A metal HVAC air handler with attached flexible and rigid ductwork installed in an unfinished attic with exposed wooden rafters and fiberglass insulation.

Duct Cleaning in Colorado Springs, CO

Tell us about your home, and a licensed contractor who covers El Paso County will get in touch.

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Step 1 of 3: Equipment

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A flexible silver HVAC duct connects to a metal air handler unit mounted in an insulated attic with exposed wooden rafters and a circular gable vent.

Nine months of heat, moving through the same ducts

Your furnace runs September through May here. On winter nights that average 17°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch, and every cycle pushes air through the same ductwork. Dust and whatever else settles in the return gets stirred up and blown through the house again each time.

El Paso County has seen 223 winter storms and 324 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind like that works dust into attics, crawlspaces, and duct seams that stay shut the rest of the year, and it ends up moving through the same ducts along with the air your furnace pushes all winter.

9 months: September through May, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
2 months: July through August, your air conditioner does the same

Isometric cutaway illustration of a house showing ductwork, vents and a furnace unit distributed across interior rooms under a dark shingled roof.

Your ducts carry heat September through May and cooled air July through August.

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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals

How often should air ducts be cleaned?: There's no fixed schedule that fits every home, so a contractor should look at the system before you set one. If anyone in the house has allergies, or you just finished a remodel that put drywall dust into the system, it's worth doing sooner rather than later. Homes with pets or a smoker also tend to need it more often than a home without.
Is air duct cleaning worth it?: It's worth it when there's a real reason behind it, not just on a schedule. Dust blowing out of the vents, a musty smell when the furnace kicks on, or a home coming out of construction are all good reasons to have it done. Cleaning ducts that are already in decent shape won't lower your heating bills or fix an allergy that isn't coming from the ducts in the first place.
What does air duct cleaning involve?: A contractor connects a vacuum to the duct system to pull it under negative pressure, then agitates the inside of each duct with brushes or air whips to knock dust and debris loose so it gets pulled out rather than pushed further into the house. The supply and return ducts, the grilles, and often the coil get cleaned this way, and the furnace or air handler itself gets a look too since it connects to everything. Sealing up the register openings during the job is what keeps dust from settling back into the rooms once the system runs again.

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