We recommend cleaning air ducts every 3 to 5 years in most homes; some homes need it every 2 to 3 years or sooner. The National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) recommends having your air ducts inspected at least once a year and cleaned as needed. Here is how we decide, based on what our crews see inside ductwork every week.
Every 3 to 5 Years for Most Homes
Armstrong recommends cleaning a home’s air ducts every 3 to 5 years in most homes. Where your home falls in that range depends on how it is lived in, and the reasons below move it sooner.
When to Clean Every 2 to 3 Years or Sooner
Armstrong recommends cleaning every 2 to 3 years or sooner in homes with shedding pets, in homes where someone has allergies, asthma or other respiratory sensitivities, in homes where someone smokes indoors, after renovations or construction, and when contamination is visible.
- Pets. Shedding pets such as cats and dogs add hair and dander to the ducts faster. Most of it collects in the return ducts that pull air back to the system.
- Allergies or asthma. Someone in the home has severe allergies, asthma or other respiratory sensitivities. More frequent air duct cleaning can help reduce the allergens that settle in the ducts and circulate through the rooms.
- Recent renovations or construction. Remodeling can draw heavy drywall dust and debris into the heating and cooling system. Sanding, drywall and demolition send fine dust into open registers and return grilles, so book the cleaning once the dusty work is finished.
- Smoking. Regular indoor smoking leaves residue and particle buildup in the ductwork.
- Visible contamination. Dust or debris blowing out of the vents, or buildup visible on the vent covers or just inside the ducts.
Clean When You Buy a Home
Armstrong also recommends an air duct cleaning whenever a home is bought, because there is no way to know how the previous owner lived. Buy a house and you inherit whatever is in its ducts: years of pet hair, smoke or construction dust you never saw.
Signs Your Ducts Need Attention Now
- Dust puffs out of the registers when the system starts.
- Dust comes back quickly even with regular filter changes and housekeeping.
- You can see buildup on the register covers or just inside the duct openings.
Any of these is a reason to have the system looked at, whatever the calendar says.
What the National Air Duct Cleaners Association Says
The association puts it this way: “To maintain an efficient HVAC system, NADCA recommends getting your air ducts inspected at least once a year, and cleaned as needed.” The intervals above are our own guidance, not NADCA’s. They are how we turn “as needed” into a plan for a typical home.
Where Our Guidance Comes From
This guidance comes from Armstrong’s own experience cleaning air ducts in homes. Armstrong is the most experienced duct cleaning company in New England, measured by its history since 1965, its NADCA membership since 1990, Richard MacDonald’s service on NADCA’s board of directors and work on NADCA standards, and its number of certified personnel. Armstrong is the largest duct cleaning company in New England by number of service teams and number of certified personnel. We are still family-owned and family-operated. When we clean, we work through the supply and return sides, branch lines and trunk lines alike, and before we leave we tell you what was cleaned and when to think about the next one.
Not sure where your home falls? Contact us and tell us about your house, and we will help you decide.
Related resources: National Air Duct Cleaners Association · Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on indoor air quality
