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Update: A customer's floor vent comment last week changed my whole approach
I was finishing up a job in a 1970s split-level in Springfield, and the homeowner asked if I could check the airflow from a floor vent I'd just cut around. I popped the grate off and saw a solid inch of old carpet fibers and dust packed in the duct below. I told him it was normal buildup, but he said, 'That's been choking my furnace for years, hasn't it?' I realized I've been cutting vents for a decade and never once suggested a quick vacuum before the new carpet goes down. It's such a simple step that helps the whole system. Do you guys usually clean out the ducts you expose, or is that not our job?
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sanchez.pat1mo ago
Honestly that's a great point. We usually just blow the worst of the dust out with the shop vac hose real quick. Takes two seconds and it feels like the right thing to do for the next guy, you know, the HVAC tech. Never thought about the full system strain though, that's smart.
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hollyl451mo ago
My last filter change was so overdue it probably qualified as a biohazard.
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stella_lane23d agoTop Commenter
Wait, @hollyl45, isn't blowing dust out just pushing it deeper into the coil?
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