Duct Cleaning Truth

At AriCo Plumbing we do offer duct cleaning service.  We have been offering this service to Tucson residents for several years now.  There has been a lot of advertising by duct cleaning companies recently trying to promote this business.  This might get you wondering if your own ducts need to be cleaned.  I can tell you this, I own a duct cleaning machine but I have not cleaned my ducts in my own home.  Why you might ask, well it is simple, they just aren't dirty.  You see, like most people, I have an air filter at the entrance to my ducts.  This air filter removes the dust before it gets into the duct work.  If you change your air filter regularly, you may never need to have your ducts cleaned out.  So, if someone is telling you that you need to have your ducts cleaned periodically it simply isn't true.  If you want more information about this subject, you should read what the EPA thinks about air duct cleaning.

When should you have your ducts cleaned?

When your ducts are full of debris, rodent waste or other foreign objects, Duct Cleaning is a useful service.  If you can look into your vents and see dirt inside you might also considering having them cleaned.  Duct cleaning is also very important if your have a swamp cooler connected up to your duct system.  Swamp coolers do not have a filter on them, they introduce outside air straight into your ducts.  Also, it is a good idea to have your dryer vent cleaned yearly, they tend to get a lot of debris in them from the dryer.  Dirty dryer vents can and do occasionally cause fires in homes.

A good time to have your ducts inspected is when you do your seasonal change over.  When you switch from the heating to cooling season you can inspect your drying vent and ducts.  To inspect your ducts you just need to removed a vent cover or two and look inside, if you see something inside that you just can't live with, have them cleaned out.

Did you know that hot water freezes before cold water?

If you put hot water into ice trays and cold water into ice trays, the hot water will freeze first.  This is because the hot water is more pure than the cold water.  The hot water you see runs through the hot water heater, when water sets in the water heater lime forms and drops out of the water.  If your water heater is full of lime (which most are), then you know that lime has been left behind by the water passing thought the water heater.  As a result, the hot water is more pure than the cold water.  Pure water freezes quicker than impure water.

So, does this same effect work for duct cleaning?  We believe so, if the ducts have dirt in them, then at least you know it isn't in the air you're breathing.  Dust you see in the ductwork has dropped out of the air and the air is now more pure to breathe.  It's worth noting that this effect happens regardless if your ducts are dirty or clean.  If your ducts are dirty you should have them inspected first, there may be a leak that is drawing in air that is not passing through your air filter.

Filters Filters Filters

If you really want to spend money on having your ducts cleaned I'd suggest you improve your filter first.  A high quality filter system keep your ducts clean, as well as your entire home.  Having less dust in a home is always a good thing.  I'm not talking about a 10 dollar air filter either, consider an American Standard whole house air filtration system or similar filtration system.

AccuClean™ Whole Home Air Filtration System

• Removes over 99% of the common flu, or influenza A virus, from the filtered air in your home.
• Removes up to 99.98% of allergens from filtered air
• Catches particles even smaller than .1 micron in size
• 8 times more effective than the best HEPA room appliance
• 100 times more effective than a standard 1" throwaway filter or ionic-type room appliance
• Delivers cleaner air, and more of it
• Reusable filter is easy to vacuum or wash

These filters can run periodically throughout the day keeping and removing dust from your home.  These filters do need to be installed in the duct system and can require duct modifications.  It is best to have an estimator come out and take a look and see what we can do for you.