Cleaning the air and heating duct work of HVAC systems is among those important tasks that homeowners usually overlook when trying to keep their homes clean. Dust and other pollutants often get into the system’s ducts from both ends and are carried throughout the house by the air movement of the system.

Calling a duct-cleaning service at least once a year may be a good idea. However, within this 12-month time, the air quality in your home may likely be filled with dust pollutant and allergens which can put you and your family’s health at risk. Thus, doing basic cleaning on your system each month may help.

Basic cleaning of your system is easy and may only take you a few minutes. The first step you need to do is to clean the grates of the ducts. The HVAC’s interior grate on your ceiling and floor serve as the last barrier for the dander and dusts that have accumulated in the ducts. Some of these air pollutants trapped inside the grates are gradually being carried with the air that circulates in your home when the HVAC system is turned on. To clean the grates, you simply need to unscrew them from the walls and wipe them off using a sponge, warm water, and household cleaner.

When it comes to the actual duct system, you cannot totally clean them off the way professionals can. However, you can try and clean the pollutants that cling on the inside of the ducts close to the surface. While the grates of the system are detached for cleaning, you can vacuum the inner duct as far as you can reach using an improvised vacuum cleaner. To do this, simply put your longest hose attachment on the vacuum and fasten a brush on its end.

The last and most important thing that you can do to clean the system is to change the filter of your furnace. This can be done at least once every season to ensure that the air in your house is clean.