Heating and cooling ducts carry air all around your house, and vents often get dirty as a result of how much air flows through them. Find out if (and how) you need to clean them.
If your exhaust vents or fans aren’t operating as well as they used to, it may be time to clean the vents. Build up of dust, grease and dirt can slow the air flow through vents and leave you with a system that is sub-par. Best of all, cleaning vents is simple – all you need is a screwdriver and water.
Passive vents
Passive vents (that is, ones that don’t run on electricity) are incredibly easy to clean. Just unscrew them from the wall and wash them in warm, soapy water.
If the exhaust vents are particularly dusty, give them a quick vacuum with your vacuum cleaner first using the dusting brush; this will reduce the amount of dust you release into your home and lungs.
Powered units
Before cleaning powered units, make sure you turn the electricity off at the mains to avoid electric shock. Once you have turned the electricity off, remove the vent cover. This is where most of the dust is likely to have collected. You can wash that the same way that you would wash a passive vent, but make sure you dry it thoroughly before replacing it.
You can also wipe off any build up of dust on the fan while the cover is off.
