Duct Cleaning in Austin, TX
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Travis County ducts sit idle most of the year
Your ducts only carry heat five months a year, November through March. The rest of the year they carry cooling, or sit closed up between cycles. Dust and pollen settle in the runs during those quiet stretches, and when the system finally kicks on, it pushes that buildup straight into the rooms you're sitting in.
Storms complicate this. Travis County has seen 9 winter storms and 103 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and a third of Texas households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024. When the power drops, the system stops moving air, and whatever is sitting in the ducts just stays there until it comes back on.
- 5 months
- November through March, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
- 7 months
- April through October, your air conditioner does the same
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should air ducts be cleaned?
- There is no set schedule that fits every home. Dust and pet hair build up slowly, so you will not notice a problem year to year, but it adds up over time. If anyone in the house has allergies, or you just finished a remodel that kicked up drywall dust, clean them sooner rather than later. A contractor can look inside the ducts and tell you what they actually need instead of going by the calendar.
- Is air duct cleaning worth it?
- It depends on what is in your ducts right now. If you can see dust kicking out of the vents, or a duct run was open during construction work, cleaning them is worth doing. If your ducts are working fine and nobody in the house has breathing trouble, there is less to gain from it. It will not lower your energy bills or fix a furnace or AC problem. It is about air quality, not equipment performance.
- What does air duct cleaning involve?
- A contractor connects a vacuum system to your ductwork and uses brushes or air tools to knock loose dust and debris from inside the duct walls, then pulls it out through the vacuum. Each supply and return vent gets opened and cleaned this way, and the vent covers themselves get wiped down. The furnace or air handler blower compartment usually gets cleaned too, since dust collects there as well. A good contractor will show you the before and after with a camera rather than just telling you it is done.