Duct Cleaning Procedure

This procedure involves visual inspection, powerful suction, and compressed air cleaning, along with essential components like furnace fans and air conditioning coils in their service. City Duct Cleaning’s technicians prioritize safety and satisfaction, ensuring a clean and efficient process.

The duct cleaning procedure in a Toronto area home starts with a visual inspection of your heating and air duct system. Hoses are then run from the truck and into your home. A vacuum hose is usually brought in through a basement window, or sometimes it is set up through your front door and down the basement stairs.

An air hose is run from the truck to the top floor, usually to the furthest air vent from the truck.

Access holes are created in the duct system, and the vacuum hose is inserted directly into the duct system.

Once the truck-mounted vacuum is turned on, all vents are covered to create the strongest possible suction. After sufficient pressure builds up in our air tank, all vents are cleaned using 250 psi of compressed air.

When the air vents have been cleaned, we use a combination of air whips and an air snake inside the main ducts to work all the dirt back towards our vacuum. All of the air handling parts of your system are thoroughly cleaned, and all access openings are covered and sealed.

At City Duct Cleaning, we always include the cleaning of your furnace fan, air conditioning coil and the air filter as part of the job. Most other companies do charge extra to clean these items, and that leaves open the possibility that some homeowners will have their duct systems “cleaned” but will choose not to spend the additional money to clean those crucial items of the system.

It is very important to clean the fan and coil during the duct cleaning procedure, so why do so many companies make those items optional and at an additional charge? You guessed it… half the time they’re too busy trying to suck money out of you instead of making sure they do a real job. What happened to the days when people used to take pride in their work? At City Duct Cleaning, we take great pride in the fact that we do an honest and thorough job for every customer. Our work is guaranteed, too.

The picture above shows our duct truck parked a bit away from the house. That’s because when our vacuum is running, we are sucking so much air out of the entire home, and the doors and windows are open too. We park away from the door and run extra hose in order to prevent exhaust from our powerful engine from entering the home. Even a little is too much.

Many people agree that its those little things that matter. We also train our technicians to be as conscientious as possible while on a job site because all the seemingly small precautions we take as well as our expertise combine to make very happy customers. That’s certainly a part of the reason why we continue to win so many awards for duct cleaning excellence in Toronto.

Residential Duct Cleaning Procedure

Step 1

The technician arrives at the scheduled time, greets the homeowner and then does a preliminary inspection of the furnace and air duct system. He then determines the best possible route to run a large vacuum hose from our truck-mounted vacuum equipment to the furnace, usually in through a basement window.

Step 2

Access openings are prepared, then the technician attaches a vacuum hose directly into the main duct system. The system is sealed off between hot air and cold air, and all air vents are then covered to maximize the effectiveness of our powerful vacuum.

Step 3

While the duct system is under suction, all air vents are then cleaned using 250 psi of compressed air. Notice that the technician is wearing protective equipment… hearing protection, safety glasses and a dust mask. The use of these items are standard procedure at City Duct Cleaning.

Step 4

All heating vents are cleaned in the same manner. Our vacuum hose is then switched over to the return air duct, and all return air vents and grilles are cleaned. We always start from the furthest air vent, usually on the top floor, then work our way back to the basement.

Step 5

After all the air vents have been cleaned, we start at the end of the duct system and use a combination of air whips, our reverse air nozzle, also referred to as an air snake or skipper, and our own specially-designed air gun. All debris that was in any of the air vents or connecting pipes are now being cleaned out of the main ducts.

Step 6

Our air whips, or Scorpion rods, are inserted into the ductwork via small 1″ openings that we have created in strategic locations throughout the duct system. This device beats around the inside of the duct system loosening caked-on dirt from all surfaces inside the duct. Our air snake is then used, and in turn it blows all the remaining dirt and even heavy objects back towards the vacuum hose.

Step 7

All components of the air handing system are cleaned including the furnace fan, air conditioning coil and the furnace filter, as well as plenums and compartments. All access openings are then sealed and the furnace is run through a test cycle.

Step 8

Hoses are returned to our truck and any windows or entry points into the home are secured. Here, we put the finishing touches on the job by wiping down the furnace including the insides of the doors, re-installing any filters and completing our inspection of the operation of the system. The work area is thoroughly cleaned and our technician signs his job by applying our company sticker with his name on it. The sticker itself also includes other useful information about our company.