According to data gathered by the Environmental Protection Agency, proper air duct maintenance can help to manage dust and dirt, eliminate allergens in the air, and keep your family healthy.
Indoor air pollution comes with a whole host of both environmental and health risks. In fact, recent studies show that roughly 2 million people die every year because of poor indoor air quality.
The takeaway?
Not only is it important to have your home or office’s air ducts professionally cleaned, it’s also crucial that you take the time to perform basic air duct maintenance between these cleanings.
Looking for a few tips on how to keep your air ducts functioning properly?
If so, then read on.
1. Change Your Filters
The foundation of proper air duct maintenance?
Always make sure that you take the time to clean your filters. In general, you should aim to switch out your filters at least once a month.
However, be aware that if you live in a home with pets, or if you have residents with a weakened immune system, you may need to switch out your filter a bit more frequently.
This is incredibly important because, without a properly functioning filter, your air duct won’t be able to trap dust, allergens, and other dangerous debris.
When you’re looking into filter options, we suggest going for a fabric filter if at all possible. While yes, they’re often more expensive, you’ll need to replace them far less than you would a more affordable fiberglass filter.
This means that, often, they end up paying for themselves.
2. Prepare For Cleaning
While changing your filter is a wonderful first step, you’ll also need to do some air duct maintenance that’s a little more heavy-duty.
In this case, you’ll want to ensure that you’ve taken the time to cover the supply registers in your home. If you don’t do this, you’re essentially allowing all of the dust that your cleaning will stir loose to fly around your home.
Luckily, proper preparation is simple — all you need is a paper towel.
Just lift up your supply register (those grates that the air comes out of) and wrap it in a paper towel.
Additionally, while you’re cleaning, make sure that the fan is always turned on. Keeping your fan on will help to ensure that the dust properly moves through the system, instead of just getting trapped.
Finally, make sure that you turn off the “heat/cool” option while you’re cleaning. You want only the fan to be on at this point.
3. Knock The Dust Loose
Now, it’s time to tackle the actual cleaning part of air duct maintenance.
First, grab a clean toilet brush, because the bristles will be much easier to work with than other brush options. Head to your basement, or wherever the ducts are stored, and tap the side of ducts with your brush.
4. Focus On The Supply Registers
Once you’ve knocked this dust loose, you can start tackling your supply registers. For this step, you’re going to need a vacuum. If at all possible, we suggest using a vacuum with a hose, so that you can access more areas within your air ducts and supply registers.
Take the hose part of the vacuum and place it as close to the supply register as is possible. Turn your vacuum on a lower setting at first, to avoid any disaster like having the dust accidentally spread around by too high of a speed.
Then, work with the fan that’s already helping the dust to move up through the ducts, and vacuum out the excess debris. Feel free to drop the hose of your vacuum down as far as it can reach.
With your clean toilet brush, you can also clean between the vents of your supply register.
Make sure that you take any paper towels that you’ve used throughout the cleaning process outside as soon as possible.
5. Clean Your Blower Compartment
Another important step when it comes to proper air duct maintenance?
Be sure that you’re taking proper care of your blower compartment. For this, you’ll need to turn off your fan and the power.
Take off the front panels on your furnace, and vacuum the compartment and the panels themselves.
As with the supply registers, begin by using a lower speed on your vacuum just to be on the safe side.
Don’t skip this step, as the blower compartment is where the majority of the dust and debris in your home likes to hide. If you like, you can also take this opportunity to thoroughly clean your furnace fan with a toothbrush or a paintbrush.
Need Professional Help With Air Duct Maintenance?
We hope that this post has helped to convince you that basic air duct maintenance between professional cleanings is not only important, but likely easier than you expected.
However, be aware that sometimes, you’ll run into situations that it’s not safe for you to handle on your own. Or, you simply lack the experience to give your air ducts a complete and proper cleaning.
When that happens, it’s important that you rely on the services of a qualified professional.
That’s where our incredible team at Fresh Aire Duct Cleaning can help you.
Spend some time on our website to learn more about not only duct cleaning as a whole, but also how our services can help to keep your family safe and healthy.
When you’re ready, get in touch with us for a free estimate, and start improving your home’s indoor air quality as soon as possible.