Air duct cleaning

[SandEagle]

worth it? never got it done.. always heard horror stories of bait and switching from local companies around here.

 

[IronWing]

It depends. Take a flashlight and peek into your ducts. Are they filthy? If you can't see an obvious accumulation of dust or other stuff (rodent droppings, mold, etc.) then probably not worth it. If you see lots of dust and it has been years and years since the last cleaning then it might be worth it. If there is lots of dust and the ducts were cleaned w/in the past few years then you should have your HVAC system inspected to figure out the source of the dust as the filter is likely being bypassed. If you see rodent droppings or mold then there are other problems that need fixing.

 

[Binarycow]

they do have some pretty fancy services for this kind of work however I still find it's way cheaper and more reliable to hire a midget with a dustbuster.

 

[edro]

We just finished renovating our house (demo, sawing framing/trim, drywall dust, etc) so I am curious about this too.
I know our duct work is filthy from all that work, but I just wonder how good of a job they do.

It seems that normal airflow through the vents would carry most of the particles to the filter. Anything too heavy to be picked up by the airflow would stay at the bottom of the vent and not get airborne.

Still... I would prefer they be clean.

 

[Lotheron]

We just finished renovating our house (demo, sawing framing/trim, drywall dust, etc) so I am curious about this too.
I know our duct work is filthy from all that work, but I just wonder how good of a job they do.

It seems that normal airflow through the vents would carry most of the particles to the filter. Anything too heavy to be picked up by the airflow would stay at the bottom of the vent and not get airborne.

Still... I would prefer they be clean.

You've been breathing that toxic dust during you're renovation... What's a little more dust over time, killing you slowly?

 

[HydroSqueegee]

we were going to have ours cleaned when they replaced our heater a couple months ago, but since the basement is finished, they had no access to the main duct run. One side was drywalled over and the other side butts up to the I-beam.

It really needs it. The house has been in the family for over 3 decades and the ducts have never been cleaned. a couple rooms in the house dont get much airflow. If i knew how bad the heating and cooling problems were in the house, i would have taken care of rerunning new ducts BEFORE drywalling over everything.

 

[edro]

You've been breathing that toxic dust during you're renovation... What's a little more dust over time, killing you slowly?

You must have went to a crappy school in the middle of corn fields.

 

[SP33Demon]

Once every 10-15 years is the norm. Also be sure to use a good 3M or Filtrete filter and replace it every 3-4 months.

 

[dbailey]

You must have went to a crappy school in the middle of corn fields.

Looks like you attended the school as well.

 

[edro]

Looks like you attended the school as well.

:thumbsup:

 

[JulesMaximus]

We had ours cleaned a few years ago. The main thing is the furnace itself, those blowers can get quite dirty so make sure they clean them. Ours was filthy.

 

[bruceb]

They should be cleaned every so often. As others have said, maybe every 7 years or so, depending on how dusty the inside of your home gets. And while you are cleaning inside the furnace, check the burners and if the motor has an oil port, put a couple of drops of the suggested oil in it. It will last a lot longer (they tend to fail just when you need it most, on a cold winter day, when parts stores are closed) Happened to me once and it cost $600 for an emergency call out and the new motor.

 

[soulcougher73]

You've been breathing that toxic dust during you're renovation... What's a little more dust over time, killing you slowly?

You must have went to a crappy school in the middle of corn fields.

I did Nazi that coming :whiste:

 

[Tsaico]

I don't think it is really worth it, just replace your air filters often enough and you should be fine.

 

[Fern]

worth it? never got it done.. always heard horror stories of bait and switching from local companies around here.

Could be.

I have pets (several dogs and a cat) and their fur/hair gets all over the place when they shed. I could look down into the registers/vents and see they were dirty/dusty.

Basically, they come over with a van that has a powerful vacuum in it and a real long hose they can run all way down through your vents and registers (by register I mean the air intake vents) to vacuum them out.

Depending how old your house is, how long it's been since they were cleaned-out and if you have pets or a dusty environment it may be a good idea.

Fern

 

[SandEagle]

Could be.

I have pets (several dogs and a cat) and their fur/hair gets all over the place when they shed. I could look down into the registers/vents and see they were dirty/dusty.

Basically, they come over with a van that has a powerful vacuum in it and a real long hose they can run all way down through your vents and registers (by register I mean the air intake vents) to vacuum them out.

Depending how old your house is, how long it's been since they were cleaned-out and if you have pets or a dusty environment it may be a good idea.

Fern

thanks for clearing that up for me. for a second there i thought you meant the cash register that i keep in my kitchen which i use to charge my kids to drink tap water :\





i kid, i kid....dont ban me bro. whats the max i should get charged? saw quotes from. 99 to 600...yikes

 

[edro]

Do they have some sort of rotating brush attachment to scrape the walls?

https://www.google.com/search?q=duct+cleaning
Hmmm...

 

[Fern]

thanks for clearing that up for me. for a second there i thought you meant the cash register that i keep in my kitchen which i use to charge my kids to drink tap water :\

i kid, i kid....dont ban me bro. whats the max i should get charged? saw quotes from. 99 to 600...yikes

My cost was on the low side of the amounts you mention.

It was some sort of special deal.

However, I ended up paying a little more than quoted because I confused a register (air intake into system) for a vent (air blows out). So, make sure you know the difference between the two.

Fern

 

[amish]

i did it at my old house. it was $350 (i think) to have sears come out and clean out all the registers and returns. the house was built in the late 60s and never had it done from what i was guessing. they pulled out a disgusting amount of dust, hair, and other random nasty things. unfortunately when they do this they cut two holes in your return vent to suck everything out. when they covered up the holes they just used some joint tape over two squares of sheet metal. the tape held for about 3 weeks and i had to do it right with self tapping screws.