A residential attic interior with blown-in insulation on the floor, flexible silver HVAC ducts, a metal plenum box, and wooden rafters lit by light entering through a small louvered vent.

Duct Cleaning in Queens, NY

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An attic interior showing a metal air handler unit connected to flexible silver-wrapped HVAC ducts running beneath a pitched wooden roof.

Seven months of heat pushes a lot of dust through those ducts

Your furnace runs from October through April here, close to seven months a year. On nights that average 28°F, it is cycling on and off for hours at a stretch, and every cycle pushes air through the ducts and stirs up whatever has settled since the last one.

What collects in there does not stay put. It can settle on the coil or block airflow enough that the furnace has to work harder to move the same amount of heat through the house.

7 months: October through April, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
4 months: June through September, your air conditioner does the same

Isometric cutaway illustration of a gray house showing interior rooms with furniture and a network of round ductwork connected to a mechanical unit.

Your ducts carry heat October through April and cooled air June through September.

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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals

How often should air ducts be cleaned?: There's no fixed number of years that works for every house. Look at what's actually happening instead. If anyone in the house has allergies, if pets are shedding into the return vents, or if you just finished a renovation that kicked up drywall dust, that's when it's time to have them checked. A contractor can look at the ducts and tell you whether they need cleaning now or can wait.
Is air duct cleaning worth it?: It's worth it if your ducts actually have a buildup problem. It's not something to do on a fixed schedule just because time has passed. Signs it's worth calling someone are dust coming out of the vents when the system kicks on, a musty smell when the furnace or AC runs, or visible debris when you pull a vent cover off. If none of that is happening, cleaning ducts that are already fairly clean will not improve your air or your system's performance.
What does air duct cleaning involve?: A contractor connects a vacuum system to the ductwork, then uses brushes or air tools to knock dust and debris loose from inside the duct walls so it gets pulled out rather than blown further into the house. They go vent by vent, cleaning the supply and return ducts, and usually the grilles and registers too. Most will also check the coil and blower housing while they're in there, since those collect dust the same way the ducts do.

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