If you plan on getting your ductwork cleaned in the winter (or even in early Spring), it’s likely that the weather will still be pretty cold. At least cold enough to need a jacket or sweatshirt even if it’s already March by the time you have it done. However, what you may not know is that during a duct cleaning we have to turn off your furnace. Depending on your system, we sometimes turn the power to the furnace off the breaker.
This is done for two reasons. The first reason is purely a safety measure. As part of our duct cleaning process, we always clean out the blower motor compartment in your furnace. This compartment contains exposed wiring. If the power was left on, it’s possible that our crew members could get a nasty shock if the blower motor kicks on while their hands are in there.
The second reason is also incredibly important and one that you’ll be glad we do as a standard practice. We need to turn the furnace off to make sure that your ducts are actually clean when we are done. When we clean ductwork, we use tools that loosen up dust and debris that are in your lines as well as a vacuum that sucks it all up. If the furnace runs while we are cleaning your ducts, it will blow the loosened debris all through your duct system, dirtying it again and making our process much less effective.
Why are we telling you this? Because sometimes people are concerned about having their furnace off in winter. So here are a few things to know and some things you can do to mitigate any heat loss:
- Although we will turn your furnace off, we don’t have your doors or windows wide open so you won’t lose as much heat as you may think (we do crack your door to run a hose through, but we certainly don’t leave it wide open).
- Most duct cleaning services take 3-5 hours to complete for an average home. You won’t lose much heat in such a short time period.
- Turn heat up higher before the session starts. If your home is heated to 75 or 76 degrees, it may only get down to the comfortable 70-73 degree range by the time we are finished.
- If you are particularly bothered by cold, plan to wear an extra layer or two until the service is complete.
For those of you planning to wait until summer to have this done, you should know that we also have to turn off your air conditioning for the same reasons we turn off your furnace. In case of particularly hot weather, you may want to plan to do the exact opposite of our recommendations above: cool your home down before we arrive, wear light clothing, or open doors and windows to allow the breeze to come through.