Ask the expert
Ron Humphrey, residential operations manager at Middleton Heat and Air in Little Rock, says there could be a couple of reasons why dust seems to be in abundance.
“If the ducts are in the floor, typically debris in them is what’s was left over from the construction of the home and they were never properly cleaned out in the first place,” Humphrey says.
“If that’s the case, you can take a shop vacuum cleaner and get a lot of debris like sheet rock dust, nails, wood chips and sawdust out that way,” Humphrey says. He adds that homeowners should take care not to damage the ductwork while vacuuming.
Using vacuum cleaner attachments, clean the vent grill and wipe it down with mild soap and water and then dry it off. Once this has been done, use the attachments to gently and carefully reach inside the duct area to get rid of dirt and dust.
Those who discover they have more dust and dirt than originally thought should use a digital camera or phone to take a photo of the area to show to a professional.
“When the ducts are in the ceiling and blowing down, they usually don’t get a lot of debris in the system,” Humphrey says. “If you’re getting a lot of dust, its usually because there is dust on the return vent which is sucking the air back in,” he adds. “Or you may have a leak in the the ductwork.”
As far as vents in the ceiling, that gets a little more complicated, usually requiring a ladder to do the cleaning. In that case, a professional should probably be called in, Humphrey says.
And those who have their ductwork professionally cleaned should first make sure it’s really needed.
“If the grill has mold or mildew, people assume the entire ductwork system is in the same condition and call and get their
ductwork cleaned when they really don’t have to,” he explains.
“Grills, especially those close to a kitchen or bathroom, will sweat and the mold and mildew will build on it,” he says. “The homeowner will panic and think the entire system is in the same condition.”
Sometimes, there’s another reason for the persistent dust.
“Typically if dust keeps getting into the house, you have leaks in the ductwork which need to be fixed,” Humphrey says.
“Duct cleaning is good if you really need it but a lot of the times it is the ductwork that needs to be sealed. One way to do that is have a professional use something like a product called Arrow Seal, which uses a pressurized duct sealing system which shoots in the product, which gets tacky and only builds up around the holes.”
Humphrey advises getting a certified HVAC technician to look at it and determine if there are leaks.
Typically, when there’s a broken duct in the attic, dust enters the system and is blown through the house.
“A lot of money is spent cleaning ducts without first checking for leaks and repairing any that are found,” Humphrey says. “So that money spent cleaning the ducts is wasted because it will just build right back up again.”
Do you have a decorating or remodeling question? We’ll get you an answer from an authority. Send your question to Linda S. Haymes, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203 or email: lhaymes@arkansasonline.com