Duct Cleaning in Quincy, IL
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Seven months of forced air, then a rest that lets dust settle
Your furnace runs October through April here, seven months of the year, pushing air through the same ducts night after night on nights that average 22°F. That much airflow carries dust, pet hair, and whatever else is in the house straight into the ductwork, and a lot of it settles in the bends and joints instead of blowing back out through the vents.
Then spring comes and the furnace goes quiet for months. Dust that built up over the winter just sits there in the ducts until the system starts pushing air again, and the first weeks of the next heating season blow it back through the house.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner does the same
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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- There's no fixed schedule that fits every home, since it depends on how fast dust and debris build up in your ducts. If anyone in the house has allergies, or you've had a remodel that left dust behind, it's worth checking sooner rather than later. Homes with pets often need it more often too, since fur and dander build up faster than plain dust does. A contractor can look at your ductwork and tell you whether it needs cleaning now or can wait.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It's worth it if your ducts actually have a buildup problem, not as something to do on a schedule for its own sake. Signs it's time include dust that resettles fast after you clean, a musty smell when the furnace or AC kicks on, or a family member's allergies acting up more indoors than out. With heat running here from October through April, whatever is sitting in the ducts gets blown through the house for seven months straight, so a real buildup is worth clearing out.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a vacuum system to the ductwork and uses brushes or air tools to knock debris loose from the inside of the duct walls, then pulls it out through the vacuum. This covers the supply and return ducts, and usually the grilles and the blower compartment too. The furnace filter gets checked or replaced as part of the job, since a dirty filter feeds the same problem right back into clean ducts.