Occasionally, when servicing a client’s ventilation system, our team finds cables inside the air ducts. This is becoming fairly commonplace since the ducts provide an out-of-sight location for the tendrils of lengthy cords. However, is this a clever hack or can it cause hidden damage?

The Issue with Running Cables Inside the Air Ducts

Air ducts are meant as a conduit for air, not wires. Inserting cables inside the ductwork may even violate building codes.

The reason we don’t advise this is because a technician can damage the cables during an air duct cleaning. This could render your phone line, Internet, and cable television out of service. When we clean ventilation shafts, we use a commercial rotary brush. The brush spins rapidly in a single direction. This can tangle, twist, mangle, and shred the cords, causing serious damage—both to the cables and the rotary brush.

We have also discovered old wires the homeowner was completely oblivious to. The prior homeowner left them behind and they remained undetected for decades.

The Takeaway Lesson?

Air ducts aren’t designed for holding cable wires. While the practice isn’t a major hazard, we suggest keeping the ducts clear of household objects. If you already have cables in the ducts and would rather not touch them, then we can often work around them. For public facilities, we strongly discourage this practice; you can land in hot water if an auditor finds them during a building code inspection. This could also be a breach of the contract agreement if you’re a tenant living in an apartment complex.

We Clean Residential and Commercial Air Ducts

We recommend booking a furnace and dryer vent cleaning as part of a whole HVAC inspection. This covers the essential areas of your home. Aurora Edmunds Furnace Cleaning doesn’t advise running cables inside air ducts, though we can work around it if need be.

Air Duct Cleaning and Camera Inspection

Serving Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Bellevue, King County and South Snohomish County

Posted on October 22, 2020 | Published by Ignite Local | Related Local Business

Aurora Edmonds Furnace Cleaning

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Preston Meade

20/04/2023

Called Aurora Edmonds Furnace Cleaning to get the exhaust for our Oil Furance and Dryer vent cleaned. Spoke with someone promptly and they got me scheduled quickly. Cleaners arrived on time, explained what they were doing, and were very thorough in their cleaning.

Victoria N

10/04/2023

I needed to get the ducts and the fan cleaned. In the vents Jay found stuff my teengage kids played with when they were babies which tells me that the previos company I hired didn't do a good job. Everything is clean, I had a lot of questions and everything got answered. Other than cleaning the fan and ducts, Jay fixed the grid, the datached vents - thank you for helping me to keep my home clean! In my opinion this a much better quality work than most other companies out here.

Michelle Hamilton

25/01/2023

Mike and Andrew cleaned out my dryer vent. We had never moved the dryer before to realize there was a hole in our vent duct that was leaking lint into our wall. They also cleaned out the wall cavity and applied metal duct tape to seal the vent until a replacement duct can be installed. Their thoughtfulness and above and beyond work helped save our home from a potential and hidden fire-danger. Thank you!

Erin Whisler

06/01/2023

I called so many different companies and none of them would clean my dryer vent because of its odd location. I found AEF and they where able to come out the next day to find the problem with my vent. The technicians where super friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. I will be calling AEF again in the future.

K H

05/12/2022

I had duct cleaning done - great customer service all around from scheduling to finish. Isaac and Andrew did the service - good communicating, thorough, respectful, efficient. They thought of everything.

Brian Kelly

18/08/2022

Great and timely service in a friendly but professional manner. I called a month after the service with a question and the owner dropped by personally to make sure everything was working properly. Beer impressive!