Air ducts, like any other air conditioning system, require regular cleaning to ensure maximum efficiency. The National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) recommends cleaning air ducts every three to five years. However, in some environments, the need to clean commercial air ducts is more immediate. There are a few factors that influence when it comes to setting how often you should clean your duct systems. Every 3 to 5 years is a standard recommendation, but you may want to consider doing it more often depending on certain factors.
The average duct system must be cleaned every two to five years. If your system is properly maintained and filters are changed twice a year, you can increase the time between professional cleanings. If your system has never been cleaned and has been active on your property for more than three years, it's probably due to a cleaning. Even a single station can accumulate enough dust and dirt in the system to make it less efficient than it was when it was first installed.
Changing air filters frequently is the best way to keep dust, allergens, and other particles out of your home. If you have a newly installed system or a system in a house you just moved into, check the filter once a month to determine how quickly it gets dirty at different times of the year. Most should be replaced every two to three months. After analyzing 33 Montreal homes before and after duct cleaning, the study found that there was no significant improvement in air quality and that duct cleaning alone did not improve airflow or energy efficiency. Environmental Protection Agency researchers measured dust levels and the efficiency of the air conditioning system in test homes over a period of one week during the cooling season and found that cleaning the ducts did not significantly improve dust levels or system performance.
Companies that clean pipelines often announce health benefits or suggest that cleaning ducts will reduce energy bills by improving system efficiency. Most heating, ventilation, and air conditioning companies set a specific frequency or schedule for cleaning ducts, but they don't need to be cleaned regularly to maintain health and air quality in the house. While the average cleaning service is very talented at cleaning surface level dirt, it's likely that they don't have the necessary skills to clean ductwork properly. In fact, the few independent research conducted on duct cleaning indicates that the process accumulates so much dust that it creates a greater problem than it solves.
Although not always part of their basic cleaning services, many duct cleaning companies also tend to clean heating and cooling equipment (heat exchangers, cooling coils, condensate drain pipes, fan motors, blades and fan housings). While duct cleaning operations may insist that duct cleaning is essential to health, the evidence doesn't support their claims. So how often do air ducts need to be inspected and cleaned to maintain a high IAQ? How often you should schedule air duct cleaning depends on a few factors, but the National Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) recommends cleaning your air ducts every 3 to 5 years. The CMHC researchers discovered that, when duct cleaners also cleaned the fan blades, there was a small reduction in airborne particles.
The most likely culprits are the cooling system's evaporator coils, which your heating and air conditioning contractor and most duct cleaning companies can inspect and maintain. Most common cleaning companies don't have access to these tools, making their processes are less efficient. When mold stays in your air ducts, regardless of how often you clean your home, the mold will keep coming back from those spores. If you have severe allergies or live in a place with high levels of pollen or allergens, you should reduce the time between air duct cleaning.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that, since you have a filter in your system, you don't need to clean your ducts. Any sign of rodents or insects in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system indicates that ducts should be cleaned by a professional.
