Duct Cleaning in Iowa City, IA
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Eight months of forced air moves a lot of dust through your ducts
Your furnace runs October through May here, eight months of the year. Every time it kicks on, air pulls through the ductwork, and whatever is sitting in there, dust, pet hair, the fine grit that comes in on shoes and coats, gets stirred up and pushed through the house. On the nights that average 16°F, the furnace is cycling on and off for hours, so that same air runs through the ducts again and again before morning.
Storms add to what the ducts have to deal with. Johnson County has seen 25 winter storms and 87 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and outages come with that kind of weather. When the power drops, the furnace stops moving air, but the dust already loosened in the ducts settles right back into them, waiting for the blower to start again.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner does the same
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- There is no fixed schedule that fits every house. If anyone in the house has allergies, or you have had a rodent problem or a water leak near the ductwork, it is worth cleaning sooner rather than later. Homes with pets or a recent renovation also tend to build up dust and debris faster than others. A contractor can look inside the ducts and tell you honestly whether they need it now or can wait.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It depends on what is going on in your ducts. If you can see dust blowing out of the vents, or there is visible mold or debris inside the ductwork, cleaning solves a real problem. If the ducts look fine and nobody in the house has breathing issues, there is less to gain from it. A contractor can look inside the ducts with a camera and tell you honestly whether it will help.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a high powered vacuum to the duct system, then uses brushes or air tools to knock dust and debris loose from the inside of the ducts so the vacuum can pull it out. Each supply and return vent gets cleaned this way, along with the main trunk lines. The furnace or air handler and the coil are usually cleaned at the same time, since they connect directly to the ductwork.