Air duct cleaning

bassaholic

I was just wondering if anyone here has had their duct work cleaned in their home? Did it make a big or small difference in the amount of dust throughout the home? TIA, Steve

Rivrrat

We did and it made a pretty big difference, but we're desert dwellers, so there's naturally a lot of dust around.

nguyendot

How do you do it?

bassaholic

nguyendot wrote: »

How do you do it?

Not really sure. It's a service that comes in ...I'm guessing with a big vacuum and sucks the dust and lint out of the vents. Around here prices vary $150-$300

Willow

My father worked for a govt crown corp in the housing industry. He sent me a link to an article saying that they did studies and the only time you should have it done is if your house was just built, you have done a big/dirty dusty reno, if you have tons of animals. Or as mentioned above live in dusty areas. The only thing they said was to have your furnace serviced/ clean the fan and lube if needed. The article did also say, if you do have them cleaned, which is usually a van or cube van with a massive a$$ vaccume; say NO to them spraying your ducts with anti bacterial stuff as it may eventually cause crap to grow in the vents.

zombie boy 2000

The company I work for performs this service fairly regularly. Generally, $150 is the price given for commercial accounts. Residential may find you anywhere from there to about $250. There is a small machine that is generally used - attached to a truckmount and some suction hose. Certain chemicals may be used, but generally are not needed.

One thing I would highly recommend is being present while the work is being done. There are many, many ways to cut corners... and if someone is pressed for time and you appear to not fully understand what actually goes into a proper duct cleaning, you may get more of a "cosmetic" treatment. Not saying that we do this, but I know of some out in the field who do.

kevhed72

If you have had dogs or even cats for awhile, have it done. I was just cleaning a couple of our intake vents last night and they were pretty funky...

PolkThug

We had ours done and I was surprised at how little the amount of dirt/dust was that came out. Our house was about 16 years old at the time. We got to look in our main vent passages with little mirrors and they were very clean, with the exception of a little sawdust and some small wood scraps probably from when the house was built. I'd skip this procedure and just use good air filters.

nguyendot

My intake vents, which are just the spaces between some studs are extremely dirty.
So dirty in fact that I pulled a nail out that went into that space and a huge chunk of dust came out with it...through that tiny hole.

Jstas

Dust isn't as big of a concern as mold. You can get a housing inspector to come out and look at the duct work. They can tell you if there is mold in the duct work. I wouldn't have the cleaner do it, they seem to always find "mold". But yeah, it's totally worth it to get it done. Especially if you or someone in the house has allergies. It can help out alot in the spring when the pollen onslaught starts.


Also, change filters on the HVAC regularly. They are only supposed to be good for 3-4 months. Some people leave them in for years. That's not good. Changing them regularly keeps everything clean and hunky dory and keeps your heater and AC working efficiently. Even though most people in Wisconsin don't really have AC.

Ron-P

My house was built in the early 60's, still has all the original duct work that has never been cleaned. I was thinking about getting it done but I'd rather dump that $250 and just replace it all. Very easy access in my attic with plenty of working space, just time consuming.

mesquitehead

bassaholic wrote: »

I was just wondering if anyone here has had their duct work cleaned in their home? Did it make a big or small difference in the amount of dust throughout the home? TIA, Steve

Short answer is don't bother having the ducts cleaned. If you have dust it is likely due to infiltration, if your ducts are located outside the living space and they leak air you are "removing" a certain volume of air to the "outside" of the home/shell...that air loss creates a vacuum of sorts in the living space (inside shell). When the blower runs it is then trying to "make up" for that lost volume of air and it will come from outside the shell through electrical outlets, where plumbing pipes come through the walls (under sinks) and around doors and windows...outside air is dusty/dirty. Another typical spot for infiltration is around the air vent covers...if the "boxes" are not sealed to the ceiling well in the attic or unconditioned space you will get what we call the venturi effect....the air moving out of the box will actually pull small amounts of air from areas where the box is not sealed to the ceiling (ever see dark spots on a ceiling around a vent?)...much like smoking in a car with a window cracked, the air outside is going by so fast that it creates a vacuum and the smoke is pulled right out a cracked window...thats how attic/crawlspace air can also be "sucked" in the house. On average the typical home duct system leaks about 25% of the total volume of air going through it...mostly leaking to a crawlspace or attic location...meaning it is going "outside" the conditioned space, the system will have to make up for this and it will pull in air from outside the living space....and if it comes through a wall or from the attic/crawlspace you can bet it is dirty air. Sealing a duct system and/or a home will do you far more good than having the ducts cleaned...duct cleaning is treating a symptom rather than the problem...infiltration. As for filters here are my 2 cents worth, NEVER use a washable filter or "permanent" filter, either have your hvac guy install a 4" pleated media filter at the unit or buy the 1" pleated type filters (don't waste money on the 3m filtretes either) just a plain ole pleated from Home Depot or Lowe's is fine...change it MONTHLY despite what the packaging says about 6 mos or 90 days, catch the trash and get it out otherwise the fine dust will simply get sucked back through the filter and back into your living space..and into your expensive equipment.:eek:

I've been in the HVAC biz for over 20 years and was one of the first contractors in Austin,Tx. with a national air balance certification, I am also a licensed hvac contractor in Texas with many years as a certified Energy Auditor certification as well. Over time we have learned how much the air duct system can be the culprit in air infiltration systems...dirt/dust have to have air flow to travel. Now I am mostly "retired" from the hvac stuff but still do work for friends and special projects as well as consulting for recording studio jobs where silence is golden. There is a wealth of info out there online I would encourage you to check out for yourself, you could clean up the air and save some money! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Good luck!