow with your new furnace. The more efficient the airflow is, the less hard your new furnace will have to work. If the system does not have to work as hard to heat your home, the expensive furnace will last longer.
When You Have A Chronic Illness or A Suppressed Immune System.
If some moves into a home and they have asthma, allergies, COPD or a suppressed immune system, it is a good idea to get the air ducts cleaned. Anything you can do to make breathing easier or the air cleaner. Besides cleaning the ducts, you also need to change the furnace filter often. Cleaning the carpets, installing carbon monoxide detectors and getting a radon test certainly would not hurt.
I have asthma and my wife has Lupus, so we try to make our home very clean and eliminate things that could make breathing harder. We use our house to train our duct cleaning technicians, so we know the ducts are clean. We also had a radon test done as part of our home inspection. Because the Radon level was very high, we got the seller to pay for a Radon system installation before we move in. The radon levels are now in the safe range.
Professional Air Duct Cleaning | Free Estimates From Planet Duct
At Planet Duct in Colorado Springs, we believe in educating our neighbors throughout El Paso county about when to have your air ducts professionally cleaned. It is always our goal to provide transparent education to ensure you have all of the information available to make an informed decision about when to make an investment that leads to improved air quality in your home. Fill out our easy, online form for an air duct cleaning estimate or contact the Planet Duct professionals to learn more.
