Do HVAC Ducts Need To Be Cleaned With Air Duct Cleaning Service? | Mansfield, TX
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Taking care of the HVAC system in your Mansfield, TX, home is important. You want your furnace and air conditioner to last as long as possible, and you also want the air you breathe to be clean. The problem is, air travels through ducts and registers when your HVAC system is running, which means you can end up breathing in a lot of dust and other particles. If you want the best indoor air quality, you should consider hiring an air duct cleaning service to help keep your ducts clean occasionally.
What’s Inside Air Ducts?
To understand why you need to hire an air duct cleaning service from time to time, you have to understand what’s going on inside your air ducts. These ducts are designed to carry air from an outside unit to different parts of your home, which can be quite a long path. As that air travels through the ducts, it carries dust and other particles with it, leaving some behind in the ducts and delivering some to your home via vents.
The actual particles found inside air ducts can vary quite a bit. If you’ve got pets in your home, you could be dealing with dander in addition to dust and dirt. You could even have a layer of greasy dust building up in your ducts as a result of cooking sprays and other household products. In particularly bad cases, you may have mold or allergens building up in your ducts and being delivered throughout your home. The only way to prevent all this grime from building up in your ducts is to hire a duct cleaning service every now and then.
Are Dirty Ducts Dangerous?
As you might imagine, breathing in a little bit of dust and dirt isn’t going to kill you. In fact, you might not even notice the poor indoor air quality in your home. However, it’s important to keep your ducts clean to promote a healthy respiratory system and prevent the accumulation of things like mold and allergens. This is the most basic reason to hire an air duct cleaning service.
Another thing homeowners don’t consider is that HVAC systems last longer when you take good care of them. If you want your HVAC system to last as long as possible, you need to have the ducts cleaned occasionally to promote proper airflow. The cleaner your ducts are, the less debris your air filter will have to remove from the air and the better airflow your HVAC system will have.
Keeping Your Ducts Clean
If you want to keep your ducts clean, you need to know when to hire an air duct cleaning service. The tricky part about duct cleaning is that you don’t need to do it very often. However, neglecting duct cleaning when your home does need it can lead to a lot of extra wear and tear on your furnace and AC.
As a general rule, we recommend hiring an air duct cleaning service every three to five years. As long as you’re having your ducts cleaned every once in a while, you can prevent the buildup of thick, sticky dust that’s more difficult to remove.
Keep in mind that the frequency with which you clean your ducts depends on the indoor air quality and conditions in your Mansfield, TX home. If you have several pets, smoke in your home, or otherwise have a dirty, dusty home, you should have your ducts cleaned about once every three years.
Air Filter Basics
Another key to promoting good indoor air quality and keeping your ducts clean is making sure you have a good air filter in your HVAC system. The air filter is designed to remove particles from the air before you’re exposed to them, which means it can be an important tool in the fight against dirty ducts.
In addition to hiring an air duct cleaning service every three to five years, you also need to change your air filter on a regular basis. We recommend changing your air filter at least once every six months, although most homes could use a new air filter every three months. If you have several pets or a large family, you should change your air filter every month. Not only is this a crucial part of breathing healthy air inside your home, but it’s also pretty easy to change an air filter.
Indoor Air Quality Tips
Hiring an air duct cleaning service isn’t the only thing you need to do to maintain healthy indoor air quality. As a homeowner, it’s your job to make sure you keep your air filter fresh, vacuum your home regularly and do what you can to keep dirt out.
One way to improve indoor air quality is to invest in a better air filter. HEPA air filters or air filters with higher MERV ratings are designed for premium filtration, which means you don’t have to breathe air that’s filled with dust and other particles.
Vacuuming regularly can also help prevent dust buildup by keeping your carpets clean. You should also take the time to dust various surfaces in your home, such as shelves.
Additionally, you can invest in an air purifier to keep the air in your home a little cleaner. Running an air purifier can even reduce the frequency at which you have to pay for air duct cleaning service.
Call Minuteman Heating & Air
You’ve got a lot on your plate when it comes to HVAC maintenance, but duct cleaning isn’t something you can just forget about. If you want clean air in your home and a long-lasting HVAC system, Minuteman Heating & Air can help with routine HVAC maintenance. From air duct cleaning service to inspections, repairs, and installation, we can take care of all your heating and cooling needs. Next time you’ve got an HVAC problem you need help with, give Minuteman Heating & Air a call at (817) 284-2569.