Duct Cleaning Service: Is It Worth the Money? | Fort Worth, TX
HVAC experts recommend maintaining your HVAC system regularly. The air conditioner should be maintained every year before the cooling season begins, and the furnace should be maintained every year before the heating season begins. Most homeowners abide by these recommendations to ensure their systems function as efficiently as possible, and the furnace and AC don’t break down when needed. When homeowners schedule routine maintenance appointments, many forget about the air ducts.
The air ducts deliver the heated or cool air from the unit to the vents. The dirt, dust, and debris in your house will accumulate in the air ducts over time, regardless of how clean you keep your home, and up to five pounds can accumulate in one year. When too much debris accumulates, the airflow from the vents will be restricted, causing various issues. The best way to avoid this problem is to hire a duct cleaning service in Fort Worth, TX, every three to five years. If you’re unsure whether having the ducts cleaned by an HVAC professional is worth the money, you should consider how your home and family can benefit.
#1 Better Air Quality
Your home’s air quality is essential to your family’s health, so you should do whatever possible to ensure the air is safe for your family to breathe. The debris in the ducts will circulate in the air when the heater or AC runs, affecting your home’s air quality. Your windows must remain closed when the heater and air conditioner run to prevent the treated air from escaping and to keep the cold or hot air outside from getting in. Unfortunately, you can’t allow fresh air into the house, and hiring a duct cleaning service in Fort Worth, TX is the best way to ensure your family is breathing clean air.
They’ll send a tech to remove the debris from the ducts, ensuring your home’s air quality is safe.
#2 Prevent Allergies
Hiring a duct cleaning service regularly can keep your family healthy. As mentioned earlier, the dust and debris from the air ducts will circulate when the HVAC system runs, affecting your home’s air quality. When your family breathes in the debris, it can cause allergy symptoms, such as itchy eyes, runny or stuffy nose, coughing, sneezing, and respiratory issues.
If you hire a duct cleaning service every three to five years, you can ensure your family will remain healthy.
#3 Prevent High Electric Bills
Have your energy bills been higher than usual? If so, your air ducts could be to blame, and hiring a duct cleaning service regularly can keep your energy bills down. The airflow from the vents will be restricted when a significant amount of debris clogs the air ducts, causing your heater and air conditioner to work harder than necessary. The units will consume more energy when they work harder, causing your energy bills to increase.
A duct cleaning service in Fort Worth, TX will send a tech to remove the debris from the ducts, restoring sufficient airflow, and your HVAC system won’t have to work harder, preventing high electric bills. The average cost of the service is $378, and you’ll make back some of that money with the money you’ll save on your energy bills.
#4 Extend the Lifespan of the HVAC System
As mentioned earlier, clogged air ducts will restrict the airflow from the vents, causing your HVAC system to work overtime, which will significantly strain the unit. Over time, the added strain will affect the system, reducing its maximum lifespan.
A duct cleaning service in Fort Worth, TX can eliminate the debris from the ducts to restore adequate airflow, preventing unnecessary strain on the HVAC system and ensuring it reaches its maximum lifespan.
It can cost $5,000 to $12,000 to replace an HVAC system, and a duct cleaning service will charge an average of $358 every three to five years, so hiring a duct cleaning service is the more cost-effective option. You don’t want to spend thousands on a new HVAC system when you could have a fraction of that to keep your air ducts clean.
#5 Detect Damage to the Air Ducts
Visible air ducts would hurt your home’s appearance, so they’re hidden behind the walls, under the floor, or above the ceiling. Because the ducts are hidden, you won’t be able to see any visible damage, and the only sign will be insufficient airflow from the vents, causing the HVAC system to work harder. If there’s a break, a crack, or the seal has failed, the cool or warm air will leak from the damaged area before reaching the vents, resulting in higher energy bills and a shorter lifespan for the HVAC system.
A duct cleaning service in Fort Worth, TX will send an HVAC tech to clean the ducts, and they’ll also inspect the ducts for damage. This will allow them to fix the damaged ducts to restore adequate airflow. If you hire a duct cleaning service every three to five years, you can be sure that the ducts are healthy and the treated air isn’t leaking before reaching the vents.
#6 Mold Detection
The air ducts are hidden, so they’re very dark. When it gets humid in the house, condensation can form, and there will be no light to dry it quickly, creating the ideal environment for mold growth, and you’ll need to hire a duct cleaning service immediately.
When mold grows in the ducts, spores will circulate in the air when the HVAC system runs, putting your family at risk for health issues due to mold exposure, including:
- Stuffy nose
- Sore throat
- Respiratory problems, such as coughing and wheezing
- Burning eyes
- Skin rashes
- Chronic headaches
- Weakened immune system
If a family member suffers from a mold allergy, asthma, or any chronic lung or respiratory issue, mold exposure will worsen their symptoms and conditions.
