Your heating system works hard for you, especially in the winter time. It will be running more frequently, circulating warm air through your ductwork and into you home. Dust will build up in your ducts and furnace over time and if not cleaned out properly, will blow out into your home’s interior. It’s important to have your furnace inspected and your ducts cleaned regularly.
It’s not just dust lurking in your heating system either. Our friends at Britcan Furnace Cleaning find all kinds of things in the ducts they’ve cleaned. Debris from renovations, dirt, mouse or squirrel nests, cat feces and even lost jewellery have all been found in ducts they’ve worked on.
Removing clogs in the ductwork will also increase your home’s efficiency. An article in House Logic states that in severe cases duct cleaning has improved heating and cooling efficiency 40%.
Checking for dirty ducts
If you have a handheld or smart phone camera with a flash, it’s pretty easy to check your ducts yourself. Open one of your registers, stick your hand as far as you can into the duct and take a photo. Be careful not to drop your camera!
If you see a thick coat of dust and other debris lining your ducts, you need a professional duct cleaning. Here are some other things to look for:
– Noticeable particles, debris or cobwebs blowing out of registers;
– Dead insects or rodent droppings inside the ducts; and in rare cases
– Visible mold on the inside surface of your ducts.
Dust and debris found at the opening of your register can be cleaned out with a household vacuum cleaner.
When to call for a furnace or duct cleaning
If you can’t remember the last time you’ve had your ducts cleaned, or it’s been several years, then it’s probably time to call a furnace and duct cleaning company.
It’s a good idea to have your furnace inspected and their heating system cleaned when you first move into a new house. Breathing in someone else’s dust and pet dander is a gross thought and you don’t really know the last time it was done either.
If you’ve just completed a major home remodel, it is a good time to have your ducts cleaned. Saw dust, dry wall dust and other renovation debris has definitely gotten into your duct system. A duct cleaning should be part of any renovation or construction clean up.
Britcan Furnace Cleaning has the experience and expertise for residential and commercial duct cleaning. They’re RenovationFind.com approved and provide a high quality of service to Edmonton and area. Contact them today for a furnace and duct cleaning before winter hits!
