How Often Should I Clean My Air Conditioner Ducts?
Your air conditioner provides you with comfort and cooling during the hottest days in summer. It’s your duty to devote yourself toward its maintenance in return of its service. Cleanliness is the key to maintaining any equipment and increasing its life. An A/C sucks in dusty warm air and gives out cool filtered air. Ever wondered where those dust particles go? They accumulate inside the ducts and filters of your cooling equipment to reduce its efficiency. The system draws more power to circulate the air and resists the entire gunk, which in turn increase your energy bills. Therefore, it is advisable to have your ducts cleaned periodically. Before you clean your air conditioner ducts by yourself call a certified technician.
The question arises, how often is enough? Below you will find the answer of this query.
Times You Should Have Your Air Ducts Cleaned
You don’t have to worry about your house’s air quality or cleaning your air ducts more often if you live in a less contaminated environment. Under such circumstances, we recommend you to clean the air ducts after every 3-5 years.
But if you have leaky (not airtight) ducts that can pull dirty air from basements, garages or attics, then you are experiencing bad air quality inside your home. Leaky ducts can be easily fixed using a foil-backed duct tape and insulation. So, in the cases where you have leaky ducts, compromised immune system, severe allergies, breathing disorders, pets, infants, a major construction site nearby or you just moved in to a new place, then you have to get your ducts cleaned more often.
Tips To Clean Air Conditioner Ducts
There is no rocket science in cleaning air conditioner ducts. You will need your household vacuum cleaner and a stiff-bristled brush to knock the dust out of the ducts. Air filters trap a lot of debris, so make sure to unclog the dirty filters or use new filters if the old ones need to be replaced. Moreover, clean the dirt around the condenser unit (external air conditioner unit) to improve your A/C’s ability to cool air.
The evaporator and the condenser coils and fins should also be cleaned thoroughly. Inspect the condensate drain (located inside the A/C unit) to ensure it’s not blocked. Locate the return air vents around your house and make sure nothing is blocking them. The blockage is not necessarily caused from dirt but also furniture, toys and paper. Unscrew and remove the covers of the vents and vacuum inside them to keep the air ducts clean.
With regular cleaning of your air conditioner ducts, you will notice an improvement in the cooling and working of your air conditioner.
Benefits of Clean Air Conditioner Ducts
Following are the advantages you get by keeping your air conditioner ducts clean:
Apart from keeping your home clean and healthy and improving air quality, clean air ducts allow your A/C to draw less power, which helps you save money on your energy bills.
Clean air ducts reduce household’s carbon footprint, dust and allergens from being circulated all around the house.
Dirty air ducts acquire stale and unpleasant odors which can be removed by cleaning.
For more solution or ideas on ventilation visit Creoven
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