Make Sure Your Ducts Stay Clean with These Tips

Despite the Wilmington area’s high air quality, we still have plenty of dust, pollen, mold spores, and other contaminants floating area. To prevent those contaminants from accumulating in your ducts, there are a few precautions to take.

Protect Your Ductwork

The main purpose of an HVAC air filter is to protect the system from airborne debris that could harm the components and build up in the ducts. While low-efficiency filters (MERV 1 to 5) do an adequate job, higher-efficiency filters (MERV 6 to 12) block even more debris. By choosing a more efficient filter, you’ll keep your ductwork cleaner and improve your indoor air quality.

Replace your filters on schedule, usually once a month. A clogged filter is likely to release accumulated debris back into your ducts. In the worst-case scenario, it can cause a buildup of pressure that blows the filter out of the holder, leaving your ductwork completely unprotected.

To prevent debris from falling into your ductwork, regularly clean your air registers and vents. Remove the grilles, soak them in a tub of warm, soapy water, then gently wash and rinse. Vacuum out the insides of the registers or vents, and as far back into the ducts as you can reach. Replace the grilles once they’re completely dry.

Invest in Regular Duct Maintenance

If protected by clean, higher-efficiency filters, ductwork can go many years without requiring professional cleaning. Even so, problems can pop up any time, so have your duct system inspected at least once every five years as well as after home remodeling work. Your technician can tell you whether or not the system requires cleaning and help you prevent future duct problems.

Duct cleaning should be left to a professional. Professional equipment breaks up stuck-on debris and removes all debris from the ducts without spreading it around your house.

At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues – especially HVAC and plumbing issues – so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.

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