Urbandale has plenty of homes that have been around a while. Some still have their original ductwork, and the furnace may have been replaced once or twice while the ducts stayed put. Decades of dust, the odd renovation and a few owners later, the inside of those ducts can look nothing like the clean rooms they serve.
Top Notch Chimney Sweep & Services is a family owned company that has been serving Central Iowa since 2002. Our technicians are certified in air duct cleaning, and older systems are a good part of what we see in Urbandale.
What Builds Up Over the Years
In an older system, buildup is mostly ordinary household dust, along with hair, lint and whatever got swept into floor registers over the years. Floor registers in particular act like small trash cans. We find coins, toys, pet food and plenty of grit at the bottom of the boot where the register meets the duct. None of it is dramatic, but every time the blower runs it moves air across all of it.
Moisture is the other issue. During humid Iowa summers, condensation can form in parts of the system. Where dust and moisture sit together, it’s a good idea to have someone look.
Old Ducts Need a Careful Hand
Older ductwork can have loose joints, sections that were patched during a remodel and runs that were cut or rerouted when someone finished the basement. We go about the cleaning with that in mind. We start by examining the system for anything that shouldn’t be there, then connect a powerful HEPA vacuum so loosened dust is captured. After that we work specialized brushes through the supply and return lines.
While we’re inside, we look for holes, separated seams and other defects. A gap in a return duct running through an unfinished basement can draw in dusty air, and a separated supply line can leak conditioned air into a wall before it reaches the room. If we find either, we’ll tell you exactly where it is. We don’t do the patching as part of the cleaning, but you’ll know what to fix and where.
Signs an Older System Is Due
- Nobody can remember the last time the ducts were cleaned, or they never were
- Dust or dark streaks around registers and grilles
- Debris you can see when you lift a floor register
- A musty smell when the furnace or air conditioning first starts up
For more on why dust in your ducts matters, read our main air duct cleaning page.
Older Homes, Older Chimneys and Vents
If your Urbandale home has a masonry fireplace, the chimney has been aging right along with the ducts. A chimney inspection will tell you how the flue, crown and masonry are holding up. Older laundry setups often use flexible foil or plastic vent hose, which traps lint easily, so it’s worth adding a dryer vent cleaning to the same visit.
See our Urbandale service area page for everything else we handle in town.
Let’s get those ducts cleaned. Reach us at (515) 249-6337 or send an appointment request.
