Duct Cleaning in Rochester, NY
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Eight months of heat moving through the same ducts
Your ductwork runs from October through May here, close to eight months a year. That is a long stretch of air moving through the same trunk lines and branches, carrying dust, pet hair, and whatever settles in a house with the windows shut most of that time.
Monroe County has seen 18 winter storms and 154 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Storms like that can knock out power, and outages mean furnaces sit idle while dust settles in the ducts instead of moving through them. When the system starts back up, it pushes that settled dust through the house until the ducts get cleaned out.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner does the same
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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- Most homes do fine having their ducts cleaned every few years, not on a set yearly schedule. If anyone in the house has allergies, or you've had duct or furnace work done that left dust behind, a sooner cleaning makes sense. Homes with pets often need it more often too, since fur and dander build up faster than in a home without them.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It depends on what's going on in the ducts right now. If you can see dust coming out of the vents, or there's a musty smell when the furnace kicks on, cleaning solves a real problem. If the ducts were cleaned a while back and nobody in the house has breathing trouble, you likely don't need it yet. A contractor can look at the ductwork and tell you honestly whether it's due.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a vacuum system to the ductwork and uses brushes or air tools to knock dust and debris loose so it can be pulled out. Each supply and return vent gets cleaned this way, along with the main trunk lines that run through the house. The furnace or air handler itself usually gets attention too, since dust collects around the blower and coil.