Question: Should heating and air conditioning vents be cleaned and if so, how often?
Answer: Duct cleaning has become popular in recent years, with commercial cleaning services becoming more and more available. Due to growing concerns about indoor air quality, itās easy to convince homeowners that their ducts need cleaning, but unless ducts are really dirty, thereās no reason to clean them. TheĀ Environmental Protection Agency takes a similar stance on the issue, recommending cleaning only if the ducts and HVAC unit are contaminated.
Professional duct cleaning services use specialized blowers, vacuums, and brushes to clean out the supply, intake, and return ducts throughout your home. Duct cleaning should also involve a thorough cleaning of the air handler, registers, grilles, fans, motors, housings, and coils of the HVAC system.
There is no research at present proving that routine duct cleaning improves the air quality or reduces dust in your home. There is, however, evidence that dirty heating and cooling coils, motors, and air handling units can make your HVAC unit less efficient. This type of cleaning of the ducts and all of the heating and air conditioning components takes several hours with sophisticated equipment and involves multiple workers. It will cost between $300 and $500. Ads for ā$79 whole-house specialsā are not worth the time or the money. They only do a small part of the job and you will never notice the difference.
While duct cleaning alone does not seem that necessary, there are cases where cleaning the HVAC unit and ductwork could be useful. Ducts in your home may be dirty and need cleaning after remodeling, especially after hardwood floors are sanded and refinished. Ducts should be sealed off during home renovations; but if they were not, dangerous dust and debris may become lodged inside the ductwork.
If thereās evidence of animal infestation or nesting in your ducts or HVAC system, have the animals removed then clean the ductwork and HVAC unit.
If there is visible mold growth inside the ductwork, the ducts and HVAC system should be cleaned.
If someone in your family is suffering from an unexplained allergy-related illness, and youāve taken every other possible step to decontaminate your home, you may want to consider having your ducts and HVAC system cleaned to see if they were the culprit.
Avoid Sealants and Sprays
Both the EPA and the NADCA recommend against the use of sprayed sealants or other potentially harmful chemicals inside air ducts. Biocides and anti-microbial treatments are also iffy, since the chemicals may cause more harm than good to your health. No chemicals are currently registered with the EPA for use inside ductwork.
Any kind of duct cleaning involving steam or moisture should be avoided.
A better and less expensive way of improving the air quality in your home is to change the air filters more often. If you currently change the filters every two months, start changing them every month.
