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BACKGROUND: I have a 26 year old gas forced hot air furnace and the original duct work running throughout the house. We are the original owners and have never had this duct work cleaned by a professional company. My house looks like I haven't cleaned it only 24 hours after vacuuming with lots of cobwebs/spiderwebs, big gobs of dust on the floor and always a coating on my tables a couple of days after cleaning. We also happen to live in an area with lots of wild brush lining the streets and yards (protected bird sanctuaries...can't touch them) that comes with LOTS of pollen, had a shedding golden retriever for 12 years and a cat for 2 years, and have a son with a dust, cat and fall weed pollen allergies.
QUESTION: Have you ever had a duct work cleaning company blow out/vacuum your ductwork, vents/grills? How much did it cost and did you see a big difference in cleanliness and air quality?
I had it done about three years ago. It did make a difference. The house was 20 years old and it had never been done. They collected a lot of dust. The house seemed a lot cleaner after that. It cost about 300 bucks at that time.
BACKGROUND: I have a 26 year old gas forced hot air furnace and the original duct work running throughout the house. We are the original owners and have never had this duct work cleaned by a professional company. My house looks like I haven't cleaned it only 24 hours after vacuuming with lots of cobwebs/spiderwebs, big gobs of dust on the floor and always a coating on my tables a couple of days after cleaning. We also happen to live in an area with lots of wild brush lining the streets and yards (protected bird sanctuaries...can't touch them) that comes with LOTS of pollen, had a shedding golden retriever for 12 years and a cat for 2 years, and have a son with a dust, cat and fall weed pollen allergies.
QUESTION: Have you ever had a duct work cleaning company blow out/vacuum your ductwork, vents/grills? How much did it cost and did you see a big difference in cleanliness and air quality?
We had our ductwork in our 20 yr. old house cleaned a couple of months ago for the first time. It has made a huge difference in cutting down the dust on the furniture. Also, both my husband and I have seen an improvement in our allergies. Kind of expensive (we have 2 units), but worth it. Make sure you use a good company, not one of those $199 jobs. They need to clean the furnace thoroughly inside, as well as the ductwork and vent covers.
Yes. We finally did after about five years. Our dryer vent appeared to be backing up and the cleaning came as a package. It was less then $100 because our HOA negotiated with a great company and our front yard looked like it had snowed! This was May, mind you. We noticed a huge difference with the dryer - it dries much more efficiently now and as far as our heating ducts, we didn't get that horrible smell the first time we ran the heat. We are going to do it every year now.
We had our ductwork in our 20 yr. old house cleaned a couple of months ago for the first time. It has made a huge difference in cutting down the dust on the furniture. Also, both my husband and I have seen an improvement in our allergies. Kind of expensive (we have 2 units), but worth it. Make sure you use a good company, not one of those $199 jobs. They need to clean the furnace thoroughly inside, as well as the ductwork and vent covers.
Thank you for your input. My son has been sick all fall, and even now I hear him coughing and occasionally sneezing. I am in New England and it's been in the 20's, do you know if this can be done at this time of year?
Quote:
Originally Posted by photobuff42
I had it done about three years ago. It did make a difference. The house was 20 years old and it had never been done. They collected a lot of dust. The house seemed a lot cleaner after that. It cost about 300 bucks at that time.
Thanks for your input too. I get really discouraged lugging a vacuum around (my back aches later) and in two days it looks like I haven't cleaned at all. To make matters worse I have a cathedral ceiling with windows that start 4' off the floor and go up about 15' (two levels)...such a pain to clean even with extensions. It would definitely be worth it to me to spend the money to save my back and have a nice clean house and healthy son.
Yes. We finally did after about five years. Our dryer vent appeared to be backing up and the cleaning came as a package. It was less then $100 because our HOA negotiated with a great company and our front yard looked like it had snowed! This was May, mind you. We noticed a huge difference with the dryer - it dries much more efficiently now and as far as our heating ducts, we didn't get that horrible smell the first time we ran the heat. We are going to do it every year now.
Thank you for responding. I think you are talking about dryer duct backing up. But that sounds very dangerous. I am not sure what the connection is to heating ducts though. We have a very long wire brush that I sometimes use to clean the flexible duct that connects the dryer to the outside and can clean the lint catcher area with it too. I highly recommend these brushes. I have two friends that almost lost their lives when their dryers started a fire and it spread through the house.
