Should You Schedule an Air Duct Cleaning?

What is Air Duct Cleaning?

Air duct cleaning generally refers to the cleaning of various heating and cooling system components of forced air systems, including the supply and return air ducts and registers, grilles and diffusers, heat exchangers heating and cooling coils, condensate drain pans (drip pans), fan motor and fan housing, and the air handling unit housing

Reasons to Schedule an Air Duct Cleaning

There is substantial visible mold growth inside hard surface (e.g., sheet metal) ducts or on other components of your heating and cooling system.

There are several important points to understand concerning mold detection in heating and cooling systems:

• Many sections of your heating and cooling system may not be accessible for a visible inspection, so ask the service provider to show you any mold they say exists.
• You should be aware that although a substance may look like mold, a positive determination of whether it is mold or not can be made only by an expert and may require laboratory analysis for final confirmation. Some microbiology laboratories can tell you whether a sample sent to them on a clear strip of sticky household tape is mold or simply a substance that resembles it.
• If you have insulated air ducts and the insulation gets wet or moldy it cannot be effectively cleaned and should be removed and replaced.
• If the conditions causing the mold growth in the first place are not corrected, mold growth will recur.
• Ducts are infested with vermin, e.g. (rodents or insects).
• Ducts are clogged with excessive amounts of dust and debris and/or particles are actually released into the home from your supply registers.

Deciding Whether or Not to Have an Air Duct Cleaning

You may consider having an air duct cleaning simply because it seems logical that air ducts will get dirty over time and should occasionally be cleaned. While the debate about the value of periodic duct cleaning continues, no evidence suggests that such cleaning would be detrimental to air quality, provided that it is done properly.

What To Do Next

If you have further questions or wish to schedule a consultation, we invite you to contact Toshack by phone at 1-888-547-6162 or online.