Is your HVAC system operating efficiently? Are you losing any cool air? Are the air filters dirty? Cleaning and disinfecting the ducts of your HVAC system regularly is just one of the proactive measures you can take to save money on your energy bills. Are you familiar with mold, bacteria and viruses that can accumulate in HVAC ducts? As an HVAC service provider it is important to know how to clean everything including vents, coils and ductwork with healthy indoor air quality (IAQ).
Disinfecting the duct work in your home may seem like a daunting task, but with some common household items and a little bit of time you can do it yourself. While there are professional companies that will do this for you, disinfection is something that most homeowners can do themselves and save the cost of hiring someone else to do the job. The process can be broken up into a few easy steps that when followed closely will protect your home from harmful bacteria, mold, and debris that could otherwise spread throughout your house and potentially make you sick.
The following steps will help you in cleaning the dusty air ducts in your home. But first of all, you need to know that the air ducts are not cleaned by vacuuming or sweeping them. That is because these actions will move the dirt around in the ducts instead of cleaning them. So the best thing that you can do is hiring professional cleaners. However, if you want to do it yourself, here is what you need to do:
Step 1: Prepare Your Disinfectant Solution
Before you start working on disinfecting HVAC ducts, remove any covers from your HVAC unit and clean them thoroughly. Start by preparing your disinfectant solution. Use a hose to inject the contents of the bottle into the closet or duct space. Turn on an air handler to push the solution throughout the duct work to ensure you’ve adequately saturated all surfaces.
Step 2: Open The Ducts And Clean Them With A Vacuum Cleaner
First you need to clean your duct system of any dust or dirt that has accumulated on them over time. It is important to use the right tools for this job or you could end up damaging your system. Use brushes with long handles so you can reach where needed and don’t use anything abrasive like steel wool or scrapers because these can scratch the surface of your ducts which could lead to leaks later on.
Step 3: If You Have An Access To The Indoor Unit Of The Air Conditioning System, Make Sure You Clean It Too!
The indoor unit of your air conditioning system collects all the dust from the house, but it doesn’t go anywhere until you clean the vents. Even though you can see them, it is difficult to ensure that they are really clean because there are lots of small spaces and channels.
Step 4: Use A High-Quality Liquid To Disinfect Your HVAC Ducts
You can disinfect your HVAC ducts without spending a fortune on chemicals, dusters and brushes. The only items you need for this task are a cleaning solution that contains hypochlorite – a chemical that’s used in bleach – and a wet vacuum.
Step 5: Clean All Surfaces And Reattach Them!
Reattach any loose or disconnected vent covers or grills and air registers so there are no holes for unwanted pests to enter.
This article will give some insight to help answer those questions along with some HVAC background as well.
