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How To Protect Your Floors During An Air Duct Cleaning Service | Richardson, TX

How To Protect Your Floors During An Air Duct Cleaning Service | Richardson, TX

Photo By Anatoli Igolkin at Shutterstock

Many Richardson, TX homeowners nowadays are well aware of the importance of home maintenance. So many different things need to be properly maintained in order to remain in good condition. Your HVAC system is no exception, and while many homeowners focus on maintaining just the AC or the furnace, it’s important that you look at the whole picture and don’t get lost in the details. Other than servicing the AC or the furnace, you should also consider incorporating some type of air duct cleaning services into your home’s annual maintenance routine and schedule.

An air duct cleaning service will improve indoor air quality and also improve the overall efficiency of your HVAC system. With fewer contaminants in the air, these systems will work a lot more efficiently and will be less likely to need costly future repairs. In a way, getting the ducts cleaned can benefit your wallet in the long run as well.

Before the air duct cleaning service begins, the HVAC technician will usually perform an inspection first. A video inspection will provide you with more information on the following:

  • The types of contaminants that are in the ducts
  • The location of the contamination, which will be taken into account when the technicians come up with a treatment plan
  • Any areas of damage that may affect the cleaning
  • The types of chemicals or treatments that will be most effective
  • What Types of Contaminants to Expect

Once you’ve come up with a game plan, it’s important to think about how you’re going to protect the surrounding environment in the meantime.

What Types of Contaminants to Expect

During the video inspection provided at the beginning of an air duct cleaning service, you’ll likely learn more about the various types of contaminants that are present in your ducts. Some of the most common types of contaminants include:

  • Dust. This is perhaps one of the most common contaminants to expect. It’ll make up the majority of what you see.

 

  • Mold. If there’s mold in the system, you’re likely going to see splotches of it everywhere. Evacuate the home while the professionals clean the ducts. The last thing that you want to do is accidentally breathe in any of the spores.

 

  • Vermin. Rats and other rodents often hide in the ducts. Unfortunately, they can die there and leave a large mess for you to deal with.

 

  • Bacteria and viruses. This is hard to spot. You probably won’t know it’s there unless the HVAC company has special equipment that can detect microorganisms.

 

  • Pollen. This is particularly problematic for those with asthma and allergies like hay fever.

A professional air duct cleaning service in Richardson, TX will be able to get rid of all of the contaminants listed above and more. The air duct cleaning service will also be able to disinfect the ducts in order to prevent the same contaminants from becoming a problem again in the future. For example, if there is a mold infestation, you definitely want to disinfect the ducts because it’s easy for the spores to survive and hide in nooks and crannies. Before you know it, these spores will have propagated and multiplied exponentially once again.

Will the HVAC Company Protect My Floors?

Any HVAC company that is worth a grain of salt will do its best to protect your floors. They’ll lay out mats or they may use different strategies to ensure that the area is just as clean as it was when they arrived. However, depending on how dirty your ducts are, the clean-up job can take some time. If extensive clean-ups are needed, you might get charged an overtime rate and fee.

If you want to protect your floors, make sure that you speak to the HVAC company that will be performing the air duct cleaning services ahead of time. Get a good idea of what they plan to do during the air duct cleaning service, so you can accommodate and work with them. Consider which areas they may be lacking and try to work on those.

#1. Lay Out Protective Floor Coverings

First things first, the best way to protect your flooring is to lay out some type of protective covering. We recommend that you go with something rubbery, as the rubber can absorb impact from any large equipment or machinery that the technicians may use. Another good option is towels; however, you should try to use old towels that you won’t mind tossing out later. Depending on how much dirt, dust, and contaminants are in your ducts, you might not want to toss the towels into a laundry machine later.

The material that you should avoid is the newspaper. Not only does newspaper offer a minimal amount of protection, but it can also stain your floors. The ink from the newspaper can get everywhere and make an even bigger mess than the mess that’s created during the air duct cleaning service.

Another tip that we’d recommend is taping the sides of the protective flooring to the walls. This prevents dirt, dust, and other contaminants from falling into the cracks. It’ll make the clean-up job for the air duct cleaning service a lot easier and quicker. This way, you’ll be able to easily get everyone out of your home in record time, so you have more time to relax.

#2. Create a Route that Avoids Carpets

Depending on how your home is set up, the HVAC technicians will usually take any route that you recommend. In order to protect your flooring and your carpets, which are notoriously difficult to clean, we highly recommend that you create a route for the technicians that avoid carpet. Hardwood floors or even marble floors will be a lot easier to clean if they get dirty. On the other hand, carpets can easily get stained.

