Do it Yourself Duct Cleaning DIY

DIY Duct Cleaning - How To

Your air ducts are dirty and they need to be cleaned. Chances are something has led up to the revelation that years of dust, dirt and debris can't be a good thing. Perhaps your nose has been running and you have come to the conclusion that you have something more than a head cold going on.

Quite often, homeowners experience breathing problems, excessive dust, a newborn or they just bought a new home. Whatever the case, it's definitely time for air duct cleaning, and youwant to do ityourself to save a few bucks. Nothing wrong with that. With a little creative ingenuity, some up-front capital and little time you should be able to make an added improvement to the quality of your indoor air.

Here is a Quick DIY Guide to Duct Cleaning

First, you will need a high powered air compressor. To blow the bulk of the crud out of your air ducts you will need to have the capacity to maintain 200psi for 30 minute intervals. You will need an attachment (we have ours specially made) for the end of the hose that will blow the dust backwards. Some people use copper tubing to create a "j-hook".

Next, you will need to have something heavy to cover the air vents. This should be something that keeps the pressurized air and the dust inside the duct work. This is important because otherwise the dust will blow around the house. Not a good plan.

The next step is to attach a high powered vacuum to the furnace. No, a shop vac won't work. Plan on spending a few hundred dollars to get one that can really create negative pressure. Buying a truck mounted vac like we use to clean air ducts wouldn't be practical...they cost thousands of dollars. A good place to look is Duct Cleaner Supply.

Lastly, since a RotoBrush is too expensive for most homeowners, you will want to fashion a rotating brush to the end of a drill. Buy a 25' cable which has a stationary outer shield, to attach to the end of a cordless drill. You will also need to put a long bristled brush on the end of the cable.

You Now Have the Basic Tools for DIY Air Duct Cleaning

In the next post, I will explain the process using the homemade duct cleaning equipment I just described. Keep in mind, the duct cleaning tools I have described are an inexpensive means of cleaning your own ductwork on a budget. The truck mounted duct cleaning equipment used by our company and most other duct cleaners runs into the thousands of dollars.

Check back soon for "part two" of "Do It Yourself Duct Cleaning". in the mean time, you might want to read a previous post entitled "Twin Cities Air Duct Cleaning - Minneapolis, St. Paul". This post describes the Push-Pull duct cleaning method and the RotoBrush duct cleaning method.