Duct Cleaning in Pittsfield, MA
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Nine months of heating pushes a lot of air through your ducts
Your furnace runs September through May here, close to nine months of the year. On the cold nights that settle into the teens all winter, it cycles on and off again and again, pushing air through the same ducts hour after hour. That much air movement carries dust, pet hair, and whatever else is in the house into the ductwork, and it settles along the way.
Berkshire County has also seen its share of winter storms and high wind, and power outages that come with them. When a furnace sits off for a while and then kicks back on, it stirs up whatever has collected in the ducts since the last time it ran. In a house that is heated most of the year, that buildup has a lot of time to grow.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 1 months
- July through July, your air conditioner does the same
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- There's no set schedule that fits every house, so go by what you see and smell rather than the calendar. Dust blowing out when the furnace kicks on, a musty smell, or visible debris around the registers are signs it's time. Homes with pets, a smoker, or someone with allergies tend to need it more often than others. If you don't know the history of the ductwork, having it checked is a better starting point than guessing at a number.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It's worth it when your ducts are actually dirty, not as something to do on a routine. Dust blowing out of the vents, a musty smell, or debris you can see around the registers are the signs that cleaning will help. If none of that is happening, cleaning won't make your furnace run better or change what you spend on heat. Since homes here run the heat September through May, dirty ducts get more chances to circulate that dust through the house than they would somewhere with a short heating season.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a vacuum system to the ductwork, then uses brushes or air tools to knock loose the dust and debris inside and pull it out through the vacuum. The supply and return vents, the main trunk lines, and often the furnace or air handler itself get cleaned as part of the job. A contractor doing this right will show you the vents and register covers before and after so you can see what came out.