Air Duct Cleaning

woodstock

woodstock

Final Approach
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Does anyone have a strong opinion on this, yay or nay?

I just had my dryer vent cleaned (finally) and the company does air duct cleaning too. They are NADCA certified and they do not use chemicals - basically just a big ol' vacuum hooked up to the ducts.

Any warnings, especially as I have two cats?
 
A friend of mine who owns an air conditioning company had a duct cleaning rig and sold it, because he found that it tore up the ductwork. He had something that went through the ducts and spun brushes. Anyway, he admits it was a great profit center but was really pretty useless unless you run your air handler without filters.
 
woodstock said:
Does anyone have a strong opinion on this, yay or nay?

I just had my dryer vent cleaned (finally) and the company does air duct cleaning too. They are NADCA certified and they do not use chemicals - basically just a big ol' vacuum hooked up to the ducts.

Any warnings, especially as I have two cats?
Click to expand...

For the dryer vent - YES, a good idea on a regular basis. I'll assume that you have central air conditioning/heat. Are the ducts rectangular sheet metal that run throughout the house? Do you have problems with dust, smell, mold or leakage (notice a decrease in the ability of the system to heat/cool)? Change the filters/check the fan on a regular basis?

IMHO, unless you have problems with the duct system, cleaning is a nice thing to do but the actual utility is questionable. Can't hurt, although be prepared for a bit of an increase in dust being blown about if the contractor isn't careful. A good contractor with the right equipment won't cause an issue to you or the felines, a bad or sloppy one can make things worse. A good contractor will use a central vacuum system with a HEPA (high effieciency particulate filter) on the back end to eliminate dust - even better, is the abilty to put it outside. The ducts may need some disassembly to do it right, all depends on the layout.

Gary
 
Elizabeth I considered this then my HVAC guy told me it was all snake oil.
 
Thanks everyone, I canceled the appointment. I made it while he was on site on Saturday, but after thinking about it... no problems with the air quality and how do I know if this will kick things up?
 
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