subject: Hvac Tips: Getting Your Home Summer Ready [print this page] While the weather is heating up and windows are spending more and more time in the open position, before long they'll be locked back up and the air conditioners will take over the cooling responsibilities. Depending on your climate or region, this may already be the case. However, no matter the season, Mother Nature is likely to give us a taste of the unexpected. It's better to be prepared beforehand than to wait and see what she will throw your way.
Whether this season or in years to come, it's a good idea to get your air vents looked at during a mild season. For many those are rare, but between heat blasts or long bouts of cold weather, having your air vents cleaned out can help ensure they are still working in tip-top condition. Air vents can easily be cleaned by your local HVAC professional, who will also provide air conditioning and repairs, should the need arise. Most HVAC specialists also provide furnace repair, garage heaters and cooling systems (who says only the house can be a comfortable temperature), and ductless air conditioning, which eliminates the need for air duct cleaning altogether.
Why Air Duct Cleaning is Important
If you stop to think about it, air ducts bring in almost every particle of air you, your friends and family members, will bring in. When air is pumped through a heater or air conditioner to help standardize room temperatures, it also must pass through air ducts to reach its final destination: your home, office, or garage. That also means that whatever is within your air ducts is being breathed in as well. Having them cleaned on a regular basis is one of the easiest preventative measures to keep your (and others') breathing air from becoming polluted.
Where to Have it Done
When considering your air duct cleaning options, give your local HVAC company a call. This process is fairly quick and can be done with a few hours. The HVAC specialists can also provide advice on your air conditioning or heating unit and whether it should be cleaned out as well. And while no one can predict Mother Nature's plans, it's best to have your air ducts cleaned during a patch of pleasant weather. This way you can be sure each vent and duct is thoroughly cleaned out before it has to report back to duty.
How Often Should Air Ducts be Cleaned?
In a perfect world, air ducts would be self cleaning, ridding themselves of any dust or gunk every few months. However, when the cleaning must be done manually, every few months is a little far fetched, no matter how well you know your HVAC man. Therefore, it's often best to use your judgment. Take a test sample from an easily accessible vent, or shine a flashlight to see how much dust has accumulated. One of the easiest ways is to consider air duct cleaning part of your spring cleaning rituals.
