4 Tips to DIY Air Duct Cleaning

It is essential that the air ducts inside your house should be cleaned regularly. They are after all, responsible for moving air all over the house. As time goes by, it is inevitable that your air ducts become dirty.

Aside from the dust and dirt that can accumulate inside the air duct, it is also possible that mold can accumulate. When that happens, your family’s health may suffer so it is important that regular cleaning happens.

It is possible to clean the air duct by yourself, just follow these tips so you can make sure that your air vents are clean and protect your family from diseases that may be caused by dust and molds.

  1. Have the right tools – you might think that you only need a rag to get the dirt and dust out of your air vent. While that may work if your unit is fairly new, as time goes on, there will be an accumulation of many elements and you will need more than just a wet rag to clean it. The perfect thing to buy is a vacuum with a hose. This way it can reach the places that your hand cannot reach. If you can, invest in a vacuum that has a HEPA filter. This way, even the most minuscule elements are taken.
  1. Check for clogs, debris and molds – make sure to see if there are any animal droppings from rodents or other animals and insects in your air duct so that you can remove right away. Another thing to look out for is the existence of molds. Molds happen when there is not enough ventilation causing moisture to accumulate. Molds are not good for the health, especially for those who are already suffering from respiratory disease s. If you find suspicious molds in your air duct, get them analyzed so that you will know what step to take in order to ensure that it will not spread and cause more harm to you and your family.
  1. Make sure to get every nook and cranny – while it is important to clean regularly, it’s not just enough to be consistent, but you need to make sure that you’ve  thoroughly cleaned the air ducts and your HVAC units. Especially if you find a mold, you need to make sure that the environment will be changed in order to prevent such a thing from happening again. Just getting the mold is not enough, you need to know why it happened. Because if the issue is not fixed, the mold will just come back and cause problems again.
  1. Replace parts as needed – part of maintaining your air duct is making sure that each part is doing its work efficiently. If you see that a filter is no longer working properly, make sure you replace it. Cleaning is not enough to ensure that your house is properly ventilated. Check your HVAC units too to make sure that all parts are working well.

While it is easy to regularly clean your air ducts, the cost of duct specialists is not actually that high. So if you feel you do not have the time, just get the services of professionals. You can be sure that they will do it efficiently and you can focus on other priorities.

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