Duct Cleaning in Chicago, IL
Tell us about your home, and a licensed contractor who covers Cook County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat pushes a lot of air through your ducts
Your furnace runs October through May here, close to eight months of the year. On the cold nights in between, it's cycling on and off for hours at a stretch, pushing air through the same ductwork night after night. Every pass carries dust, and over that many months it settles in the runs and at the joints.
Cook County sees its share of rough weather too, winter storms and damaging wind both show up most years. When the power blinks off, and it does, 16% of Illinois households went a full day without it last year, the system sits idle and then kicks back on hard once it's back, pushing loose buildup further into the line. That's what a duct cleaning is clearing out.
- 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, but most homeowners get it done every few years. If anyone in the house has allergies, or you have had a pest problem or a water leak into the ductwork, get it done sooner. A contractor can look at your ducts and tell you whether they need attention now or can wait.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- Yes, if it has been years since it was done or you can see dust coming out of the vents. Clean ducts mean the air moving through your house is not carrying years of buildup with it. It will not lower your energy bills the way some ads claim, but it does keep the system moving air the way it was designed to.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor uses a truck-mounted or portable vacuum system to pull dust and debris out of the ductwork, working duct by duct through the house. Brushes or air whips loosen material stuck to the inside of the metal before it gets pulled out. The vents, the return grilles, and often the blower compartment on the furnace get cleaned too, since that is where a lot of dust collects.