Why Your Home's HVAC System Ducts Need Cleaning After Restoration

Restoration and repair after a fire, flood, or other disaster involves bringing the condition of walls, floor, furniture, and belongings back to their pre-disaster form. And that's the common image that people have in their minds when they see a restoration company at work. But there's one aspect of restoration that is crucial to your health that you might not realize is part of the job: HVAC and ductwork.

Whether wildfire smoke has made your home smell like a constantly burning campfire or a severe flood has inundated the structure and invaded the walls and ceiling, the ducts can harbor remnants of the disaster that could haunt your home for years. A damage-cleanup crew needs to do things like clean the ducts as part of the job.

Smoke Particles Clinging to Dust in the Ducts

If a fire occurred or smoke was in your home, the smoke particles would have no doubt gotten into the ducts. The particles can settle onto any dust in the ducts and create a smoky smell whenever you turn on your air conditioner or heater. By cleaning out the dust that may have gathered in the ducts, you remove much of the smoky smell, if not all of it. If you do not have the ducts cleaned, you may notice a vaguely smoky smell in your home for years. This will not fade or go away on its own. You have to remove anything harboring smoke particles.

Particulate Matter Gathering by the Vents

If there was a severe flood, or if a wildfire sent ash all over your neighborhood, you'll need to have the ducts cleaned even if you just had that done before the disaster. Particulate matter and debris can be deposited in the vent, and not only can it make any dust in there smell, but it can also simply leave debris that will be blown out of the vent and into the room any time you turn on the air conditioner or heater. You do not want that mess.

Inspection for Additional Damage

Cleaning out ducts is often done with a small camera so that crews can see that they've gotten all the dust and debris out. This allows them to look for additional damage and take action. Ducts are not that easy to inspect without the camera, or if the ducts are filled with dust, so cleaning them is the first step in ensuring they're in good shape.

Restoration companies often do duct cleaning as part of their damage clean-up services. Do always ask before engaging the company's services, of course, so you're sure there are no misunderstandings.

To learn more, contact a duct cleaning service in your area such as Disaster Masters.