Duct Cleaning in Vinton, VA
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Seven months of heat moves a lot of air through your ducts
Your furnace runs October through April here, seven months out of the year. Every one of those months, air is moving through your ductwork, and whatever is sitting in it gets pushed around the house. Dust and the fine debris that settles in a vent over the summer get stirred back into circulation once the heat kicks on for the season.
Winter storms add to what the ducts have to deal with. Roanoke County has seen 19 winter storms and 136 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and power interruptions that come with them mean the furnace shuts down and restarts more than it would on a quiet season. Each restart pushes another round of air, and whatever is built up in the ducts, 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
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- There is no fixed schedule that fits every home, but a few signs point to it being time. Dust blowing out of the vents when the furnace kicks on, more dust settling around the house than usual, or work done recently that left debris behind are the signals to watch for. Homes here run the furnace October through April, seven months of the year, so ducts get steady use over that stretch and are worth checking before the cold sets in.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It is worth it when there is something to clean out, visible dust at the vents, pet hair, or debris left from a renovation. It will not fix an allergy problem by itself and it will not lower a heating bill. Where it earns its keep is clearing out buildup that is actually there, not as routine maintenance on a schedule.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a vacuum system to the ductwork, then uses brushes or air tools to loosen dust and debris from inside before pulling it out through the vacuum. Registers and the vent hood get cleaned too, along with the coil area near the furnace or air handler if it is accessible. The filter still does the ongoing work of keeping the air clean, so it is worth checking or replacing at the same time.