Subscribe and receive email notifications of new blog posts.
RSS Feed
- 2026 | 14 Posts
- 2025 | 48 Posts
- 2024 | 48 Posts
- 2023 | 48 Posts
- 2022 | 48 Posts
- 2021 | 48 Posts
- 2020 | 48 Posts
- 2019 | 48 Posts
- 2018 | 30 Posts
21
Clear the Air: The Benefits of Regular Air Duct Cleaning
To clean or not to clean your air ducts? That is the question. Some HVAC specialists recommend it; others say, whoa—not so fast, as it might not be needed. The answer, as so often happens, is it depends. Conditions can prevail that make it necessary to clean air ducts, particularly here in the heart of Atlanta homes for sale. Our climate is warm and humid, which can set up conditions for mold growth or the presence of vermin. Ductwork may be vulnerable, especially if there's a break, crack, or hole.
Here's some advice from our real estate agents to help you decide about duct cleaning.
No Air Duct Cleaning Necessary
Some air duct cleaning specialists will try to convince you that you should have your ducts cleaned every few months. This may be true if you have these conditions:
- Your HVAC ducts are prone to developing mold, mildew, fungus, or bacteria.
- Your ducts are compromised in some way that allows conditioned air to escape or unconditioned air to enter, thus introducing humidity and other pollutants into your HVAC system and home.
- Your home is undergoing renovation, causing excessive dust to build up in ducts.
If you're experiencing the first two conditions, you may need to have your ducts repaired or replaced.
You may also need duct cleaning if you have hyper-sensitive individuals with allergies or asthma, and your ductwork has become polluted.
In general, most residential duct systems don't require cleaning more often than every few years. Some homeowners never get their ducts cleaned, and the home's air is just fine.
Polluted Air
The fact is that duct cleaning doesn't usually address the main sources of air pollution in the home. In most cases, the major sources of air pollution in a home are things like dust, pollen, and pet dander. Most of these pollutants are best controlled by eliminating them at the source and using a quality air filter in the HVAC.
If your home develops mold, mildew, or fungus, you might check out a UVGI filter, an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation light. This type of light is installed in the ductwork and is used to treat living pollutants, such as mold, mildew, fungus, and bacteria. A licensed HVAC tech should install the filter.
Maintaining Clean Air
As mentioned above, it's best to control pollutants at the source. Also, change your HVAC air filter regularly—a dirty air filter does little to clean your home's air and will cause your HVAC to operate inefficiently. Be sure to get regular HVAC preventative maintenance in spring and fall.
Talk to your HVAC tech about your ductwork. Depending on where the ducts are located, you might want your tech to look at them to determine if they are relatively clean or compromised in some way that allows unconditioned air inside them. Companies that do duct cleaning will have specialized equipment for the process. It's not recommended that you try to clean the ductwork yourself.
Do you have more questions about duct cleaning? Consult our real estate agents to answer these questions and others about buying or listing a home in Atlanta. Contact us today.