Duct Cleaning in Newark, NJ
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Eight months of heating pushes dust through the same ducts
Your furnace runs October through May here, eight months of the year. Every time it kicks on, air moves through the same ductwork, and whatever is sitting in there, dust, pet hair, the fine grit that comes in on shoes, gets pushed through and settles again a little further along. On the nights that average 25°F, the furnace is cycling on and off for hours, so that air is moving through the ducts often.
Over eight months of heating, that is a lot of passes through the same trunk lines and branches. The dust does not leave. It just keeps getting stirred up and redistributed, coating more of the duct with each pass.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 3 months
- June through August, 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. Homes with pets, a recent renovation, or someone with allergies usually need it more often than others. If you can see dust coming out of the vents or built up around the grilles, that is a sign it is time. A contractor can look inside the ducts and tell you what shape they are in.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It depends on what is actually in the ducts. If there is visible dust, debris from a renovation, or a musty smell when the system runs, cleaning them will help. If the ducts look clean and no one in the house has breathing trouble, there may be little to gain right now. A contractor can look inside the ducts and tell you which case you are in.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a vacuum to the duct system and uses brushes or air tools to loosen dust and debris along the way, then pulls it out through the vacuum. Each supply and return vent gets cleaned, along with the main trunk lines. The furnace or air handler and the coil often get a cleaning at the same time since they sit in the same airflow.