Duct Cleaning in Decatur, IL
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It takes about a minute.
Seven months of heating runs a lot of air through those ducts
Your furnace runs from October through April here, and on the cold nights that settle in over December through February, averaging 22°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch. Every cycle pushes air through the same ductwork, and whatever is riding in that air, dust, pet hair, the fine debris that settles in a house over a winter, gets carried along and some of it stays behind.
Macon County has also seen its share of wind. Ten winter storms and 109 damaging wind events over the past decade mean plenty of chances for a duct system to pull in outside air it was not built to handle, through gaps, loose seams, or a return that is not sealed the way it should be. Add that to the wear and tear of a long heating season, and ducts here end up doing more work carrying more than clean air.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner does the same
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- There's no fixed schedule that fits every house. Clean them when something specific calls for it, like a renovation that left drywall dust behind, signs of rodents or mold inside the ducts, or dust that keeps blowing out of the vents no matter how often you clean the house. If nobody in the house has allergies and you don't see any of that, there's no reason to rush it.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It depends on what you're hoping it will fix. If you're dealing with dust that keeps coming back, or a musty smell when the furnace kicks on, cleaning the ducts can help with that. It won't lower your heating bills or make your furnace run better, so if that's the goal, the money is better spent elsewhere.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a vacuum system to your ductwork and uses brushes or air tools to knock loose the dust and debris built up inside the supply and return lines, then pulls it all out through the vacuum. They'll also check the vents and the furnace blower, since dust collects there too. A full job covers every duct run in the house, not just the ones you can reach easily.