About eight or ten years ago, almost all air conditioning companies were advertising their "duct cleaning
Question:service." I never hear anything about duct cleaning these days. About nine years ago, I had my AC unit replaced, and while it was disconnected from the tubing, I looked inside. I saw absolutely nothing that needed an expensive cleaning! Was the "duct cleaning" thing just scam? Is it really necessary? If so, why is it not advertised any more?
Answers:
In some markets where people are paranoid about germs they still market this pretty heavily. Other markets where people have figured out the truth you have to ask for it.
My house for example was built in 1958 and when I replaced the furnace the return air duct only had about 1/8" of dust. Remember the return air duct sucks unfiltered air right off the floor.
The supply lines had less dust then my TV screen picks up in a week.
The only place that benefits from shoving the hose of your shop vac down is right at the floor grills. Especially if you have kids. That is where cob webs and dust pile up. Once you get a few feet in to the ducts they are usually clean.
If your house has been infested with mice or you bought a house from a smoker then you might want to have them cleaned otherwise it is a waste of money.
I remember some of those duct cleaning advertisements years ago. They would say how even new houses need to be cleaned because of nails and construction debris in the ducts. Not many people are allergic to nails. if you can find one in the system.
Your confused. It was for DUCK cleaning.
All the ducks managed to learn how to clean themselves now, so it's not needed anymore.
The ducts are not the tubing you looked in to. Ducts are the large pipes that are behind your registers in the house. They can be filled with dust and other crud. Duct cleaning is important if you or a family member suffers from allergies.
Having your ducts cleaned can also reduce the amount of dusting you have to do in your home.
It is still big here around Denver, never heard of a bigger waste of time or money. If you are concerned, use your vacuum and vacuum the first couple feet that is all that get dust in it but do not expect any noticeable change in anything.
If you maintain the filters on your heating/ cooling unit there should only be the need to vacuum inside the duct about a foot or so to get the dust. The only time there is a real need for a complete duct cleaning is when the filters haven't been changed out when needed. Each season is a good rule to follow, or the amount the unit is used for filter changes.
You don't hear about it much because it was not a big revenue source for HVAC repair companies. It's best to stick with what you do best, and have the highest return. Duct cleaning is still available, just by a more specialized group.
We had our ducts cleaned when we moved into a 50-year old home. They removed 10 gallons of dust and debris from the system, it was well worth the investment for us. Was not that expensive, as compared to the reduction of airflow and elimination of dust, mouse poop and who knows what else.
If you have an older home, I would recommend the cleaning.
I fell for this a few years ago. I watched what was done so now do it myself. Clean at whatever parts you can reach, especially the filter at the start of each season.
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