Air duct cleaning has been around since the 20th century. Over the years, the methods, technologies, and standards have evolved.
Ensuring the cleanliness of your air duct system is important in keeping contaminants out of your home which gives you safe and high-quality breathable air inside the premises. The quality of air inside your home impacts your family’s health in a great way. Keeping it clean, especially now, will minimize the risks of getting sick and lowering your immune system.
Cleaning your air ducts and vents can be done by a professional or, if you have the know-how and the right tools, you can do it by yourself. However, we highly recommend letting the professionals do your duct cleaning because chances are, you don’t own the right equipment to get the job done. Having a pro do the job reduces the risk of damaging your system and ensures high-quality workmanship.
Before making any appointments for the cleaners, it is best that you understand how the different cleaning processes work so that you can make a well-informed decision on how you want your system cleaned.
Source Removal
Perhaps the most common and highly-recommended method of cleaning air ducts is source removal. This cleans your system mechanically by removing dirt and debris that have accumulated over time. These particles tend to statically cling or stick to your air duct’s interiors.This method of removal involves two essential elements: mechanical agitation and extraction.
Mechanical agitation simply loosens the dust particles and other foreign elements from the walls of your HVAC system and air ducts. Extraction involves the safe removal of the said particles from your system.
Steam Air Duct Cleaning
This method of air duct cleaning involves a wand that releases high-pressure and high-temperature steam into the duct system to agitate and loosen particles, dirt, and debris that are stuck to your vent walls.
However, since modern HVACs use electric components for better efficiency, steam cleaning is not recommended on these newer systems as the introduction of moisture will cause damage to it.
Truck-Mounted Vacuum Cleaning
The truck-mounted vacuum cleaning method utilizes a vacuum from the truck that is attached to the trunk lines of the vent system. This line draws air volume that ranges from 10,000 to 15,000 cubic feet per minute. Rotary brushes are inserted into the air vents to help loosen the debris inside and bring them to the collection point.
While this method was widely used before and does have certain benefits, a lot of industry professionals no longer use this method as the chances of cross-contaminating your HVAC is high.
Point-of-Contact Air Duct Cleaning
By far the safest and most effective cleaning method to date, point-of-contact cleaning uses a portable vacuum with HEPA filter along with an agitation device that simultaneously cleans the air ducts. The HEPA filter plays a crucial part in the cleaning process as it prevents cross-contamination.
As technology continues to advance, we will keep seeing new and better methods and systems of air duct cleaning. It’s just a matter of time when the next best thing in air duct cleaning will be revealed.
