How to Clean Air Ducts

Posted on June 21st, 2009 by Elaine

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Is the quality of the air you breathe inside your home good? Indoor air pollution has become a common problem for many places nowadays, especially if the stale air inside is replaced by fresh air at a very slow rate. To avoid this problem, one solution is to clean your air ducts regularly. It’s pretty easy, and here’s what you should do.

What You’ll Need:

Air ducts
Heavy-duty gloves
Clean rags
Screwdriver
Vacuum cleaner
Cleaning brush

Procedure:

Determine the air ducts that you’re going to clean. For your own safety, only clean air ducts that are within your reach. Ask professional cleaners to take care of the ducts found at the hard-to-reach places in your home.
Check the floor around the air duct entrance, making sure it’s clean and free from clutter. When you remove the air duct covers, it’s likely that small objects will fall inside. You don’t want that to happen.
Unscrew the air duct covers or the return-air grill plates using your screwdriver. Take off all the screws, putting them in a safe location so they won’t get lost. Once the cover is gone, examine the walls inside, while wearing your heavy-duty gloves. Check if there’s dust.
Use a cleaning brush and a clean rag to wipe all the dirt out. The walls might be covered with filters, and if you use the vacuum cleaner, its strength might damage the walls.
Attach the hose to your vacuum cleaner. You’ll be able to reach down a few feet while using it. Reach as far as you can, going to all the sides.; Take your time. This isn’t a chore that you can hurry. If your vacuum has a brush head, change it, then brush the dust from the sides.
After you’ve finished vacuuming, put the grille plates or covers back on the ducts, screwing them again in place. After screwing them back on, vacuum them again, so the dust particles that are trapped while vacuuming the ducts will be removed.

If you properly and regularly clean your air ducts, you’ll always have fresh and clean air circulating inside. Try this do-it-yourself chore and enjoy a cleaner home.