What To Expect From A Duct Cleaning Service | Azle, TX
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Your air ducts run under every floor of your home and are responsible for delivering cold and warm air throughout your home. If you are like most people you don’t stop to think about them much, but if they start stinking or your airflow starts to get compromised you may start to think about them more. While they may not be an immediate part of your HVAC system, your air ducts are very important and need to be properly maintained to ensure that your HVAC system is working at its peak efficiency.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong with your air ducts, which is why you may find yourself in need of a duct cleaning service in Azle, TX. From simple dust buildup that creates a dust cloud throughout your home to animal droppings that line the pathways and encourage mold growth, it is possible that a lot of disgusting scenarios exist under your home hiding in your air ducts. Here is a breakdown that explains how a duct cleaning service can help, what to expect, and when you should call to inquire about duct cleaning.
Common Signs You May Need to Book a Duct Cleaning Service
If you have never had a duct cleaning service, it may not be a bad idea to consider hiring someone to clean your ducts. This is especially true if you have just moved into a home or have never had your ducts cleaned and live in an older home. However, these are just a few of the many signs that it may now be time to consider a cleaning service.
You Can See Dust
If the very first thing that comes out of your air ducts while your AC or heat is cycling is a puff of dust then this is a pretty clear sign that it is time to have your ducts cleaned. Even if you cannot see dust there is a good chance it is hiding in the particles of air, but if it has accumulated so much that you are now visually able to spot it then it has reached a new level of trouble. Ideally, you should never see or smell anything come out of the ductwork in your home, therefore, the presence of anything is alarming.
You also might want to consider checking to see if it was a one-time issue or truly a sign of a major dust problem. This is easily done by kicking off your AC or heat and then turning it back on and bumping the thermostat up or down a few degrees to force it to cycle. If the puff of dust jumps out again it’s a clear sign you need some help in Azle, TX. However, if the dust cloud is continual and large or smoky at all, you will want to shut down your HVAC system until you have a professional inspect it. At this point, it may be a larger mechanical issue or even a clogged duct and a simple air duct cleaning service may not be enough.
Your House Is Perpetually Dusty
It is possible that your air ducts are constantly blowing out dust even if you can’t see it. Dust is impossible to prevent in any indoor area, so if you see dust in your home you should not immediately worry that your air ducts are the reason. However, if you notice that it is dusty the day after you clean then it is very possible your ductwork is playing a role. You should get at least a week after cleaning before the dust is thick and covering everything in your home again.
The reason why is simple. When air travels through your air ducts it picks up the dust that settles on the bottom of the ducts. You can’t see the particles because they are in the air, but once they are dispelled out of the vents the dust is heavier than air and settles back down over the top of things. Therefore, no matter how much you dust, it will just recycle and come back into the air until you finally call for a duct cleaning service.
Higher Than Usual Energy Bills
High energy bills are always alarming, especially if you are on a strict home budget. While it is normal for energy costs to fluctuate some as the seasons change, you should never see a major shift out of the blue. If there is no reason for the large shift in energy bills such as major weather changes or a new appliance like adding a hot tub to your home, then it is time to consider your HVAC system as the culprit.
There are a lot of electrical appliances in your home, but few have the power to actually dramatically affect your energy bill in just one month. When energy bills continue to rise despite your best efforts to consume less energy it becomes very likely that your HVAC system is to blame. The best course of action is to get your HVAC system serviced so that a professional can look for the cause, but during this process, you should be aware that your air ducts may be to blame. If there is a lot of dust in your air ducts it can create a partial clog and make it much harder for your HVAC system to cool your home. The harder it has to work to cool your home, the more energy it will consume leaving you with a higher energy bill.
New Home Renovations
Home renovations are great. They help you make the space your own and oftentimes increase the value of your home. However, they also kick up a lot of dust, even more so if sanding or plaster is involved. All of this dust has to go somewhere, and despite your best interests that somewhere won’t be into the trash can. It is very easy for dust to settle in your air ducts, adn the major problem is that you will then continue to breathe dust, paint particles, sanding scraps, and/or plaster particles long after the project is completed.
