I am going to have my air ducts and returns cleaned out. What kind of
results should I expect to happen from this process. The house is 50+ years
old and from what I can see the ducts have never been cleaned. I have one
small dog who sheds moderately. There really isn't a whole lot of dog hair
when I change my filter every month or so.

I have two rooms on my second floor that I have just turned into a bedroom
and a playroom. These 2 rooms never really received good heat or air from my
system, can I expect the air/heat to circulate better to these upper floor
rooms after the cleaning?

Every room has at least 1 return except the bathroom and the front room on
the top floor. The 2 rooms on the top floor each have only one air vent.
Front room is about 14X16
Back room is about 22X16

My house is set up like this

2nd floor - 2 rooms
Main floor - 2 bedrooms, living room, bathroom, kitchen
Basement - 75% finished , laundry room area (where heater is located.)

Postal68 wrote:

I am going to have my air ducts and returns cleaned out. What kind of
results should I expect to happen from this process. The house is 50+ years
old and from what I can see the ducts have never been cleaned. I have one
small dog who sheds moderately. There really isn't a whole lot of dog hair
when I change my filter every month or so.

I have two rooms on my second floor that I have just turned into a bedroom
and a playroom. These 2 rooms never really received good heat or air from my
system, can I expect the air/heat to circulate better to these upper floor
rooms after the cleaning?

Every room has at least 1 return except the bathroom and the front room on
the top floor. The 2 rooms on the top floor each have only one air vent.
Front room is about 14X16
Back room is about 22X16

My house is set up like this

2nd floor - 2 rooms
Main floor - 2 bedrooms, living room, bathroom, kitchen
Basement - 75% finished , laundry room area (where heater is located.)



Having them cleaned may make you feel better (about it),
but won't alter the flow by any amount you could measure.

You're probably faced with major changes to get adequate
heat/cool upstairs.

Might be a situation that called for thinking outside
the box: more insulation, better windows, combined with
small electric heaters/window A/C. ???

Jim

Having them cleaned may make you feel better (about it),
but won't alter the flow by any amount you could measure.

Agreed.

You're probably faced with major changes to get adequate
heat/cool upstairs.

Might be a situation that called for thinking outside
the box: more insulation, better windows, combined with
small electric heaters/window A/C. ???

Sometimes, even in older homes there are damper adjustments to facilitate
balancing the heat. One simply opens them all the way for the cold rooms
and then throttles back the warm rooms a bit.

Also, check for drafts and consider storm windows and ceiling insulation.

Postal68 wrote:
I am going to have my air ducts and returns cleaned out. What kind of
results should I expect to happen from this process. The house is 50+
years old and from what I can see the ducts have never been cleaned. I
have one small dog who sheds moderately. There really isn't a whole
lot of dog hair when I change my filter every month or so.

I have two rooms on my second floor that I have just turned into a
bedroom and a playroom. These 2 rooms never really received good heat
or air from my system, can I expect the air/heat to circulate better
to these upper floor rooms after the cleaning?

Every room has at least 1 return except the bathroom and the front
room on the top floor. The 2 rooms on the top floor each have only
one air vent. Front room is about 14X16
Back room is about 22X16

My house is set up like this

2nd floor - 2 rooms
Main floor - 2 bedrooms, living room, bathroom, kitchen
Basement - 75% finished , laundry room area (where heater is located.)

You can expect to have cleaner air ducts and you may feel better about
that. In rare cases if you have a mold and/alergy problem related to the
ducts (not nearly as common as the duct cleaners would have you believe) you
may find some relief there. In any case you will find your wallet a little
lighter.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

Charles Schuler wrote:

Having them cleaned may make you feel better (about it),
but won't alter the flow by any amount you could measure.

Agreed.

You're probably faced with major changes to get adequate
heat/cool upstairs.

Might be a situation that called for thinking outside
the box: more insulation, better windows, combined with
small electric heaters/window A/C. ???

Sometimes, even in older homes there are damper adjustments to facilitate
balancing the heat. One simply opens them all the way for the cold rooms
and then throttles back the warm rooms a bit.

That's what one does if they don't check the CFM rating on the air
handler / furnace and have a bal-o-meter to measure the CFM at each
room...


Also, check for drafts and consider storm windows and ceiling insulation.

Absolutely.

On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:34:23 -0400, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

Postal68 wrote:
I am going to have my air ducts and returns cleaned out. What kind of
results should I expect to happen from this process. The house is 50+
years old and from what I can see the ducts have never been cleaned. I
have one small dog who sheds moderately. There really isn't a whole
lot of dog hair when I change my filter every month or so.

I have two rooms on my second floor that I have just turned into a
bedroom and a playroom. These 2 rooms never really received good heat
or air from my system, can I expect the air/heat to circulate better
to these upper floor rooms after the cleaning?

