Duct Cleaning?

[cbj10206]

Is it worth it? I have heard both good and bad. I dont know whether I should pay to have my ducts cleaned, or if I should just have them replaced altogether. My ducts are 22 years old and prolly have about 19 years of nicotene and tar flowing through them. My vents get dusty pretty fast and usually have condensation on the outside of the vents. Isnt that prime for mold?

[OkieBill]

Get them cleaned:D While they are there have them run a camera through a few of them and check the condition.

You may also consider having a Trusted HVAC Company come out and inspect the outer insulation on your ductwork and make sure your return air path is sealed and that no air is getting around your filter.

Change your filter monthly or even every 2 weeks if you smoke or have pets in the house.

Smokers stink is tuff to get rid of... You may also consider having the HVAC company pull and clean your evaporator coil.

Bill

[Woussko]

All of what OkieBill said and also have a good HVAC tech clean the heat exchanger and blower while you're at it. As for duct cleaning companies some are big rip-offs and others take their time and do a good job. A good company with good techs can really make a difference. Sometime for fun, remove one of the return (intake) grills and have a look. You'll be going :eek: :eek: :eek: when you see what's in your return ducts.

You may want to take a look at this video on YouTube to give you some ideas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co8T5oGHnJ8&feature=related

Please note that a good video system can let you take a good look inside of air ducts too. You would be amazed at what may be in them, especially the return ducts.

I'm not an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) tech or an air duct cleaner, but I have seen some videos and have actually taken a look inside big commercial building air ducts. What's in them isn't any fun to see. What's fun is seeing the difference a good careful cleaning makes.

[nkyrental]

Be careful who you choose to do this. The $99 duct cleaning is not a real cleaning. We purchased a rental house that was occupied by various animals, and in the sales contract we stipulated that the ducts needed to be cleaned. The seller agreed, and I happened to stop by and the guy selected was using a cordless drill and what looked like a "re-engineered" furniture duster. I stopped him and called the agent.
To have the whole house properly cleaned, it will be upwards of $400. Make sure to be specific with the questions about how they are going to do it. A large positive pressure HEPA vacuum was hooked to an 8 inch cutout on the return duct to catch everything they loosened. They drilled a number of holes in the ducts and brushed every inch of the duct system and disinfected when they were finished.

[cbj10206]

Thanks for posting the video!

I had a company quote me something like $35 per return/$350 whole house a while back. Does that sound about right?

[AFM]

What a wank duct clearing it might be great in solid ducting but flexible under floor domestic ones all they do is tear them.

Tony:D

[HVAC HAWK]

What a wank duct clearing it might be great in solid ducting but flexible under floor domestic ones all they do is tear them.

Tony:D

your right how do they clean the flex runs ,they only show the hard duct returns .if your getting bust out the supply then your supply duct is also dirty

[OkieBill]

The spin brush will clean newer flex duct ( wire inside the liner) the older flex with the exposed wire will catch the brush.

35 bucks per register (40 with video) is going rate around here

Bill

[rjm78]

There is also a air whip they can use that is safe for all ducts. Tape your leaky ducts and also have them sanitized. We charge 300 whole home