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The need for cleaning depends on a variety of factors, like pets, smoking, recent renovations, local weather conditions and overall home cleanliness. Recommended cleaning: every three to five years.
Air duct frequently contains unhealthy micro organisms such as mold, bacteria, pollen, mildew etc. A periodic air duct cleaning promotes healthier living because it help to improves the air quality in your home.
When we bought our house, we did have the duct work cleaned. Prior owners appeared to use the floor vents as trash receptacles. Prior to this I had never had duct cleaning done anywhere, and don't plan to again unless buying a place where there is evidence of prior owners being slobs. Dust in your vents is very normal, and your own dust (dead skin cells, etc) is fine. Prior owner's unusual trash and filth, not so much.
If you have allergies, duct cleaning may or may not be a waste of money. It depends on how bad your allergies are.
I am extremely allergic to cats (FEL-D) which is one of the most difficult allergens to remove from surfaces because it is "sticky". Once it gets drawn into an HVAC system that doesn't have HEPA filtration, a duct cleaning will not remove it. I found this out the hard way with the first house I ever bought, back in the 1970s. The sellers had dogs but what I didn't know is that the people before them had cats. I figured that I'd have the ductwork cleaned before I moved in, so as to get rid of the dog dander, dust, etc. All the carpeting was removed, the wood floors were refinished, tiled steam cleaned, and everything was painted.
Had the ducts cleaned, moved in, and within an hour of turning on the AC (it was June) I was at the local emergency room struggling to breathe. My cat allergy is the only one that affects my lungs so I knew it was "cat" and not "dog" which only affects my eyes and nose. I cannot use epi and so they had to load me up with cortisone and put me temporarily on oxygen.
My allergist informed me that duct cleaning won't work for anyone with severe allergies to anything inhaled; replacing the entire system is the only way to completely get rid of whatever that allergen is. So that's what we had to do, and have replaced the existing AC system in each of the four houses since (also replaced all the heating baseboard.) I simply can't take the chance that a former owner may have had a cat.
When we moved into a 50-year-old house a while back, I opened a register, saw lots of dirt and gunk, and thought we might need the ducts cleaned.
The guy opened a section of duct about ten feet from a register and showed it to me--it was clean as a whistle. Be said that dirt usually collects at the registers where it just falls in. But that doesn't have anything to do with whether the ducts are really dirty.
i bought a 60 year old cape cod. It operate4s on oil heat ans has that oil smell. I can tell becxuase i have had clean gas heat for most of my life.
Besides cleaning and sweeping the entire systems what gets rid of this smell.
By the way we have not moved in yet, but duct system cleaning is first on my list
If you can smell oil, something isn't right. Have the system cleaned and inspected.
Although duct cleaning isn't always a bad idea, most of the time it's not required. In actuality, there is no apparent benefit to cleaning typically filthy ducts. Duct cleaning can be helpful in a few instances if done correctly. Contact professionals for better assistance.
My 12 year old patio home is one story with cathedral ceilings. My HVAC registers are in the ceiling and the return is on a wall, about 10 feet off the floor. Nothing is going to "fall" into either. My HVAC guy recently inspected a few registers and the return. He said they are very clean. No pets and no smoking. I replace the return filter (MERV 8) 3 to 4 times a year.
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