mm wrote:
On Sat, 9 Sep 2006 15:52:31 +0100, J Allen
wrote:


Though the previous owners of our house had the air ducts cleaned
roughly 3 yrs ago, I have that awful gray dust and dirt build-up around
some of my air vents on my popcorn ceiling (yuk). Any suggestions on
how to clean it?


I let my oil furnace run without a tuneup for too long**, such that I
could smell oil when the furnace was running, and I got oil dirt (i
guess it is) by my ducts and on my ceilings where convection air
whorls made triangles of dirt with convex sides.

I was told to get an emulsifier at a a janitorial supply company (such
as Sterling Chemical) and I got a gallon and diluted some as the
instructions said, and so far it doesn't seem to be doing much.

I've only tried it on the inside of the bathroom door which is next to
a heating vent.

Maybe I should try it full-strength? Or is this not really going to
work at all?


I'm prepared to repaint, but not this week. The recommendation I got
said the oil would come right off with the emulsifier. So I'd like to
either avoid painting some places, or have it as clean as possible
when I do.


**I don't understand why having a partly clogged nozzle or badly
adjusted electrodes would lead to dirt in my heated air. There is a
metal separation between the fire box and the hot air box. Isn't that
supposed to keep the dirt out the heated air?





THANKS!



If soot comes out of the furnace, you have a leak in the heat exchanger.

This has two problems

1.Dirty air
2. Combustion byproducts - particularly carbon monoxide, are in the air
now. Not healthy and potentially life threatening.