Comments on: What Is Air Duct Cleaning and Is It Worth It?

By: Andrew NADCA certified tech

Andrew NADCA certified tech — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:34:40 +0000

I would like to start by saying that I am a professional air duct cleaning technician. I work for a company that does not use the $59.00 bait and switch tactic. Our company is NADCA certified, if you have any doubts about using a duct cleaning company check the NADCA website. I hear horror stories from customers all the time, and we get a bad rap because of companies like these. Hopefully this post helps and informs. We are not all bad don’t let a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch.

By: Luca

Luca — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:28:22 +0000

Hello, I’m Luca from Italy and I’m studying air ducts for quality of air.
I just want to let you know that the problem of dust is not the dust itself but the bacteria and the mites (acarus) that grow inside of it.
The air filter after the intake doesn’t have the capability to stop the bacteria and the excrements of mites that are powerful allergens, unless it is an HEPA filter but, even with that, the bacteria can’t be stopped.
Hope this helps!

By: Melissa

Melissa — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:51:38 +0000

We had a company come out this morning to initially clean our vents (16), returns(2) and main(1) for $59.95. After a preliminary inspection, the technician showed me that we had mold on the inside of the furnace! He stated he would recommend we have further services done to take care of this. I asked him to give me a quote On the total amount! WOW is all I have to say! The estimate was $2,264.59! What a rip-off! We did not fall for it! Unbelievable how much a company will try to scam out of you.

By: MrsWatson

MrsWatson — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:45:07 +0000

I just had my ducts cleaned last night, prompted by a $20 coupon. We purchased our remodeled 100 year old home 2 years ago. It had obviously been “chopped up,” had sat empty for a couple of years and before that, used as a rental, before that, I just don’t know. . .

Anyway – I knew I’d be subjected to “scare tactics” when the technicians opened the vents. I’ve tried to vacuum the returns and vents myself after we closed, but my Bissel wasn’t moving that gunk. I tried to convince my husband that it was a good investment to have a professional clean the ducts, at least we’d have a clean slate. He refused.

Finally he agreed to the $20 service ONLY. It wasn’t a big investment and it couldn’t hurt. I knew that we’d need the “deluxe” service, to clean the returns and furnace. I was prepared with my best negotiation skills for when the techs arrived.

I’m glad I did – those techs pulled out three shopping bags of debris, toys, books, food, garbage from deep down in my duct work. It was disgusting. Our furnace probably has never been cleaned since it was installed in ’95.

This morning I woke to my kitchen actually being warm (it was always 15degrees cooler than the rest of the house). My children all said they slept better and we didn’t have to crank the heat.

I figured it was a good one-time investment, especially in an old house like ours. In the end I spend $225 and got a three-year warranty with annual furnace and vent cleanings. Now I can vacuum my returns myself.

I’m very happy that I did it, but like you said, the price went from $20 to $800 in a matter of minutes.

I would never have this full service done again. I feel that the cost I paid and the services provided were fair. I’m not expecting any miracle health benefits, but I do expect the gas bill to go down a little. I’m grateful for the clean slate.

By: donc

donc — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:59:11 +0000

I think for most people this service is a scam based on the responses here and how this service is being marketed and sold. Unless you had alot of sloppy construction cleanup or animals in you furnace system then keeping your furnace areas clean and changing your filters often is the best approach.

By: HL Huang

HL Huang — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 15:23:14 +0000

This is very helpful. Thank you very much for posting!

By: Brooke

Brooke — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:58:28 +0000

I had my air ducts and carpets cleaned by Enirocair with one of those special coupons….total rip off! So buyer beware! I have gone around in circles for months. Envirocair did not even do half of what they were suppose to do, I paid extra for some mold chemical and I can’t tell a difference in the ducts or the carpets. I had my children with me so I couldn’t babysit the guys doing the work and I totally feel ripped off:(

By: Gavin

Gavin — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 05:28:24 +0000

I love seeing all these open threads about duct cleaning giving such honest reviews. I am a HVAC contractor, and have often thought about adding duct cleaning to our line of services, so hearing peoples opinions is of great help in deciding.
One point I would offer up that hasn’t been discussed is the repair side of things. I admit, the evidence as to the benefits or harm of duct cleaning is questionable from both sides, but, I will say this: Dirty furnaces break down 10 fold more often then clean ones. It is actually very rare that we get the pleasure of working on a clean unit. On the repair calls we go to, we can see how dirt in the affected component contributed, or caused the breakdown.
I still don’t know if cleaning the entire duct system is of any benefit, but routine cleaning of your furnace WILL save you money.
As for the concerns of a dusty house, the best defense against a dusty house is a combination good filtration and good humidity. The filtration side is obvious, however, the often over looked side is humidity. Aside from the proven health benefits of maintaining an ideal humidity level, moisture molecules actually attract dust together, grouping them into larger particles, making it easier for the system filter to catch them.
I will end this post with one last tip, NEVER use permanent electrostatic air filters. To create the static charge, they are made too dense for the design air pressure of your vents and blower systems. These filters WILL damage your furnace. A good quality air filter should allow light to pass freely through it, but not be able to see through it.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 10:56:26 +0000

Frank,

Of course you’d say that. You’re an air duct cleaner.

