Our Company Blog

The Benefits of Air Duct Cleaning

You want to be able to breathe good quality air in your own home, but if your air duct and HVAC systems are dirty, the quality of the air in your house may be worse than the quality of the air outside. What could be lurking inside your air ducts? Breathing irritants like mold, dust, pollen, mites, and bacteria can be in your system, and these things get circulated throughout your home whenever your heater or air conditioner is on. If you have never had your air ducts professionally cleaned, you may want to consider this service, especially if you or anyone in your household has allergies or respiratory problems. Atlas Chimney is proud to provide this service, and we use specialized tools, including brushes and vacuums, to remove all of those irritants from your air ducts. We would like to tell you about a couple of the benefits of air duct cleaning to show you how important this service can be.

Your indoor air quality will be significantly improved.

According to the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA), up to 40 pounds of dust is created every year in a home with six rooms. All of this dust is taken into your air ducts via your HVAC system. On average, this dust and other irritants and contaminants circulate throughout your entire home about five to seven times each day. Even worse, these contaminants start to build up and accumulate inside your air ducts. For people who have allergy issues, autoimmune disorders, and respiratory problems, these irritants being circulated several times a day in the home can cause serious health concerns. Removing the accumulations of these contaminants can greatly improve the indoor air quality, and Atlas Chimney guarantees you will breathe much easier in your own home.

You will save money and energy.

Dirty vents can create a lot of efficiency problems. Whether it is your chimney, your dryer vents, or your air ducts, clogged vents can cause appliances to waste energy by working harder. The life of your HVAC system is shortened when it has to work overtime to compensate for dirty air ducts. With a clean air duct system, you will be able to enjoy comfortable air more quickly and easily and keep the temperature that you want. Your system does not have to use as much energy, and using less energy will reduce your heating and cooling bills.

Want to improve the quality of the air you breathe in your home? Contact us at Atlas Chimney to schedule an appointment for our professional air duct cleaning service.

Proper Ash Removal

Enjoying cozy and warm fires in your wood-burning fireplace or stove comes with a few responsibilities, including cleaning up ashes after fires. This maintenance task requires a bit of safety awareness to prevent the occurrence of an accidental fire. Since safety is a top priority for Atlas Chimney, we would like to tell you more about proper ash removal. It is important to keep up with regular routine chimney and fireplace maintenance to be able to safely and efficiently burn wood fires. Following these suggestions can help you take care of this essential housekeeping task.

Wait until the ashes have cooled completely.

Patience is a virtue when you must remove ashes from your fireplace. You should wait for at least 24 hours before attempting this task. You never know when hot embers could be lurking within a pile of ashes.

Get the right tools together.

To properly dispose of ashes, you will need a metal container with a lid, gloves, and a fireplace shovel. It is crucial that your metal container have a lid to keep the ashes inside in case the container gets knocked over after it has been stored.

Scoop the ashes into the metal container with the fireplace shovel.

Once your ashes have cooled completely, Good Housekeeping recommends that you sprinkle damp tea leaves or coffee grounds on top to cover up any stale smell. Then, simply scoop up the ashes with the shovel and place them in your metal container. You will want to leave behind a layer of one inch of the ashes as this layer will help you build and maintain fires. A layer of ashes insulates and protects your firebox.

Store the metal container safely.

The best place to keep your container of ashes is outside of your home. You will want to put the container on a non-combustible surface, such as concrete or brick, to reduce fire hazards. If any of the ashes inside the container are still hot, that heat can ignite a fire if the container is placed on a wooden or other combustible surface.

If you have a wet/dry vacuum with a disposable bag, you can use it to vacuum up the ashes; however, you should wait at least four days after the fire has been extinguished to use this method of removing ashes.

Need more fireplace maintenance tips? Contact us at Atlas Chimney to find out the best ways of taking care of your fireplace.