Air duct cleaning is an important and necessary part of any commercial or residential building. Air ducts can collect dust and other particles, which may bring in bacteria or other illness-causing agents. Many air ducts cleaning equipment can help you clean your air duct.
If you’re planning to hire a professional to clean up your air ducts, then you must desire to know how long it will take. Here, we’ll go over everything to know about how long it takes to get your ducts cleaned.
What is Air Duct Cleaning?
Air duct cleaning entails a thorough cleaning of the entire HVAC system, including all registers, diffusers, heat exchangers and cooling coils, as well as drip pans and the housing unit. It can be done by using a system of high-powered vacuums connected to specialized tools that will clean the inside of your heating and cooling system without damaging it. The purpose of this cleaning is to remove dirt and debris from your home’s heating and cooling system to ensure proper airflow and clean air quality.
Why Is Air Duct Cleaning Important?
Air duct cleaning is important because it helps improve indoor air quality. It is especially a concern if anyone in your home suffers from allergies or asthma, as dirty ductwork can exacerbate symptoms. Recovering the dirt from your system also helps extend its life span by reducing wear and tear on key components like blower motors, heat exchangers and evaporator coils.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air can be up to 60 % to 70 times more contaminated than outdoor air. The quality of your indoor air (IAQ) significantly impacts your comfort and health. It’s critical to have your HVAC system tested and regularly maintained to improve indoor air quality in your house clean and free of pollutants.
How long does Air Duct cleaning take?
The amount of time required to clean your ducts depends on how many vents and sizes, what services you choose (a simple cleaning or full system decontamination), where you live, and even the access points. A few variables are easy to control and will make a difference in your air duct cleaning cost.
Duct cleaning time varies depending on the size of your home. Most homes can get cleaned in about two hours. The technician can provide a more accurate estimate to you after seeing your home, but there are some factors you can use to estimate the time.
The first thing to remember is that a big part of duct cleaning entails putting up and removing equipment, which can take 15-20 minutes each way. It means that even if a house takes 10 minutes to clean, the setup and breakdown time will take at least 45 minutes.
Second, the tech will need to go from room to room, removing all of the vent covers and connecting the hose for each room. This isn’t something that can be done in one run through the house. You will have to start at one end of the house and work your way through to do it properly.
Houses with square footage will also take longer than smaller ones because more registers/vents need to be cleaned and more space for the techs to cover as they move from room to room.
Air Duct Cleaning Process
Inspection
Before you begin cleaning, you should undertake a thorough inspection of your HVAC system. This includes looking at all system components such as registers, grilles, diffusers, heat exchangers, heating and cooling coils, condensate drain pans (drip pans), fan motor and fan housing, and the air handling unit housing. It’s important to determine if any parts need repairing or replacing before cleaning can get done.
Set up the Equipment
The technicians set up their large air-duct cleaning vacuum and blower and other equipment used to clean the air ducts and ventilation system.
Cleaning
Your duct will get cleaned through a negative pressure system. A technician will remove all dust and debris from your duct system using a vacuum. The vacuum used for this procedure is a high-powered vacuum with HEPA filtration.
Remove Dust and Debris from Each Register
This will get done by removing the covers of each register and vacuuming up any dust that has settled on them. A specialized blower may get used to pushing dust into the vacuum hose to be removed.
Clean the Blower Assembly and Motor
The blower assembly of your HVAC system will also need to get cleaned during air duct cleaning. It will include the motor and any fan blades missed when they were previously being cleaned. High-pressure air may get used to clean these surfaces depending on how much dirt is present.
Clean the Air Handler Unit
This includes cleaning the blower and other important parts of the air handling unit. They make sure that all debris is removed from these components to operate at maximum efficiency during this process. It is also a great time for them to inspect your air handling unit for any damage or areas needing repair.
Sanitize the System
The next step in the air duct cleaning process involves sanitizing your system. After removing all dirt and debris, professionals use a sanitizer to destroy germs and bacteria inside your ducting.
Conclusion
So, to sum up, our journey, duct cleaning can improve your home’s air quality and comfort. The good news is that air duct cleaning isn’t as time-consuming or difficult as you might expect. For most people, the average project takes about three hours on average to complete.
Of course, the actual time will vary depending on the size of your home and the number of vents you have. Although three hours is generally a good estimate—it won’t hurt to crunch some numbers first before giving us a call.