If you cleaned them last year, that’s fine. But be careful! Don’t wait a decade for the next cleaning. If you have ventilation and heating ducts, consider cleaning them at least once every 3 to 5 years. However, if you’ve just completed a home renovation or moved into a new home, don’t postpone it for too long. That said, there are other factors to consider when determining the right frequency for your particular situation.

What are the criteria for determining the required cleaning frequency?

The frequency of cleaning varies depending on the following factors:

• Size of the house or apartment
• Number of people living in the home
• Are there pets in the home?
• Whether or not people smoke indoors
• Location (if you are in town, in the country, etc.)

In a 1400 square foot home occupied by a family of 5, with smoking parents and a dog, for example, consider more frequent cleaning compared to a property of the same size inhabited by a non-smoking couple. Schedule an appointment if you see a decrease in airflow or if you have possible symptoms of excessive air pollution.

What types of ducts need to be cleaned?

An air duct cleaning professional will take care of the following:

• Heating ducts
• Ventilation ducts
• Air extractors
• Dryer exhaust ducts
• Exterior air vents
• Filters

This will refurbish your system and leave it spotless from top to bottom.

Why is it even more important to have clean ducts in good condition in winter?

In Quebec, the cold confines us at least seven months a year. No windows or patio doors open from October to April in la belle province. In other words, we only have the ventilation system to renew the ambient air. When summer arrives, Quebecers open their windows and enjoy the clean air without activating any system. As we just said, winter is another story: we rely on our ventilation system to clean the air. If you have a defective network full of dirt and mold, you will not enjoy clean air, and, let’s face it, this is a health risk. Winter is the time of year to think about the quality of the air we breathe.

Did you know that…?

A few recent studies claim that indoor air contains more pollutants than outdoor air. This should be taken as a warning: polluted air in the home is a health risk. We can’t just sit back and watch! Have you heard of sick building syndrome (SBS)? It occurs where the indoor air quality is substandard. In such conditions, discomforts and disorders such as headaches, dizziness, or nausea, among others, are common.

Hire HVAC cleaning experts to avoid this problem. They have specialized equipment that will be much more effective than any sweeper and will not damage your ducts.

Air exchangers and vents are ducts where dust, mold, and other unhealthy substances accumulate. Professionals are well versed in how to remove all of this. Heating ducts also concentrate dust and debris in the return ducts. You can do a superficial cleaning with your sweeper, but the entire problem will not be eliminated with a superficial cleaning. Again, call in a professional, especially if you haven’t even touched your sweeper in years.