Duct Cleaning in Chester, PA
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Seven months of heat means seven months of dust moving through your ducts
Your furnace runs October through April here, close to seven months of the year. Every time it kicks on, air pushes through the ducts and stirs up whatever has settled in them since the last cycle. On nights that average 27°F, that means long stretches where the system barely shuts off, and dust and debris keep getting pushed through the house.
Delaware County has also seen 166 damaging wind events and 18 winter storms over the past ten years. Storms like that can drive dust, debris and outside air into a duct system, especially if the power goes out and the furnace shuts down mid-cycle. Buildup in the ducts does not go away on its own. It gets pushed into the rooms of the house every time the system runs.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner does the same
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- There's no fixed number that fits every house. It depends on what's going on inside it. Pets, a recent renovation, or someone with allergies can mean the ducts need attention sooner than a house without those things. Running the furnace October through April here gives dust more time to circulate, so if no one's checked in a while, it's worth having a contractor look.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It's worth it if your ducts actually have a buildup problem, and not every system does. Signs it's time include visible dust blowing from the vents, a musty smell when the air kicks on, or allergies that flare up indoors and calm down outside. If none of that applies, cleaning them just because time has passed isn't going to do much. A contractor can look at your ducts and tell you honestly whether there's anything to clean.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor uses brushes and a high-powered vacuum to dislodge and pull debris out of the supply and return ducts. Registers and grilles get cleaned too, since dust settles there as much as anywhere. On systems where it's needed, the blower and coil get attention as well, since air moves across those parts on its way through the ducts. The work goes room by room, through each vent connected to the system.