Duct Cleaning in Watertown, WI
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Eight months of heat means eight months moving air through the same ducts
Your furnace runs October through May here, close to eight months a year. That's eight months of air moving through the same ductwork, carrying dust into it every time the blower kicks on. On nights averaging 15°F, the furnace runs long and often to keep up, which means more air cycling through and more dust settling in the ducts between cleanings.
Watertown has seen 18 winter storms and 60 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Storms like that knock out power, and with 18% of Wisconsin households losing power for a day or more last year, furnaces sit idle during outages. When they start back up, whatever settled in the ducts while the air was still gets pushed straight into the house.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner does the same
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- There's no fixed schedule that fits every home, so go by what's happening in yours. If someone in the house has allergies, if you've had a rodent problem, or if a renovation kicked up a lot of dust, that's when to have it done. Homes here run the furnace October through May, eight months a year, so ducts move a lot of air over the course of the year and are worth checking if you notice dust or weak airflow at the vents.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It's worth it when there's a real reason behind it, not as a routine you do just to do it. If you see dust blowing out of the vents, if a room never seems to get enough air, or if you've had pests or water damage near the ductwork, cleaning solves a real problem. Cleaning ducts that are otherwise fine won't lower your heating bill or make the air noticeably cleaner.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a vacuum system to your ductwork and uses brushes or air tools to knock dust and debris loose, then pulls it out through the vacuum so it doesn't spread into the house. They'll go through the supply and return ducts, and usually the grilles and registers too. The furnace blower and coil often get cleaned in the same visit, since they sit in the same air path. A contractor can walk through what your specific ductwork needs before starting.