Vents are often overlooked as just another part of the home. However, they play a big role in heating, cooling, and air circulation. When vents aren’t properly cleaned, not only do they become unsightly, but a buildup of debris can prevent proper airflow. This creates strange odours and could even be a fire hazard.
Maid4Condos are pros when it comes to managing vents. While we recommend calling in the professionals for duct maintenance and furnace cleaning, there are some DIY tricks for easy vent maintenance. Here are 6 of our favourite vent cleaning tips to keep your vents working properly year-round.
1. Dust regularly
It’s such a small thing, but it makes a big difference in your home. Dust causes allergies, asthma symptoms, and bad odours. Especially when hot or cold air is blowing through the dust day in and day out. Dusting your vents regularly minimizes the buildup of dust along vent grates.
You may be tempted to purchase one of those cute feather dusters you see in movies and on TV, but the best way to dust is with a soft microfibre cloth. The material in these cloths swipes away dust quickly and easily by collecting it within its fibres. Rather than spreading the dust around into the air, microfibre cloths remove them from your room entirely.
Dusting seems tedious, but the more you do it, the less time it takes. We recommend dusting about once a week to keep dust at bay.
2. Wipe and disinfect
The second of our vent cleaning tips is to disinfect and thoroughly clean your vents. This is a chore that doesn’t require regular attention. A few times a year, remove the grates from floors, walls, and ceilings, and soak them in hot soapy water. Wipe them all down and dry them before replacing them in your living space.
The most common buildup in a vent is dust, but there are plenty of other items that make their way into your vents regularly. Pet fur and dander, human hair, food particles, outdoor dirt, and spills all wind up in and around our vents at some point, especially floor vents.
When you wash them thoroughly, you remove all the bacteria along with the stains and buildup. This deep cleaning reduces foul smells when the thermostat is activated and leaves your vents looking fresh and clean.
3. Vacuum ducts
Vacuuming inside your vents is a great way to maintain the cleanliness you’ve achieved by dusting and wiping. This detracts from the amount of dirt being blown around inside the air ducts. Having a furnace cleaning company come in to clean your furnace and thoroughly clean air ducts is a great exercise in vent cleanliness. Again, this isn’t common practice and should be done about once or twice a year.
Vent grates are only the tip of the iceberg regarding your home’s air circulation. Cleaning inside benefits the outside too. The best vacuum to use for cleaning vents is one designed for heavy-duty cleaning, such as the Shop-Vac.
Anything with a long hose and cleaning attachment will work well enough for a basic vacuuming. A furnace company should be consulted if your vents are overly blocked, or you are concerned about airflow.
4. Wax and polish
Just as you’d wax a car to maintain that glossy finish, you can wax your vents with a soft rag as well. It’s best to apply wax to a clean and completely dry vent grate. If you’re giving your vents a scrub, wait until they drip dry overnight before waxing them the following day.
Polish and buff it until all the wax is completely rubbed smooth and the vent looks shiny and clean. Excess wax will play an opposite role to nice smooth wax. Rather than deflecting dirt and dust, it will collect it more excessively.
When you screw the vent grate back in, you’ll notice a big difference in their appearance. It also decreases the amount of additional cleaning your vents will need throughout the year. The wax keeps dust and fibres from sticking to the grate, erasing the need for much of the dusting you’d do throughout the day.
5. Call the professionals
Finally, when in doubt about the best vent cleaning tips and which DIY hacks work, call in the professionals. A professional maid service will help you clean, polish, and maintain your vents, inside and out. At Maid4Condos, we include vent dusting and cleaning among our services.
Vents are a bit of a chore because of how many there are in most condos and houses. Between work and life, nobody has the time to really focus in on vents. That’s where we come in with our professional grade cleaning tools and expert knowledge.
6. Take your time
Cleaning vents takes time; don’t let it overwhelm you. Instead, break down the chore room by room, and tackle one half of the house one day, and the other another day. It’s okay if not every vent is cleaned all at once, so long as the chore gets completed.
Taking your time cleaning vents will prevent you from missing one. It helps to have a count of the vents in your home before you start, and a schedule for vent maintenance at hand.
For more tips on keeping your vents clean, call Maid4Condos at 1-647-822-0601 or contact us here.
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