Flexible silver HVAC ducts and a sheet-metal plenum box inside a dimly lit attic with fiberglass insulation and a louvered vent casting light through dust.

Duct Cleaning in Mobile, AL

Tell us about your home, and a licensed contractor who covers Mobile County will get in touch.

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Step 1 of 3: Equipment

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Insulated HVAC ducts and a metal flue pipe installed inside a wood-framed residential attic with sunlight streaming through a vent.

Storms and power outages leave your ducts sitting still

Mobile County has logged 155 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Storms like those knock out power, and in 2024, 18% of Alabama households went at least a day without it. When the power is out, your air handler stops moving air, and dust settles into the ductwork instead of passing through the filter.

Your system only needs to run five months a year here, November through March, with winter nights averaging 42°F. That leaves a long stretch each year when air sits still in the ducts between heating cycles, giving dust more time to settle before the system moves it again.

5 months: November through March, your furnace pushes air through your ducts
7 months: April through October, your air conditioner does the same

Isometric grayscale illustration of a cutaway two-story house showing interior rooms with furniture and a network of round ventilation ducts connected to air handling units, under a dark shingled gable roof.

Your ducts carry heat November through March and cooled air April through October.

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NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals

How often should air ducts be cleaned?: There is no fixed schedule that fits every home. Look at what the ducts are actually doing instead. Mold inside the ducts, a rodent or insect problem, or dust that keeps coming back right after cleaning are all reasons to call regardless of when they were last done. Renovation work that kicked up drywall dust is another one.
Is air duct cleaning worth it?: It depends on what you are hoping it will fix. Duct cleaning removes dust and debris sitting inside the ductwork, which helps if the ducts are visibly dirty or someone in the house has allergies tied to the vents. It will not lower your heating bills or fix a furnace that is running poorly. If dust is your main complaint, check the filter first. A dirty filter lets more dust through than dirty ducts usually do.
What does air duct cleaning involve?: A contractor connects a vacuum system to the ductwork and uses brushes or compressed air tools to knock dust and debris loose from inside the ducts. The vacuum pulls everything out as it comes free. Each supply and return vent gets cleaned this way, along with the main trunk lines running through the house. Registers and grilles usually come off first so the contractor can reach further into the runs.

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