Duct Cleaning in Watertown, SD
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Nine months of heating pushes a lot of air through your ducts
Your furnace runs from September through May here, and on winter nights averaging 6°F it runs often to keep up. Every hour it runs, air moves through the ductwork, and whatever is riding in that air settles along the way. Dust, pet hair, and the fine debris that collects in a house get pulled through the system and left behind in the runs and the elbows.
Watertown has had 46 winter storms and 63 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind like that drives outside dust and debris toward the house, and some of it finds its way into the return air. Add nine months of near-constant furnace use and the ducts have more time to collect buildup than they would somewhere with a shorter heating season. That buildup narrows the path air travels, which makes the furnace work harder to move the same amount of heat through the house.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner does the same
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- There's no fixed schedule that fits every house, but a good rule is to have them looked at every few years and cleaned when they need it. Get it done sooner if anyone in the house has allergies, you've had a rodent problem, dusty renovation work, or water damage in the ductwork. Homes here run the heat nine months a year, September through May, so ducts here move a lot of air and collect dust faster than in places with a shorter heating season. A contractor can check the ducts and tell you whether it's time.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It's worth it if your ducts are visibly dirty, dust settles again soon after you clean the house, or someone indoors has allergy symptoms that don't clear up. It won't lower your heating bills, and it won't fix an airflow problem caused by something else, like a clogged filter or a closed damper. A contractor can look at your ducts and tell you honestly whether cleaning will help your situation.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a vacuum system to your ductwork, then uses brushes or air whips to loosen dust and debris from inside the ducts while the vacuum pulls it out. Each supply and return vent gets opened and cleaned, and the main trunk lines get the same treatment. The furnace or air handler itself, including the blower, usually gets cleaned as part of the job since it's the one place all that air passes through.