Every room has at least 1 return except the bathroom and the front
room on the top floor. The 2 rooms on the top floor each have only
one air vent. Front room is about 14X16
Back room is about 22X16

My house is set up like this

2nd floor - 2 rooms
Main floor - 2 bedrooms, living room, bathroom, kitchen
Basement - 75% finished , laundry room area (where heater is located.)

You can expect to have cleaner air ducts and you may feel better about
that. In rare cases if you have a mold and/alergy problem related to the
ducts (not nearly as common as the duct cleaners would have you believe) you
may find some relief there. In any case you will find your wallet a little
lighter.

We tried if for my wife's condition. The "good feeling" fades fast as
I had to touch up with pant or clean marks off the wall ...get the
fasteners back in correctly.

A careless bunch of workers. No more duct cleaning for hire. Seeing
the method, they used I can make the tool and do it IF I was ever
inclined to do so.

That makes my wallet heavier.

--
Oren

"If things get any worse, I'll have to ask you to stop helping me."

"Postal68" wrote in message
...
can I expect the air/heat to circulate better to these upper floor rooms
after the cleaning?

No, you probably won't see any air flow difference.

Biggest, most noticeable change will be the thickness of your wallet. It
won't bulge as much as the wallet of the guy cleaning the ducts.

"Speedy Jim" wrote in message
t...

You're probably faced with major changes to get adequate heat/cool
upstairs.

Might be a situation that called for thinking outside
the box: more insulation, better windows, combined with
small electric heaters/window A/C. ???

Jim

That is basically where I am at now.

I just replaced all the windows in the house, we have been using a space
heater or a window air conditioner to get a comfortable temperature up
there.

I am going to insulate the attic and dormers this spring/summer sometime,
and even though I have a vented roof and vented attic, I am thinking about
adding an exhaust fan to help keep it cooler up there.

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...

You can expect to have cleaner air ducts and you may feel better about
that. In rare cases if you have a mold and/alergy problem related to the
ducts (not nearly as common as the duct cleaners would have you believe)
you may find some relief there. In any case you will find your wallet a
little lighter.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit




Well,
regardless of the airflow, I will feel better having the ducts cleaned out.
I can see in some of them they are very dirty and dusty and just to get them
cleaned will make me feel a little better for my health and my families.

"Postal68" wrote

Well,
regardless of the airflow, I will feel better having the ducts cleaned
out. I can see in some of them they are very dirty and dusty and just to
get them cleaned will make me feel a little better for my health and my
families.

I had mine done last year. The wads of stuff that came out of
the ducts was amazing. My house is about 55 years old. My
allergy relief tells me it was the right thing to do, for me.

Just a thought, some years ago I took off the return grate and
found that that duct was almost completely blocked. It was
bad. I cleaned that out and after that, when the furnace was
on the air really blew. I don't know if doing this will have an affect
on your situation.

Think about it, 50 years of dust, dead skin cells, pollen, all in
your ductwork. Why not get it out of there? My advice is to
go with a company that you would have work on your furnace,
not just some guy who's jumped on the duct cleaning bandwagon.
Who wants to spend that money and the job isn't done correctly.

nancy

It really depends upon your individual situation, but the dirt is
going to be in the return air ducts, and most of that will be near the
return air grill. If you are good with a shop vac than you can
probably get it yourself. If your situation is as bad as Nancy's then
you should probably hire a professional who has something much better
than a shop vac.

I had this done to my home awhile ago. Best thing I could have
ever done. The amount of garbage in the returns was amazing.
The nasty smell on the start of the heating season is gone.
Mine werent cleaned out in 50 years either. Lots of dirt in there!

Tom


On Apr 11, 3:55 pm, "Postal68" wrote:
I am going to have my air ducts and returns cleaned out. What kind of
results should I expect to happen from this process. The house is 50+ years
old and from what I can see the ducts have never been cleaned. I have one
small dog who sheds moderately. There really isn't a whole lot of dog hair
when I change my filter every month or so.

I have two rooms on my second floor that I have just turned into a bedroom
and a playroom. These 2 rooms never really received good heat or air from my
system, can I expect the air/heat to circulate better to these upper floor
rooms after the cleaning?

Every room has at least 1 return except the bathroom and the front room on
the top floor. The 2 rooms on the top floor each have only one air vent.
Front room is about 14X16
Back room is about 22X16

My house is set up like this

2nd floor - 2 rooms
Main floor - 2 bedrooms, living room, bathroom, kitchen
Basement - 75% finished , laundry room area (where heater is located.)

On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 15:55:46 -0400, "Postal68"
wrote:

I am going to have my air ducts and returns cleaned out. What kind of
results should I expect to happen from this process. The house is 50+ years
old and from what I can see the ducts have never been cleaned. I have one
small dog who sheds moderately. There really isn't a whole lot of dog hair
when I change my filter every month or so.

I have two rooms on my second floor that I have just turned into a bedroom
and a playroom. These 2 rooms never really received good heat or air from my
system, can I expect the air/heat to circulate better to these upper floor
rooms after the cleaning?

