Duct Cleaning in Reno, NV
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Step 1 of 3: Equipment
Eight months of heating pushes air through the same ducts
Your furnace runs from October through May here, eight months of the year. That's eight months of air moving through the same ductwork, and whatever settles in it gets pushed into every room each time the furnace kicks on.
On winter nights averaging 23°F, the furnace is working hard to keep up, and ducts choked with buildup make that harder. Restricted airflow means the furnace runs longer to reach the same temperature, and rooms farther from the furnace end up colder than the rest of the house.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner does the same
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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- There is no fixed number of years that fits every home. If anyone in the house has allergies, or you have pets shedding into the return vents, ducts need attention more often. Homes here run the furnace eight months of the year, October through May, so dust moves through the system more than it would in a milder climate. Have a contractor look at the ducts if dust settles again soon after a cleaning.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It is worth it when there is a real reason behind it, not on a fixed schedule alone. Visible dust coming out of the vents, a musty smell when the furnace kicks on, or a recent renovation that left drywall dust in the system are all good reasons to have it done. If nobody in the house has breathing issues and you do not see dust or smell anything off, the ducts may not need attention yet. A contractor can check the return and supply lines and tell you whether cleaning will actually help.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a vacuum to the duct system to pull dust and debris out under negative pressure, then uses brushes or air whips to loosen what has built up on the inside walls of the ducts. Every supply and return vent gets opened and cleaned, along with the main trunk lines. The furnace or air handler itself, including the blower and coil, usually gets cleaned as part of the same visit since that is where a lot of buildup starts. The filter should also be checked, since a dirty filter puts the ducts right back where they started.