The best thing you can do is make sure that you seal off all air ducts that will be within distance of the renovations, and then call for a duct cleaning service immediately following the process. Most people are surprised to see just how much dust actually makes its way into their air ducts. It is well worth it to protect the health of your family.
Odd Odors Are Coming Out of Your Air Vents
The same way you shouldn’t notice dust coming out of your air vents, you also should not notice any odd odors coming out of your air vents. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad odors that can sift out of your air vents that indicate trouble brewing inside where you cannot see.
The first and most obvious is a musty smell that may remind you of a basement or an old closet in your parent’s home. That musty smell is caused by mold and mildew that is growing along the sides of your air ducts. Mold can be dangerous to breathe and in some people may even cause an allergic reaction, and if you can smell it then you can guarantee the mold spores are in the air and circulating around your home. Therefore, this smell indicates that you need to immediately hire someone for a duct cleaning service.
Another common odor that pops out of air ducts in Azle, TX is the smell of rotting or decaying animals and/or their feces. Small rodents like mice and rats use home air ducts to get around homes without getting noticed. While this may work for a while allowing them to avoid detection, eventually a mouse will get injured or trapped in an air duct which will lead to its death. When the rodent’s body starts to decay you will certainly smell it leading to an emergency call for a duct cleaning service. Keep in mind that it is about more than just removing the dead rodent, because where there is one rodent you can always bet there are many more and that means your air ducts may be littered with their droppings. A good duct cleaning service will be able to remove all of that and in the meantime, you may want to consider calling an exterminator to make sure they don’t come back.
Benefits of Regular Duct Cleaning
There are many benefits that come with regular duct cleaning service, the best of which is a simple piece of mind. Instead of wondering what might be lurking under your air ducts, you know that the air is safe for your family to breathe. However, there are real tangible benefits that you can gain by keeping up with duct cleaning service.
Homes that regularly have their air ducts cleaned usually have better functioning HVAC systems because any holes or issues in the ductwork that might be forcing the HVAC system to work harder are detected and fixed. This also means that energy bills drop at the same time, so you can expect to pay less on your monthly energy bills if you keep up with your air ducts.
Regular air duct cleaning service also helps improve the air quality in your home which can help reduce the number of allergies that people suffer from in your Azle, TX home and/or reduce respiratory diseases. Those with allergies, older adults, and children are most likely to have complications from dirty air. Keep in mind that in Azle, TX during the summer the heat is so thick that most people don’t crack a window for months. This means the only fresh air in your home is coming out of your air ducts, so you want to make sure that it is truly fresh and not adulterated.
What to Expect on the Day of Your Duct Cleaning Service
During a duct cleaning service the HVAC tech has one goal; to clean out every single duct in your home. They will usually start at the top of your HVAC system and clean the vent that pushes air from your HVAC system into the ductwork. They will make a small hole in that vent and then use it to slide long, flexible tools up your ducts that can clean and inspect the ducts.
From here they will move around your home using various access points to get down and deep into your ductwork. By the time the job is done every single duct in your home will be thoroughly cleaned and inspected to ensure that it is working at top capacity and dust-free. The length of the visit will vary depending on the size of your home and the amount of dirt that is found in your air ducts. Obviously dirtier ducts and larger homes will require a longer duct cleaning service.
How Should I Prepare for My Duct Cleaning Service?
You don’t have to do too much to prepare for duct cleaning outside of making sure that the HVAC technician has clear access to all of your major air vents. In general, you want to create a four radius around your HVAC system so that they can maneuver their tools up into the air ducts without harming any of your nearby personal property. You will also want to create a four-foot path from the door of your home to the HVAC system if there is not already one. Then simply walk around your home and move any furniture that may be blocking entry to major air ducts out of the way until the duct cleaning service is complete.
If you are ready to book an air duct cleaning service, give One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth a call and we will gladly schedule a time for one of our trained technicians to come out to your Azle, TX home.