According to data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency, proper air duct maintenance can help control dust and dirt, eliminate allergens in the air, and keep families healthy.
Indoor air pollution carries both environmental and health risks. In fact, recent studies show that poor indoor air quality kills about 2 million people each year.
Just as it is important to professionally clean your home or office ducts, it is also important to perform basic duct maintenance between these cleanings.
Looking for tips on how to get the air ducts to work properly?
If so, then continue reading.
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Change the filter
What is the basis for proper air duct maintenance?
Be sure to take the time to clean the filter. In general, you should aim to replace the filter at least once a month.
However, keep in mind that if you live in a house with pets, or if you have a resident with weakened immunity, you may need to change the filter a little more often.
This is very important because if the filter is not working properly, the air ducts will not be able to catch dust, allergens and other dangerous debris.
When considering filter options, we recommend using fabric filters when possible. Yes, it’s usually expensive, but it needs to be replaced much less often than more affordable fiberglass filters.
This means that they often pay for themselves.
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Get ready for cleaning
Replacing the filter is a great first step, but you also need to do maintenance on the heavier air ducts.
In this case, you want to make sure you take the time to close the supply record in your home. Otherwise, cleaning will loosen the dust and fly around the house.
Fortunately, proper preparation is easy. All you need is a paper towel.
Simply lift the supply case (the grill that lets out air) and wrap it in a paper towel.
Also, make sure the fan is always on when cleaning. Keeping the fan on helps to move smoothly through the system rather than being clogged with dust.
Finally, be sure to turn off the “heat / cool” option during cleaning. At this point, just turn on the fan.
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Loosen the powder
Next, we will work on the main cleaning parts of air duct maintenance.
First, get a clean toilet brush because it’s much easier to use bristles than other brush options. Move to the basement or where the drainage channel is stored and brush the sides of the drainage channel.
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Focus on procurement records
Once you’ve removed this dust, you can start tinkering with your procurement records. A vacuum cleaner is required for this step. If possible, it is recommended to use a vacuum cleaner with a hose to gain access to more space in the air ducts and supply registers.
Take the vacuum hose and place it as close as possible to the feed register. To avoid disasters such as accidental dust spread at very high speeds, first set the vacuum cleaner to a low setting.
Then, in cooperation with the fan, dust moves up the duct and vacuums off excess debris. Don’t hesitate to lower the vacuum cleaner hose within reach.
You can also clean between the vents in the material case with a clean toilet brush.
Remove the paper towels used during the cleaning process as soon as possible.
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Clean the blower compartment
Is there another important step in maintaining proper air fabric duct?
Pay close attention to the blower compartment. To do this, you need to turn off the fan and power.
Remove the oven front panel and evacuate the chamber and the panel itself.
As with supply records, start by slowing down the vacuum cleaner to ensure safety.
Don’t skip this step as the blower compartment is where most of the dust and debris in your home prefers to hide. If necessary, you can take this opportunity to completely clean the oven fan with a toothbrush or paint brush.