Duh.

I would encourage homeowners to check out the EPA’s guide to duct cleaning (Google it!).

The EPA says that air duct cleaning has negligible affects on a home’s air quality and has no discernible health benefits. All the duct cleaning companies I’ve seen end up cleaning the INTAKE side of the system, not the outflow side. If you’ve had an air filter on your forced air heating or cooling system (and you change the filter regularly) then duct cleaning should not be needed.

By: frank

frank — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 03:42:21 +0000

i would just like to say who ever dont think getting your vents cleaned helps, either had the wrong company or your just fools which is okay because i was that same fool and i paid dearly first you shouldnt play with your health or your families especially for a few dollars ill just leave it at that want to know more e-mail me. frank

By: John

John — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 19:36:59 +0000

I would agree that they try to upcharge you. Sanitation, extra vents, coil cleans, etc. However, one time when it might be prudent to clean the ducts is when you have rat poop inside them (like I did with mine) or some other contamination (mold) because then you have the chance that you will be breathing in these particles. The only other way of removing contaminated air ducts is to replace all the air ducts with new air ducts

By: Gioia

Gioia — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 18:48:32 +0000

Oh! I feel so stupid that I did called Totalductcleening before finding this review….im expecting and was preparewd to pay for duct cleening $169.00 cash or +tax(13%)
The whole thing screw me up when the guy started blowing the dust everywhere,and as Im VEry allergic to dust this is turned me off,the other guy came from the basement and delivered a good news for me that for cleaning the furnace I’d get a discount and will pay ‘only’ $100.00 on top of $169.00…….I should’ve ask them out right there….but ,I didnt.
And now my checking account is less $303.97 and I’m suffering with allergy from all that dust that they left and can’t take anything from it.
what do you think I should do?!

By: marc

marc — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:30:59 +0000

wow this almost EXACT thing just happened to me today lol. i wish i had read your story before i called them. Just as you said three guys in an unmarked white van pulled up to my house. it started at, more expensive than yours, $69.00 and 15% off for expectant mothers (my wife) after about ten minutes he informed me that my vents were “contaminated” and i needed a sanitizing procedure done, he also let me know that the return vents were not included in the initial price. ****note*** There are NO sanitizing chemicals used by these guys that are EPA approved*** I asked how much more and he said $400 on top of the $69. I said no and he haggled with me for a good 20 minutes, going back and forth “talking” to his boss on his cell phone. He also asked how much more i was willing to spend. At this point i became very uncomfortable with them inside my house and just wanted them to leave. I told he i had no extra money and was unaware taht they would try and charge me for other servics. It was amazing, after i kept denying him the extra charges for the intake vents he came back and said he would do them for “free”….long story short, im glad im only out the $62.00 (with discount) my wife was also the one that wanted it done…oh well at least i didnt get caught for anything else

By: Vandana

Vandana — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:54:48 +0000

I love the way you express it. We are first time home buyers and you helped us save our money !!

By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 06 May 2010 21:50:53 +0000

I was sick of dusting so I had some guys come to house to clean the ducts around my house. Like you, I end up paying much more than what they advertised. I even bought their expensive custom-made “permanent metal filter” for my central a/c unit that was supposed to save me money because all I had to do was hose down the filter every once in a while. After all that, my house was no less “dust-free” than before I spent the money. I’m still dusting like before, only now my checking account has lot less money! What a waste.

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:49:25 +0000

Glad I could help! I’m not saying that the duct cleaning didn’t get out some dirt and dust, because it did… But generally it didn’t do much more than I could have done with a hand vacuum anyway. If you use a hose vacuum and just stick it in your vents and air returns and suck out as much dust as you can then you’re probably doing just as much cleaning as one of these professional services.

It’s not quite a “scam” because it doesn’t suck out some dust from the “intake” side of the heating system, but as long as you’re regularly replacing your air filters then your “blowing” side of the system should never really get that dirty. My home (and my air ducts) date back from around 1955 which makes my air ducts over 50 years old. And, really, as you can see from the photo they were pretty darn clean on the “outflow” side of the system. Sure, the “intake” side of the system was a bit dusty, but the air filter was obviously doing it’s job and preventing too much dust from getting back into the house.

Again, even the EPA cautions against cleaning your air ducts just for the heck of it. When I first wrote about cleaning your air ducts I noted that the EPA basically says it’s an unnecessary procedure unless you’ve had some of home construction recently.

Good luck!

By: Catherine

Catherine — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:32:56 +0000

Just wanted to say thanks for posting this review – my husband and I had been trying to decide if having our ducts cleaned was worth it. After reading your review, we’ve decided to save our money. Thanks!
CB