air duct cleaning? (Washington: house, pros and cons, allergies)

[ProudMarineWife2]

Looking for a recomendation on a company that does duct cleaning. Any one have this service done and really pleased with the work the company did? Thanks so much for the help.

[DC Oldtimer]

Years ago, an allergist recommended that we do this. We did. It had no effect whatsoever.

We did benefit from installing a whole-house air cleaner.

[Skapov]

We just bought a house and would like to do the same, but we were quoted $395 and are now suspect that perhaps this is too much to pay.

Anybody who can recommend an HVAC specialist, please drop a line.

[gresan1]

Getting vents cleaned can get expensive. Be weary of those flyers w/ "get all your vents done for only a special price of $xx.xx" they are only to attract you so they can come to your home and rework the $ amount. So please don't be suprised. You have to really bargain and don't be ashamed to lower the number to some rediculous amount that they will counter. If they don't budge tell them to go and you will contact another company.
I've had my vents cleaned twice but only because I worked on my house and cause a lot and a lot of dust and dirt all over. So educate yourself. There are different types of cleaning. There is also spraying. There are pros and cons. I have some answers but only of what i know. But please do yourself a favor and make sure that you BARGAIN the price.
I know a few friends who fell for the 400+ for the vents and thats something i would never do or encourage anyone to do. The most I've spent is $275 in December. Two returns, the unit, and 10+ vents.

[nwc07]

I just had this done due to severe allergies since moving to this area. I did a search online and then narrowed it down and checked out my top 5 on the Better Businesss Bureau website. Almost all of them had complaints...many unresolved. I did end up getting it done but have noticed no difference in our symptoms...

[slim04]

The Washington Consumer Checkbook did a study a few years ago that found out that duct cleaning was ineffective in improving the quality of the air in a home.

[gresan1]

that's due in part to the way they cleaned, if they just sucked air and brushed or if they sprayed and brushed. to be honest with you, most of them cut corners and do a crappy/speedy job, keep in mind, if someone takes too quick (under 45mins) or too long (over 1 1/2) to clean vents with brushes then be a little dubious.
its not as much about the quality of air when its more about the air that blows through the vents could be dirty due to aging. so yes, you should get them cleaned @ every 5years, and thats pushing.

[arlingtonChris]

I read the same article that Slim04 is referring to and it makes sense to me. Basically, the dust that has collected in your ducts isn't going anywhere and doesn't cause a problem. According to the Consumer Checkbook article cleaning the ducts actually decreases air quality in the house for a short period of time because the cleaning process naturally loosens all the settled dust which then blows into your house.

From the Article:
"The official advisory of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), last updated in August 2007, concludes: 'Duct cleaning has never been shown to actually prevent health problems. Neither do studies conclusively demonstrate that particle (e.g., dust) levels in homes increase because of dirty air ducts. This is because much of the dirt in air ducts adheres to duct surfaces and does not necessarily enter the living space.'

Before I read this article we had our ducts/HVAC cleaned by Air-tech International, who did a good job as far as I could tell, although they were a bit pricey.

[Skapov]

I read in a Home Improvement book, that you can just use a vacuum cleaner (the hose part) to suction out the dust in the vents. Has anyone gotten good results from doing this? Thanks!