Does Air Duct Cleaning Help With Smells?

Your air ducts circulate air from your home’s HVAC system into your environment. Therefore, keeping your air ducts clean means you’ll breathe cleaner air. If the air feels stagnant or there’s a funky smell coming from your air vents, air duct cleanings can address the issue. Our guide covers how air duct cleanings help with smells, what odors they won’t remove, and DIY tips for keeping your ductwork clean. 

What Do My Air Ducts Do?

Your air ducts are a vital part of your home’s HVAC system since they’re responsible for distributing air through your home. They do this in two ways. First, they’ll take air from your home’s air conditioner or furnace and push it through your supply air vents. 

Next, your return air vents gather warmer air to pull it into the ductwork. From there, the ductwork takes the air to have the warm molecules removed from it. Since your ducts are the delivery system of how you receive air into your home, keeping them clean can prevent smells from cropping up.

What Causes Odors in My Air Vents?

There could be several culprits at play:

• Dust: When dust particles inevitably build up, they travel through your air vents and into your home via your ductwork. A telltale sign that your ductwork might be dirty is having continuously dusty air vents.

• Mold: Mold can happen as a result of condensation buildup, leaks in your ducts, and surges that happen after a severe storm. As it grows, you might notice a musty smell coming from your air vents.

• Pest infestations: If you smell rodent droppings or other animal odors, it could indicate you have unwanted guests making a home in your ductwork. 

• Gas leak: If you notice a rotten egg smell, it likely means you have a natural gas leak. Shut off your furnace and other gas-powered appliances, go outside, and call your gas company immediately, as this could be a dangerous situation that could lead to serious illness or even house fires.

• Smoke: Smoke can waft into your ducts from smoking indoors, kitchen mishaps, burning candles, and fireplaces. If you do notice smoke coming from your ducts, you’ll want to have an HVAC technician look at it promptly. 

When you notice funky odors coming from your air vents, you’ll want to have a local duct cleaner come out to inspect your system. They can determine the cause of the odors, and if it’s related to the ductwork, they’ll clean them for you. 

Angi Tip

Air duct cleaning takes an average of five to seven hours for most households. You can make the job go quicker by removing any obstacles around your HVAC entry points, like furniture.

Kassidy Barber

Content Editor, Angi

Does Cleaning My Air Ducts Prevent Odors?

Photo: Bill Oxford / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images

It depends on the cause of the problem. If you have a dust build-up or mold in your ductwork, cleaning them can make a huge difference since you’re removing the source of the problem. That said, there are certain instances where cleaning your ductwork won’t remove the odors.

Pest Infestations

While having a technician rooting around in your ductwork might scare an unwanted guest at first, once the cleaner leaves, the pest could set up shop again. If the pro who comes out to inspect your ductwork notices animal droppings, animal hair, or other signs of something living in your ducts, it’s best to call pest control to handle the situation safely.

Pet Smells

Your favorite four-legged companions could also be contributing to smells in your home. Pets shed dander, which is a collection of skin cells coming from animals with furs or feathers. Dander at pet hair can have a distinct smell and can trigger allergies. While keeping your vents cleaned can help reduce the smell, air duct cleaning alone might not be enough. You might also consider an air purifier with filtering strong enough to detect and trap animal dander. 

Duct Leaks

If you have a leak in your ductwork, cleaning it won’t make a difference because it doesn’t address the root cause of the problem. Some of the signs you might have a leak include the sounds of air escaping when your fan is on and your HVAC repeatedly kicking on. And if you’re wondering how to stop condensation on air vents, that could be the result of a duct leak. You can run your hand over your exposed ductwork when the fan is on to see if you can feel any leaks. If you do, use tape and a tarp to seal the area until you can have a technician look at it.

Outdated System

HVACs are built to last between 15 to 25 years with proper maintenance. If your system is at the end of its operational life, it might not be able to keep your home clean since it doesn’t operate as efficiently as it did when it was new. The average HVAC replacement costs $7,500. 

Keep in mind that air duct cleaning only removes the particles inside of your ductwork, not what’s causing them.

Can Cleanings Damage My Ductwork?

You might be wondering, can air duct cleaning cause damage to your ductwork? The answer is yes, especially if you have flexible ductwork. Flex ducts are more susceptible to tears or breaking during an air duct cleaning. That’s why if you have one, you want to carefully clean it or (preferably) hire a pro to do it for you.

How to Keep My Air Ducts Clean

You can learn how to remove odors from your air ducts with these simple steps:

• Replace air filters: Your air filters are the first point of contact with the outside air, snagging particles, pet dander, and even mold before it gets into your ductwork. As such, you need to replace these air filters as directed. Some last for about a month, others for three. Check the manufacturer instructions that came with your filter.

• DIY duct clean: Turn off your HVAC system, grab a ladder, and use a dust cleaning brush or vacuum attachment to remove dust and other debris from your ductwork.

• Clean air vents: Once a month, spot-clean your air vents with a microfiber cloth soaked in warm soapy water or a handheld vacuum. 

• Do HVAC tuneups: Once annually, you’ll need to have your furnace and air conditioner inspected. Ideally, do this before the season you plan to use them the most, as it gives technicians time to ensure your system operates efficiently with no leaks. 

• Seal ductwork: You can use duct sealant or mastic to plug every gap in your ductwork. This can keep pests out of your ducts.