To do this, you’ll need to look at the blueprint of your home to get a better idea of where all the vents and ducts are located. We recommend moving all of your furniture to carpeted areas. If you are constantly moving large furniture around on hardwood floors, you run the risk of scratching them. Unfortunately, scratches can be rather difficult to get rid of at a later time.

To avoid any confusion, consider putting up signs for the technicians so they know what route to take and where to go. It’s also a good idea to set aside a washroom just for the technicians along that route. Depending on how long the air duct cleaning service takes, the technicians may need to use the washroom every now and then. You don’t want them to have to trek over the carpet to get to the washroom.

#3. Ask the Technicians to Take Off Their Shoes at the Door

Other than dirt, dust and other contaminants from the air ducts, you should also think about dirt and dust from the outside. The technicians can also bring in a lot of dirt and dust into your home, and the best way to prevent any unnecessary trek marks or added dirt is to ask the technicians to take off their shoes at the door. While most technicians have already adopted this habit, you may want to confirm with the HVAC company whether this is something that they do. If not, let them know ahead of time that you would like the technicians to take their shoes off at the door.

If you are requesting that the technicians take their shoes off at the door, make sure that you also provide them with a place to put their shoes. You can free up some space on the shoe racks or you might want to leave out a mat on the floor for them. If you want the technicians to leave their shoes outside, make sure that the shoes will be placed in an area that will be far away from the rain.

Some technicians may ask whether you’d feel comfortable with them keeping their shoes on if they put a protective covering overtop. This might be something to consider.

Socks vs. Slippers

If you’re going to ask the technicians to take off their shoes before coming into your home, you might also want to provide them with socks or slippers that they can change into as a courtesy. After all, they might have to trek through some dirt and dust while they are cleaning, so you don’t want them to get their own socks dirty. If you are going with either one, make sure that they have rubber grips at the bottom that will improve their overall traction.

In general, socks tend to be more comfortable and easy to find, as they’ll stretch easily. You don’t need to buy many different sizes in order to accommodate everyone. On the other hand, slippers tend to offer more structure and rigidity; however, it can be difficult to give everyone the right size.

Slippers tend to be preferred over socks because they’re usually made of rubber, which can be waterproof or easy to clean. They also offer more protection in a way due to their sturdiness.

With that said, you might want to speak with the HVAC company ahead of time to get a better understanding of what their technicians may prefer. Most HVAC companies will supply these items to their technicians, so it shouldn’t be something that you should be too worried about.

How Often Should I Schedule Air Duct Cleaning Services?

There are a lot of questions surrounding air duct cleaning services in Richardson, TX. Many homeowners have no idea how often they should schedule the services. There are also some debates out there as to whether the services even do a good job at improving indoor air quality. It can really be hard to determine what exactly is the best thing for your home without any professional help or advice.

We highly recommend that you speak with one of our representatives in order to get a better idea of what to expect and whether air duct cleaning services may benefit your home. In general, we recommend that homeowners consider scheduling an air duct cleaning service about once a year or so. The cleaning service will get rid of any contaminants that are in the ducts and in the air. Keep in mind that contaminants that are in the ducts will eventually get circulated to each room.

Whether or not you need air duct cleaning services will also depend on your health. If you are someone who struggles with autoimmune diseases, allergies, respiratory conditions or asthma, you’ll benefit more from this service than an otherwise healthy individual. This is particularly true if you are someone who has hay fever or is allergic to dust.

Call Us to Schedule an Air Duct Cleaning Service in Richardson, TX

Depending on the layout of your home, the age of your air ducts, and how dirty they are, as well as many other factors, any air duct cleaning service in Richardson, TX can get quite messy. It’s not unusual for a lot of the contaminants to get loosened up. At which point, they can easily mix in with the air and fly to other rooms or areas. It’s even easier for them to hide in the nooks and crannies of the home. While most HVAC companies will do their best to protect your home, you should still take preventative measures by protecting your floor.

Here, at One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas, we do our best to protect your floors from getting messy. We’ll also do our best to protect your furniture and all of your belongings. We know just how frustrating it is to have to clean once the HVAC professionals leave, and we never want to put you in that situation. In addition to air duct cleaning services, we also provide all sorts of other HVAC services in Richardson, TX. Give us a call to learn more about what we can do for you. We can also answer any questions or concerns that you may have at this time.