Thank you for responding. I think you are talking about dryer duct backing up. But that sounds very dangerous. I am not sure what the connection is to heating ducts though. We have a very long wire brush that I sometimes use to clean the flexible duct that connects the dryer to the outside and can clean the lint catcher area with it too. I highly recommend these brushes. I have two friends that almost lost their lives when their dryers started a fire and it spread through the house.
The services that we used did all the ductwork (heating vents). They included the dryer vents because yes, it is very dangerous. We had just remarked when they were around that our dryer wasn't as efficient as it used to be and were calling in a repairman. The guy working on cleaning the heating ducts said that he could check the vent. I honestly never thought about checking that. It is one thing that is most neglected when taking care of a home come to find out. Our HOA ended up reimbursing us for the cost of that service so we actually didn't pay anything. Nothing for the heating ducts or the dryer vents being cleaned.
I recently bought a foreclosure, did a lot of rehab work on it made a lot of dust and dirt,. I got mine cleaned. I guess it made a little bit of difference but nothing too dramatic. Prices are all over the place, some are a fwe hundred bucks for a cleaning and deodorizing and some are like $59 specials. I think you get what you paid for to an extent, i went with teh cheap ones lol
Yes and I would recommend it, at least where I live. My house is in a suburb of Tucson, AZ. Our vents are all in the ceiling since we use A/C much more frequently than the furnace (we still haven't even turned ours on and today's the winter solstice). The ceiling is vaulted so I can't even reach a couple of the vent covers to clean them myself.
It's VERY dusty here and I have allergy problems that have been exacerbated since we've been in this house. The second year we were here, I decided we should try a professional cleaning. I called around for prices and settled on a company that sent a discount coupon in one of those homeowner packets. Their usual $150 for a house our size (under 2,000 sq. ft.) was reduced to $100. The sheer amount of time they spent made the cost seem worthwhile.
In addition to vacuuming the ductwork, the team removed every vent cover took them outside and washed them. They also went into the attic crawl space above the laundry room where our furnace is located and cleaned. They would have replaced the filter in the return, too, but I change it regularly so it didn't need a new filter; they just cleaned the opening and cover. Given that the house was seven years old at the time, they said they were surprised things were as clean as they were, but I still noticed an improvement. Just getting the vents actually washed, rather than just my inadequate reaching up there with a vacuum cleaner attachment, helped. I could no longer see dust that previously was visible to me. We also notice fewer cobwebs or dust bunnies and I sneeze less.
Two years later, we had a minor flood in our house. The insurance restorers said we should have our ducts checked for mold since the flood was caused by what had started as a slow leak from a displaced water pan under the A/C in the attic. We called the same company and they did find a little mold in the laundry room area. They removed it and came back three months later to re-check -- and then again just a couple of days ago to check at the six month date. We're now clear according to them. I think the service is well worth what I've paid.
I bought a new furnace and added central air in June. I thought that would be the ideal time to get my ducts cleaned on my 31 year old home that I'd lived in for 12 years. I think I paid $250 for the cleaning in my 1500 sq ft home. It was included in the price of my HVAC system. Then when the cleaning guys were here they asked if I wanted the dryer vent cleaned too. I said, "yes." Then they wanted to know if I wanted the ducts sanitized. I guess cleaning & sanitizing are NOT the same thing. ca-CHING. I think that additional stuff was $120 but I don't remember for sure.
I can't say as I noticed a huge difference but I feel better about it. I keep my blinds closed most of the time and my lights dim. So I don't notice the dust. I do have a 12 pound dog who adds to the dust & dander around the house.
With my HVAC purchase, I also bought an air cleaning system (fancy, expensive, thick filter) and a power humidifier. I was most looking forward to using the humidifier in the winter months as they are very dry here in Utah. The filter on the air cleaner needs to be changed once per year and the I found the filters online for about $27 including shipping. That's cheaper than buying from the contractor. I think spending $27 per year on filters is cheap compared to what people spend at the store for the regular old fiberglass or pleated furnace filters. Don't know how much the humidfier pad will cost.
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Air Duct Cleaning Made a Big Difference
My son has been sick all fall, and even now I hear him coughing and occasionally sneezing. I am in New England and it's been in the 20's, do you know if this can be done at this time of year?
