Cleaning Air Ducts Scam or Not? (floor, windows, vacuum, insulated)

[Teckeeee]

So personally I think it is a scam and trying help my senior Mom understand that. She had it done once and of course, now they are telling her it's time for maintenance blah blah blah. She has some health issues COPD, and some toxic mold was found ( on the floor and in walls close to ground ) which was professionally removed and tested.

I don't think toxic mold could spread into ducts that are on the ceiling when the mold was floor level?

I am not sure if this is the right forum or under health?

[HWTechGuy]

Like anything else, I think sometimes the companies that do it take it too far in order to drum up more business.

If I bought a house where the previous owner used the real low-end garbage filters and otherwise doesn't maintain the system, I'd get them cleaned and then install good (MERV 8 or higher) filters, I'd see no reason to have them cleaned anytime again soon.

I checked my ductwork with a flashlight when I moved in. It was surprisingly clean. But, it seems the previous owner didn't skimp on the maintenance. In addition to having very nice insulated ductwork, there are filters on each return instead of a single filter at the air handler. Not knowing the history I bought a complete set to do the entire house. They weren't all that bad, but just to establish a baseline I changed them all anyway.

The age of the house, and how well the ducts are sealed are big factors in addition to overall cleanliness of course.

[Teckeeee]

Originally Posted by HWTechGuy

Like anything else, I think sometimes the companies that do it take it too far in order to drum up more business.

If I bought a house where the previous owner used the real low-end garbage filters and otherwise doesn't maintain the system, I'd get them cleaned and then install good (MERV 8 or higher) filters, I'd see no reason to have them cleaned anytime again soon.

I checked my ductwork with a flashlight when I moved in. It was surprisingly clean. But, it seems the previous owner didn't skimp on the maintenance. In addition to having very nice insulated ductwork, there are filters on each return instead of a single filter at the air handler. Not knowing the history I bought a complete set to do the entire house. They weren't all that bad, but just to establish a baseline I changed them all anyway.

The age of the house, and how well the ducts are sealed are big factors in addition to overall cleanliness of course.

Thanks your answer makes sense. She has had it done several times, single high quality air filter changed regularly and she is So Cal, where there is less dust than CO where I lived.

[Barking Spider]

As a home inspector, I always remove the filter and look into the return plenum. I will also remove a floor register and look into the registers. It is not uncommon to see drywall dust and debris in the returns, as well as huge amounts of junk in the floor registers. Once in a while I will open a floor register that has a cat litter box close by. Guess what's in the floor register???

I would not move into a house that had floor registers without cleaning the ducts. I'm not all that worried about molds, etc in the ducts, but the other crap I see is enough to make you gag.

[chet everett]

I can whole heartedly second the recommendations of Barking Spider & HWTechGuy -- there are good trustworthy duct cleaning crews that use powerful truck mounted vacuums and efficient airships to basically scour all the crud that often does build up in ducts and often is very fully cleared out by the constructions crews. If a home has pets with any kind of fur / feathers the amount of "stuff" that can literally coat the ducts is often unbelievable. I have had labrador retrievers that even with daily brushing still shed a significant amount. Their undercoat and dander has a slight electrostatic charge that will cause it to adhere to ducts. Annual duct cleaning is not a scam in such cases. For folks that have no pets and rarely have their windows open (as I suspect would the case for the sufferer of COPD like the OP's mother...) the need for duct cleaning is probably far less frequently -- maybe once every 3-5 years.

[BirdieBelle]

We paid $500 and had it done once.

Here's the old thread where I explained our situation:

Air Duct Cleaning...

[staywarm2]

Go to the NADCA website at www.nadca.com to find a NADCA company in your area. These companies are members of the National Air Duct Cleaners Assn. They have certain standards that each member company must adhere to. I used one of these companies several times in FL and was very happy with the results.

Here in GA the last time I had my air ducts cleaned, I didn't use an association member and the job was not nearly as thorough and the workers were rather unprofessional. Next time I'll pay the extra money to have a NADCA company do the work.

[sullyguy]

Dirt in ducts isn't going anywhere - it's sitting in the ducts. If you feel you need to move that dirt out of the ductwork, get your ducts cleaned.

If you see an ad where some guy is holding handfuls of dirt, implying that is COMING out of your ducts into your house, run away fast.

[AnotherBravesFan]

I will second Chet Everett's sentiments. My mom has several dogs and asthma. Her house is on a crawl space and had never had the ductwork cleaned out. Her floor registers were filthy; we replaced them, but the problem was much bigger than that. She found a professional company; it took them all day, but they thoroughly cleaned out A LOT of pet hair (and worse) from her system. Afterward, the air inside the house was noticeably cleaner - no more daily battles with dust everywhere.

I will also say that I have never felt the need to have the ducts in my homes cleaned. (Newer homes on slabs, no pets.) So, I can see both sides of the argument.

[Teckeeee]

The pet angle is an interesting one since she has had pets for 20 years but since she had it done about 6 months ago I thinks she will pass. Thanks all!