Air Duct Cleaning

Air ducts need cleaning? Call Magic Plumbing for reliable duct cleaning services in SF and throughout the Bay Area.

Dust, dirt, pollen, animal dander, and other airborne contaminants are pulled into your air duct system every time the furnace or air conditioner runs. These contaminants build up inside the ductwork over time and can help make your air duct system an ideal breeding ground for mold spores, bacteria, fungus, mildew, and other microbes.

Each time the furnace or air conditioner is turned on, contaminants are spewed out and circulated throughout your home, which affects the health and comfort of your family.

Family members who suffer from allergies, asthma, or other respiratory ailments, as well as children and the elderly, are especially vulnerable to the effects of indoor pollutants.

If you need air duct cleaning, contact the HVAC pros that your San Francisco neighbors trust. Call Magic Plumbing to discuss your needs today.

Why Should You Get Your Air Ducts Cleaned?

In short, because they get dirty! In addition to normal accumulations of dust and dirt found in all homes through regular use, there are several other factors that can increase the need for air duct cleaning.

Your air duct system acts as the respiratory system in your home. When it becomes contaminated and congested, it must be cleaned so it can function normally and efficiently. Poor air quality could be making you and your loved ones sick.

  • Does anyone in your home allergies, asthma, or other respiratory problems?
  • Is there a smoker in your home?
  • Do you have dogs, cats, or other pets?
  • Do you notice musty or stale odors when the furnace or air conditioner runs?
  • Do you notice dust on your furniture shortly after cleaning?
  • Does it seem like there’s not enough air flow coming from your vents?
  • Is your furnace equipped with only a standard throw-away fiberglass filter?
  • Have you recently completed home renovations or repairs?
  • Have you experienced water damage or contamination in your home or HVAC?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, it may be time to have your air duct system professionally cleaned.

How Else Can You Tell if You Need Duct Cleaning?

Inspect your ducts! You can tell if your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system needs cleaning in two steps:

  • Step 1: Using a screwdriver, remove a floor or wall register.
  • Step 2: Inspect for dust using a mirror or flashlight.

If there’s visible dust, dirt, or debris, you should have your ducts cleaned.

How Important Is It to Have Your Air Ducts Cleaned?

It’s as important as the air you breathe. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems have been shown to act as a collection source for a variety of contaminants that have the potential to affect health, such as mold, fungi, bacteria, and very small particles of dust.

Replacing the filters to your HVAC systems helps reduce some of these problems, but it doesn’t fully address the issue.

For these reasons, thorough duct cleaning should be considered as one component in an overall plan to improve indoor air quality. When an HVAC system is clean, it doesn’t have to work as hard to maintain the temperature you desire. Clean, efficient systems have a longer lifespan, are less likely to break down, and generally operate more effectively than dirty or dusty systems.

What Happens During an Air Duct Cleaning?

Air duct cleaning is a misnomer. In actuality, the entire HVAC system should be cleaned. Failure to clean all components of the system can result in re-contamination of the entire system, thus minimizing the benefits of cleaning.

Just as you wouldn’t clean just half of your living room floor, you also would not want to clean only part of your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system.

A proper air duct cleaning involves the entire HVAC system, including the following components:

  • Air Ducts
  • Coils
  • Drain Pan
  • Registers
  • Grills
  • Air Plenum
  • Blower Motor and Assembly
  • Heat Exchanger
  • Air Filter
  • Air Cleaner

Proper HVAC Cleaning Process

There are two key components to HVAC cleaning: breaking contaminants loose, and collection of contaminants.

Properly cleaning HVAC systems requires removing the sources of contamination. Source removal begins with the use of one or more agitation devices designed to loosen contaminants from the surfaces within the heating and air conditioning system. Examples of agitation devices include brushes, air whips, and compressed air nozzles or “skipper balls.” Agitation can also be achieved through hand-brushing or contact vacuuming.

During cleaning, the entire HVAC system is placed under continuous negative pressure (vacuum) to prevent the spread of contaminants. Continuous negative pressure allows very fine particles to be removed from these systems as they become airborne, ensuring that these particles are not released into the living space when the system is turned on after cleaning.

This negative pressure also serves to extract the loosened contaminants, which are collected and removed from your home.

The HEPA-AIRE method used by our company assures you that your ducts are being cleaned with the most advanced source removal equipment available. This high-tech, state of the art system is used by leading professional duct cleaners throughout North America, and is widely recognized as the most significant breakthrough in duct cleaning equipment technology in the past 30 years.

The key components of this system are the patented HEPA-AIRE portable power vacuum and the AIRE-SWEEP compressor. This system enables our technicians to reach and thoroughly clean your entire duct system with minimal noise and disruption.

  • First, the HEPA-AIRE power vacuum is connected to the duct system near the furnace.
  • Next, 1-inch access holes are drilled into the air ducts.
  • Long lengths of air hose with special 360 degree high velocity nozzles are connected to the compressor and “snaked” through the entire system, dislodging debris that has accumulated on the inner duct surfaces.
  • The HEPA-AIRE unit creates a power vacuum, pulling dislodged contaminants into its filtration system. This filtration system is so efficient that it captures contaminants 1/300th the diameter of a human hair and returns filtered “hospital-grade” air to your home. And, it’s so quiet, you’ll hardly know it’s running. Once your duct system has been cleaned, we reseal all of the access holes and your ducts are returned to like-new condition.

Let us take the worry out of the whole process! Your professionals at Magic Plumbing know how important the air quality of your home is to you, and that's why we take special care to plan and execute each step in the process so that you know exactly what to expect. We tailor the process to meet your family’s specific needs.

Costs and Time Estimates

There are several factors that affect cost and time estimates: types of ductwork, size of system, system accessibility, the number of necessary crew members, level of contamination, and even environmental factors. Your Magic Plumbing expert can provide a time and cost estimate tailored to you today!

Keep your loved ones safe at home with expert air duct cleaning. Call Magic Plumbing to request a cost and time estimate today!