When Do You Clean Air Vents Yourself?

There are certain strategies you can employ when you want to inspect your HVAC system for problems and perform routine cleaning.

Warning Signs
Problems with an HVAC system may not be subtle. When your energy or cooling bill drastically increases, it's time to inspect the system for trouble.

Other indications may be visual rather than financial. You can check the vent in each room to see if there is a massive amount of dirt or other substances around the grate. It's not uncommon to see particles like cobwebs and hair blowing out of vents when ducts are dirty. You might also be able to spy dead insects or vermin droppings around entrances to your HVAC system.

To perform a more thorough inspection of your heating and cooling ducts, you can remove the grate and take a good look at the interior. This is where you want to look for signs of mold or discoloration caused by bacteria or moisture. If you can't see very well, you can use your cell phone or digital camera to take pictures with the flash enabled down dark ducts.

If you think mold is a potential threat, you can pick up detection kits at your local hardware store.

Cleaning Tasks
When you notice dust built up on a vent, you can measure how bad the problem is by wiping down the surface and monitoring how long it takes for the build-up to return.

You can remove the vent from the duct entrance and take a vacuum to the interior. You should avoid using water, as you don't want moisture to accumulate inside your HVAC system. You can use a dry rag or towel to wipe away dust and stick a vacuum hose into a duct to remove debris deeper in the system. This should prevent negative cosmetic effects and solve simple system problems.

Preventative Measures
The key to preventing HVAC problems is to ask as many questions as possible before purchasing a home or office. You want to inquire with the previous owner about any problems they had with heating and cooling and when they last had the system inspected or cleaned. After that, talk to the realtor or contractor. It might be wise to have the system thoroughly inspected by an HVAC professional early to put your mind at ease so you don't have to worry about contaminants in the air.

After proper installation and inspection, the major task in maintaining clean heating and cooling ducts is consistently replacing filters. Filters help prevent foreign debris like dust from making its way into an HVAC system. If dirt, mold or other substances are ever detected in your ducts, it's time to speed up your replacement cycle or upgrade your filters.

This post brought you by Duct Masters Orlando from The Real Yellow Pages