Air Duct Cleaning

The air duct system in your home consists of all of the parts of your forced air system that supplies your air conditioning and heating needs. This includes the system's housing, drip pan, fan motor, fan housing, coils, diffusers, and registers.

Health Benefits

The jury is still out on the benefits of air duct cleaning. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asks you to report any company that claims the EPA states that regular air duct cleaning has health benefits. However, the EPA does suggest talking to your physician if you think that any illnesses or allergies that someone in your family is experiencing might be related to the indoor air quality of your home.

Visual Inspection

When cleaning your air ducts, you are looking for mold and large amounts of dust. A musty smell in your air ducts indicates that they need cleaning. It is also advisable to have your air ducts cleaned if you see signs of mice, rats, or a large number of insects

The return registers are probably always going to have some dust on them as a function of their job, pulling air through the grate. Dusty registers are not a symptom of a larger problem. You can simply clean or vacuum them yourself.

Contact a Professional

If you suspect that you have mold or mildew in a part of your air duct system, contact a professional. If you decide to have your air duct system cleaned, make sure the person doing the cleaning shows you any mold that he or she finds. Remember, too, that if you find mold in the process of having your air ducts cleaned, you will have to fix whatever allowed the mold to grow. If you do not, the mold will grow back again.

Before Hiring a Company for Air Duct Cleaning

When you consider hiring a company to clean your air ducts, contact your local Better Business Bureau to see if anyone has complained about them. Ask for references and check them carefully. In some states, companies that provide air duct cleaning services must be licensed; among these states are California, Michigan, Texas, and Arizona. Be wary of any company that is trying to oversell you. Remember: the Environmental Protection Agency does not recommend routine cleaning.