Duct Cleaning in Midland, MI
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Eight months of heating runs a lot of air through your ducts
Your furnace runs October through May here, eight months of the year. Every one of those months it is pulling air through the same ductwork, and whatever is riding in that air, dust, pet hair, the fine grit that works in around doors and windows, settles out along the way rather than all reaching a vent.
Winter nights here average 18°F, so the furnace is cycling on and off most of the day and night to hold the house steady. Each cycle pushes more air, and more of what is in it, through the trunk lines. The county has seen fifteen winter storms in the past ten years, and the power outages that come with them mean the system is shutting down and restarting more often than it would otherwise, adding to what settles in the ducts. Over enough winters that buildup can block airflow to a room or send dust into the house every time the blower starts.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner does the same
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- There is no fixed schedule that fits every home, but a contractor can tell you what yours needs by looking at them. It moves up if someone in the house has allergies, if pets are shedding into the return vents, or if you can see dust building up around the supply registers. After any duct work or a remodel that put drywall dust into the system, have them cleaned before you run the furnace again. A contractor can look at your ducts and tell you whether yours need attention now.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It depends on what is going on in your ducts right now. If you are seeing dust return to surfaces within a day or two of cleaning, or if a room stays dusty no matter what you do, cleaning the ducts usually helps. It will not fix a duct that is leaking air into your attic or crawlspace, and it will not fix a failing filter or a moldy coil, those need their own repair. A contractor can look at the actual ducts in your house and tell you what cleaning will and will not solve.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a vacuum system to your ductwork and uses brushes or air tools to knock loose dust and debris from the inside of the duct walls, then pulls it out through the vacuum. They go register by register through the supply and return ducts, and usually clean the blower compartment and coil area too since dust collects there as well. Afterward the registers get put back and the system is run to check that air is moving the way it should. What it involves in your case depends on the layout of your ductwork, which a contractor can walk you through before starting.