Duct Cleaning in Chesapeake, VA
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Six months of heat pushes everything through your ducts
From November through April your furnace is moving air through those ducts most days, and on nights near 33°F it runs long and often. Every cycle pulls household dust, pet hair, and whatever settled since summer back into the airflow and out through the vents.
Chesapeake has seen 58 damaging wind events and 8 winter storms over the past ten years, and storms like these push outside air and debris into ductwork through gaps you may not know are there. Add in the power outages that hit a fifth of Virginia households last year, and a system that sits idle then restarts is one that stirs up whatever has settled in the ducts in the meantime. Over time that buildup is what a house is breathing at the start of every heating season.
- 6 months
- November through April, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner does the same
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- There's no fixed schedule that fits every house. If anyone in the house has allergies, or you've had a pest problem or a water leak near the ductwork, that's a reason to get them cleaned regardless of when it was last done. Homes here run the furnace November through April, so any dust or smell the ducts are holding tends to show up once that heat kicks on and starts pushing air through them.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It's worth it when there's a real reason for it, not just on a schedule. Dust blowing out of the vents, a musty smell when the system runs, or debris visible at the register are all signs the ducts need attention. If the air in the house seems fine and no one's having breathing trouble, cleaning them isn't going to fix a problem that isn't there.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a vacuum to the duct system to pull air through it at high pressure, then uses brushes or air tools to knock loose dust and debris from the inside of the ducts so it can be pulled out. Registers and grilles get cleaned too, and the return vents and blower compartment usually get checked since dust collects there as well. A contractor can walk through what your specific system needs before starting.