What can I say about duct cleaning? What can I say about all those pesky telemarketers calling daily trying to sell you their ‘’amazing duct cleaning deals”?
I will be brief on this one because most of you know it’s a scam.
Duct cleaning should be performed by a reputable company and only under the following conditions:
- 1) after major construction, but this can be avoided if you don’t use the furnace and a/c at all during the construction and subsequent clean up period and seal the vents at the same time.
- 2) if you are running the furnace fan 24/7 you will attract more dirt and dust into the ductwork system, but if you keep your home very clean that too will be minimized.
- 3) if you have a few pets, if you smoke a lot inside your home, if you have a lot of traffic inside your home and if your home is not clean. in these cases you will need to clean the ducts but not annually , every 3 to 5 years maybe. Also if you never had it done, maybe you should.
Another problem I have –and I want to warn you about- is the fact that most of these duct cleaning companies will come to your home offering to you an initial low price for their services. But once there they will always try to up sell you on some extras such as: deodorizers, sterilizers, sanitizers, ‘’special filters”, humidifiers(always of poor quality and even poorer installation), furnace cleaning and even a/c coil cleaning.
At the end you might end up paying twice –or more-what they initially quoted you.
My biggest problem though is that often these companies will offer to clean the furnace for you for an extra charge of course. Let me tell you right here that only a licensed gas fitter is allowed to clean and inspect a gas fired appliance. When you are paying a person that has no gas licence to clean your furnace you are not getting your money’s worth. There’s much more to ‘’cleaning ‘’ a furnace that just removing some dust with compressed air. Somebody who doesn’t have a licence and is not familiar with these appliances cannot service, troubleshoot and diagnose any underlying problems obvious or not. Not only you’re wasting your money , but you may be endangering yourself and home.
Also another big one is that sometimes these guys do something wrong and after they leave the furnace won’t work. Make sure it works before you pay them and they leave !!
Another mistake I have seen is that sometimes these guys will shut close the duct dampers not only on the floor registers but also on the main duct take offs from the plenum. This really cripples airflow completely, and amazingly I have seen it happen a few times , because I was called to see why the furnace wasn’t working. How could it since the high limit switch that prevents overheating was blown due to zero airflow?
Also when it comes to a/c coil cleaning, unless you open up the ductwork and have full access to the a/c coil you can’t clean it properly. This can take some time and some skill. These guys usually cut a small hole above the coil and blow down from the top with the high pressure compressed air hose they use. This can –and usually it does- bend the thin fins of the coil thus reducing air flow and efficiency greatly, and still it won’t clean the coil!!
Because some clients ask me about duct cleaning and they indeed have to have one done due to the reasons I explained above, I do deal with a small company on a trust and not a commission basis. I do not get a commission, but I expect from them the best care and pricing for my clients. So far I have not had any negative comments.(and that’s why i still give them business).
They are based in Brampton but will go anywhere.
If you feel you need a duct cleaning call me for their phone number.
I will post here a link (without permission of course) regarding duct cleaning. It’s posted by the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation and it tells the truth about duct cleaning. And you know it has to be reliable coming from them.
Here it is : http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/airduct.html#deciding