Ames has a large share of rental housing alongside its owner-occupied neighborhoods, and both kinds of homes end up with dusty ductwork. The difference is who’s paying attention. Homeowners notice the dust around the registers. In a rental, a new tenant moves in, the old tenant moves out, and the ducts keep collecting dust from everyone who passes through.
Top Notch Chimney Sweep & Services is a family owned company working across Central Iowa since 2002, Ames included. Our technicians are certified in air duct cleaning.
For Landlords and Property Owners
Turnover is the best window for duct cleaning in a rental. The unit is empty, the carpets are getting cleaned anyway, and you can hand the next tenant a place that’s ready to live in. Several tenants’ worth of dust, hair and debris can build up in the returns and floor registers, along with things dropped into vents that nobody bothered to fish out.
We can also tell you if we find damaged or disconnected ducts. A separated run in a basement or crawl space wastes heating and cooling, and in a rental that often shows up as a tenant complaint about one cold bedroom.
For Ames Homeowners
If you own your home, the question is usually timing. Duct cleaning isn’t something you need every year. It makes the most sense:
- After a remodel, a basement finish or any project that made drywall dust
- When you move into a home and don’t know its history
- When you can see buildup on the registers or inside the first section of duct
- When you find debris, pests or nesting material in the system
If none of those apply, you can probably wait. We’ll give you a straight answer if you call and ask. Older Ames homes and newer houses on the edges of town both get dusty ducts, just for different reasons: age in one case, construction in the other.
What the Service Includes
Every job starts with a look at the heating and cooling system to check for anything that shouldn’t be in it. Then we hook up a powerful HEPA vacuum, which captures dust as it’s loosened so it doesn’t get blown into the home. We use specialized brushes on both the supply and return sides. During the cleaning we check for holes and defects and let you know about anything that’s affecting efficiency.
Plan on someone being home or leaving us access to the furnace and every register. The details are on our main air duct cleaning page.
Vents and Chimneys Too
Rentals with shared or heavily used laundry go through a lot of lint, and the dryer vent should be on the same maintenance list as the ducts. See dryer vent cleaning in Ames. For homes and rentals with a working fireplace, our CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep handles chimney sweeping and inspections.
Visit our Ames service area page to see everything else we do in town.
Have a unit turning over or a house that’s due? Phone us at (515) 249-6337 or schedule online.
