Home and Garden | Cleaning Ducts - Heating and Air Conditioning

Modern houses and apartments are built to be airtight for greater heating and cooling efficiency. They're so airtight, however, that new air circulates back into the house very slowly - it may take hours for the air in a new house to recycle itself.

This creates not only stale air but a buildup of indoor pollutants. These pollutants include irritants such as dust, smoke, mold spores, pollen, and animal dander which not only bother your lungs but clog heating and cooling systems, computers, and other electronic equipment. You may also suffer the effects of more serious environmental hazards such as the outgassing of formaldehyde from construction materials.

The simple steps below will help you clean your ducts, though a professional cleaning can access ductwork which a homeowner can't reach.

PROJECT BASICS

Project: Easy
Estimated Project Time: 1 hour
Start Tips: Before you inspect the registers, make sure the surrounding floor is clear of small objects which might fall into the ducts once the covers are removed
Safety Tips: Not applicable
Recommendation: Do-it-Yourself

Fig. 1

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Inspect the duct walls
If your ducts have never been cleaned (even if you use furnace filters), remove a register and check the duct walls inside. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 2

2) Vacuum the ducts
You can reach several feet down most ducts with a vacuum cleaner, and this will help eliminate pollutants. But if you prefer a thorough cleaning of the entire duct system, you can hire a professional duct-cleaning service. (Fig. 2)

Fig. 3

3) Vacuum the return-air grille
Dust that sneaks by your filters may eventually be trapped at the return-air grille, which also should be vacuumed. (Fig. 3)