A duct cleaning service will send a tech to clean the ducts, and they’ll inspect them for mold, so it can be eradicated quickly before it affects your family’s health.
Considering how hiring a duct cleaning service regularly will keep your family healthy, you’ll see that the service is worth the money.
#7 Detect an Infestation
The last thing any homeowner wants is for bugs or rodents to infect their homes, and hiring a duct cleaning service regularly will keep the pests away.
The idea of curling up on a bed of dust and debris may sound awful, but for bugs and rodents, debris is a comfortable bed. Your air ducts are the perfect place for bugs and rodents to live because they can sleep on the debris and have easy access to food and water sources.
Rodents and bugs carry diseases, and the last thing you want is their waste from the ducts to circulate in the air when the HVAC system runs.
Rodents carry several diseases, such as hantavirus. If the rodent’s waste circulates in the air, you eat food contaminated by a rodent, or touch contaminated materials and then touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, you can develop Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, which has a mortality rate of 38%. The condition mimics the flu in the early stages, and after four to ten days, shortness of breath occurs as the lungs fill with fluid. There’s no treatment or cure for this disease, and the doctor will treat the symptoms as they arise, so prevention is best.
A duct cleaning service in Fort Worth, TX will send a tech to clean the ducts, eliminating pest droppings, and the ducts will no longer be a comfortable place for pests when the dirt, dust, and debris is removed. If you believe there are still pests in the ducts, you can hire an exterminator to eliminate the infestation.
#8 Prevent Your Pet’s Fur and Dander from Getting Into the Air
Cats and dogs are great additions to any family, and they’re excellent companions. The only downside to having a pet is that they shed and leave their fur and dander on your clothes, furniture, floors, and bedding. If you have a breed that doesn’t shed, your pet will still shed dander, and the fur and dander will end up in the air ducts. When the heater or air conditioner runs, the fur and debris will circulate in the air, affecting your home’s air quality and could cause your family to develop allergy symptoms.
If you have one or more pets in your home, it’s best to hire a duct cleaning service in Fort Worth, TX every three years rather than five because the debris will accumulate faster.
A duct cleaning service will send a tech to clean the debris, fur, and dander from the ducts, eliminating the risk of your family developing allergies.
#9 Clean Up After a Home Remodel
Home remodels are great because you can make changes to turn your home into your dream house. The remodeling process will produce a significant amount of sawdust and drywall dust that will eventually end up in the air ducts. The construction debris in the ducts will circulate in the air, landing on your newly remodeled home’s surfaces and affecting your home’s air quality.
The best way to prevent these issues is to have your ducts cleaned by a professional. You should schedule an appointment once the contractor has completed the work, cleaned the house, and left your home. The tech will remove the dirt, dust, and construction debris, ensuring your newly remodeled home looks great, and your family will remain healthy.
#10 Clean Up After Replacing the Furnace
Your furnace must be replaced when it reaches the end of its lifespan. When you schedule the appointment to replace the furnace, you should also let the company know that you want your ducts cleaned.
When the old furnace is removed, the process will kick up a significant amount of soot that will end up in the air ducts. The soot will circulate in the air when the heater or air conditioner runs, making a mess in your house. Also, you can get sick when you inhale the soot, or it gets on your skin or eyes. The toxic particles cause breathing issues, coronary heart disease, and cancer. If an infant or an elderly person lives in the house, they are much more susceptible to health issues.
When the new furnace is installed and the old one has been removed from the house, the tech will clean the ducts to ensure they’re clean and free of soot. You don’t want to skip this step for your family’s health.
One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth
If you’re overdue to have your air ducts cleaned or have never had them cleaned and need to hire a duct cleaning service, call One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth. We’re a full-service HVAC company, serving customers in the area since 1988, and many of our customers have been working with us for decades.
Our HVAC techs are professionally trained and have the knowledge and skill necessary to tackle the most challenging jobs in the industry. We want our customers to feel safe when they allow our techs into their homes, so they must pass a background check, drug test and register with the state of Texas before hiring. HVAC technology is constantly evolving, so our techs are required to receive ongoing training. We want to be sure they can install, maintain, and repair the latest HVAC models, allowing us to help every customer.
You don’t have to worry if an HVAC issue that must be addressed immediately arises outside our regular business hours, during the weekend, or on a holiday because we provide emergency service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We’ll get to your house as quickly as possible to resolve the issue.
To schedule an appointment to have your air ducts cleaned or for any other HVAC service, call One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth today.