This is the season when many Canadians are having their heating systems serviced. Their homes will be shut up tight against the winter cold and furnaces working overtime. Additionally this is the time that people are calling in their duct cleaning professionals to ensure that their ducts are just as clean as their homes are.

During the winter most homes remain shut up and airing them out is impractical not without freezing. This is the time when warm air from the heating system is pushed through the ducts and potentially stirs up any pollen or mold or other debris in the ducts. No one likes the idea of spending the winter with filth floating in the air from dirty ducts.

While out of sight is out of mind most times, mold or other debris trapped in the duct work will not be gone and certainly not forgotten. We are becoming far more environmentally conscious and much more aware of what indoor pollutants can do to our health. Ducts can easily collect small toys, dust, and almost anything that is floating around in the home's air at some point and time which may be stirred up when the furnace is being used.

Cleaning ducts is not a job for an amateur, not if it is done correctly. When choosing a company to clean the ducts in a home it is important to check references and be sure they are an established company. While very cheap prices offered by transient companies might be attractive the job they do may not be up to standards.

If this is the first time to have duct work cleaned in your home it is best to contact a reputable company. Assure yourself that they are well trained and experienced in order to be sure you will get the work done correctly the first time. References from current and former customers are always good to see and an established company will usually be glad to provide them.

A duct cleaning job performed by a professional crew will require several hours to complete. Some homes might require only three hours to clean and others might need a full eight hours the crew will work as quickly as possible but they also want to leave your ducts spotless. The occupants do not usually need to leave the home during this process as filters normally keep debris from escaping into the house.

The duct system is the carrier of the warm air blown by the furnace and most homeowners schedule cleaning and servicing of both these systems around the same time. There is still some argument as to whether duct cleaning will significantly increase furnace efficiency and it as yet undecided. However, there is no argument that dirty ducts are unsanitary and an ideal home for unwanted indoor pollutants.

While no one would consider using a dirty or unserviced furnace some people don't always remember to check their ducts. The heating system and the ducts are systems that depend on each other and it makes little sense to clean and service one but not the other. Right before the coldest weather duct cleaning is often in high demand because few homeowners want to spend the winter with dirt in their duct systems.