7 Tips On How To Clean Your HVAC Ducts
HVAC system is one of the few systems in your house that immensely influence your standard of living and overall health. With time, the HVAC system can accumulate dust and other pollutants from the environment. These things can prove dangerous for yours and your family’s health. So, you need to thoroughly clean your HVAC system from time to time in order to keep the air quality inside your house optimum. You can use HVAC companies for regular maintenance and cleaning.
DIY cleaning? Cleaning the HVAC system of your house by yourself brings a lot of additional benefits besides being a fun activity to learn. It can save you a lot of money and can help you enjoy a good quality HVAC system for longer time among other things.
Here are some tips on how you can actually clean the HVAC system of your house by yourself.
Invest in the Right Tools
Having the right tools is an absolute necessity if you plan on cleaning the HVAC system by yourself. This will surely save you a lot of money, but first you’ll need to invest in the right equipment. Don’t worry, though, because this is only a “one time investment” with high returns in the long term.
Right tools for cleaning the HVAC systems can be easily bought from the local stores for a reasonable amount of money. You can also borrow them from a friend or neighbor if you don’t want to invest in the thing just yet. Equipment includes vacuum cleaner, brush, paper towels (or cleaning clothes) and new furnace filter.
Block the Supply Registers
Just before starting cleaning the HVAC ducts, it is a good idea to cover all the supply registers with either microfiber clothes or paper towels. This will prevent the dust from going into any other areas of your house while you’re busy cleaning the system thoroughly. Hold the cloth in place by fixing them under the grills.
Turn Off the Heat and Run the Fan Alone
Running the fan alone with rest of the heating system off is a great idea. This will help the lose dust to fly away and reveal the lower, thicker layer of dust that’s stuck to the surface. This is especially applicable if you’re cleaning the HVAC ducts after the summers and just before the winter arrives, because this way, it’ll have all of the accumulated dust sitting inside.
Don’t Forget the Supply and Return Air Registers
Since we cover them before starting the cleaning operation, supply and return air registers are often overlooked parts of the HVAC system when cleaning the rest of it. These registers can easily be unscrewed and cleaned with the help of a cloth or vacuum cleaner. Broom can be used to clean the piping system effectively.
Turn Everything Off Before Starting
Just before starting the cleaning process, make sure that you turn off/unplug the system altogether and cut off any type of power supply. This is highly recommended because during the cleaning process, you’ll need to access the sophisticated areas of your HVAC system. And doing that with power supply still on can be dangerous.
Remove the Covers
To reach the insides of all the air ducts included in your HVAC system, you’ll need to remove the cover of the air ducts. To do this, you’ll need to unscrew the covers and pull them out. After doing this step, clean the grates thoroughly by either using a dry method, or with soapy water (if it’s more dirty).
Now Come to the Air Ducts
This is the main part of our cleaning process. The air ducts of your HVAC system need to be cleaned by using a vacuum cleaner. The vacuum should be strong enough to suck out any type of accumulated dust and debris from the ducts, also you’ll need a long vacuum hose depending on the length of your air ducts.
Usually, the normal vacuum we use in our houses isn’t powerful enough to scrape off all the accumulated dust, so you’ll need a brush to do the tough job here. Use the brush with certain amount of force to deep clean the air ducts and restore their original shape. After using the brush, wipe off the surface with a cloth or paper towel to thoroughly clean it.
In the end, keep your HVAC system clean and get it inspected from heat pump repair services McLean regularly to avoid any sudden break down.