Hello!

I am considering calling an air duct cleaning company.

Has anyone used the services of an air duct cleaning company?

If so, is there anything important I need to know about such a service?

Do they do a good job?

Thank you for your replies!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sunnysunflowers,

Good question. I too have been thinking about this and wondered what benefits and costs would be incurred. I am interested in and watching to see the replies you receive.

This is a subject of huge debate. There are plenty of people who swear by the process, but IMO, it's not worth the money at least 90% of the time. I'll explain why:

If the forced-air system has been maintained the way it should have been from day 1 of installation, which is done primarily by keeping clean filters in the furnace, there will be so little dirt in the ducts that it will be a big waste of money to have them "cleaned".

My husband is a retired HVAC guy, over 40 years in the business. He's seen a lot of ducts in his life. He always told customers that the ducts in a properly maintained system don't accumulate dust and not to waste money cleaning them.

At some point during the mid-'90s, I became convinced that I could cut down the amount of dusting needed if our 25-y.o. ducts were cleaned. He kept telling me the same thing he told customers. Finally, mostly just to stop the nagging, he said that if I would help him, we would disassemble the ducts, clean and re-hang them. After he took down the first piece, I was blown over at how very little dust was inside. We kept at it, though... Took down the sections one by one, wiped out the little bit of dirt in each. At the end of a long day's work, I definitely was convinced he had been right all along.

The part of the system where dust accumulates is mainly the cold air returns. You can pretty effectively clean those yourself by sticking the vacuum hose into them as far as you can and vacuuming up what you can see clinging to the sides. Any dirt that makes it farther along the route back toward the furnace will be caught up in the filter. No dirt - or at least, very little dirt, should make it as far as the supply ducts or registers. The registers, of course, collect dirt that falls into them and can be vacuumed out during regular household cleaning. The parts you can't see shouldn't be dirty enough to need cleaning.

But... Every home is maintained with different standards and has different environmental conditions. If you're still convinced that duct cleaning is something you really need, the EPA offers extensive information about it at their site ~ Duct Cleaning

I'm with Nettie on this one. Unless you are one who gets severe allergies, and even that may be questionable, you really shouldn't need to clean the duct work as long as the system is being maintained and running like it should. Changing the filters often will reduce most of all dirt and allergens.

I agree it's a waste of time. I had a coupon to get the ducts cleaned out for like 50.00 a year ago figuring oh this is a great deal I should do it, I had the company come out and clean the ducts after they cleaned them they "convinced" me I should have the ducts sprayed so that no mold could ever grow in them. I asked if there was mold in them at the time they said no but it can happen bla bla bla, so against my better judgement I agreed to it and it cost me a whopping 700.00 in the end. As if that werent' bad enough I and anyone who came in the house for 48 hours after having this done had an allergic reaction to whatever chemical they used in the ductwork. I had to end up going to the Dr's because of it. I will never do it again, I watched them as they were cleaning the ducts out and there was hardly any dust/dirt in them at all. Total waste of money in my opinion.

Sunnsunflowers thank you for posting this question. It is something I think about every year. nettie jay, whatyoutalkinbout and beantown2008 thank you for taking the time to share your experience. You have given me piece of mind and saved me **