I was born in January, and in the house I first lived in, my room
didn't get adequate heat, so my father had a booster fan put in the
heating duct going to my room. This was 1947, and they still do the
same thing now. It was almost certainly connected to thermostat along
with the rest of the furnace.

Every room has at least 1 return except the bathroom and the front room on
the top floor. The 2 rooms on the top floor each have only one air vent.
Front room is about 14X16
Back room is about 22X16

My house is set up like this

2nd floor - 2 rooms
Main floor - 2 bedrooms, living room, bathroom, kitchen
Basement - 75% finished , laundry room area (where heater is located.)

Oren writes:

A careless bunch of workers. No more duct cleaning for hire. Seeing
the method, they used I can make the tool and do it IF I was ever
inclined to do so.

What does the tool look like? I've never seen it done, but I have
access to both compressed air and a shop vac. I know they drill small
holes in the duct for access, but not what they put through the holes.

Dave

On Fri, 13 Apr 2007 01:06:13 +0000 (UTC), (Dave
Martindale) wrote:

Oren writes:

A careless bunch of workers. No more duct cleaning for hire. Seeing
the method, they used I can make the tool and do it IF I was ever
inclined to do so.

What does the tool look like? I've never seen it done, but I have
access to both compressed air and a shop vac. I know they drill small
holes in the duct for access, but not what they put through the holes.

Dave

What I saw, was a shop vac with an attachment on the end. Ball shaped;
able to filter and allow the dust into the vac (size may vary?).

Appears to be used, also to scrub the duct, as you move it back and
forth. My ducts were cleaned by removing the grill , shop vac back
and forth through the duct with the attachment.. They could only go so
far, so that adds to my thoughts - I can do this. Last time I moved
the washer/dryer I vac-out the dryer vent pipe of combustibles.

--
Oren

"The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!"

wrote

If your situation is as bad as Nancy's then
you should probably hire a professional who has something much better
than a shop vac.

Whatever vacuum device the guy used, it was very heavy.
Hurt me to watch him carry it downstairs. At any rate, on
his way out he said They (his company, I guess) says you should
do this every two years, but I think that's too much. I said Yeah, but
probably more than every 60 years. He laughed.

But, yes, it wasn't like my little shop vac from Home Depot.
Plus it sucked the crud out to the truck.

nancy

On Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:22:53 -0400, "Nancy Young"
wrote:


Whatever vacuum device the guy used, it was very heavy.
Hurt me to watch him carry it downstairs. At any rate, on

I don't know. How do we know it's not mostly just a big empty box, to
make the customer think he is getting his money's worth!

his way out he said They (his company, I guess) says you should
do this every two years, but I think that's too much. I said Yeah, but
probably more than every 60 years. He laughed.

But, yes, it wasn't like my little shop vac from Home Depot.
Plus it sucked the crud out to the truck.

nancy

On Apr 12, 8:06 pm, (Dave Martindale) wrote:
What does the tool look like? I've never seen it done, but I have
access to both compressed air and a shop vac. I know they drill small
holes in the duct for access, but not what they put through the holes.

It would depend upon the size of the system, but I don't think a shop
vac would pull enough suction. At my place, the guy had a big vacuum
unit (still 120 V, but external motor with a belt drive to the
blower), it had a bag about 4' diameter. This stayed in the back yard.
The hose from it was 10" dia (wearing several duct-taped scars of
battle), and he inserted it into an opening in my furnace output line,
about a foot from the furnace (there is a vent there, although it is
usually shut). Then he snaked a compressed air line into each supply
and return register and shook it around. All this produces an
impressive noise, and no doubt cleans the ducts some too.

In addition, they have the most important piece of equipment which is
the camera on a leash in the briefcase with the LCD monitor. This is
where they show you the before and after video. The after is quite
clean, and you have to assume that the more inaccessible places in the
system got flushed to some extent.

I got this done just before they hauled away my old furnace and
installed a new one, so I wasn't too concerned about crud falling into
the coil and blower and other innards in the heat of battle, but I
imagine you have to be careful about that in other circumstances.

"mm" wrote

On Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:22:53 -0400, "Nancy Young"
wrote:


Whatever vacuum device the guy used, it was very heavy.
Hurt me to watch him carry it downstairs. At any rate, on

I don't know. How do we know it's not mostly just a big empty box, to
make the customer think he is getting his money's worth!

He didn't really seem too worried about impressing me
with the size of his tool.

nancy

On Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:08:25 -0400, "Nancy Young"
wrote:


"mm" wrote

On Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:22:53 -0400, "Nancy Young"
wrote:


Whatever vacuum device the guy used, it was very heavy.
Hurt me to watch him carry it downstairs. At any rate, on

I don't know. How do we know it's not mostly just a big empty box, to
make the customer think he is getting his money's worth!

He didn't really seem too worried about impressing me
with the size of his tool.

That's 'cause he's a good actor, and the prop does the impressing.
nancy

"Nancy Young" wrote:

He didn't really seem too worried about impressing me
with the size of his tool.

nancy


Ah well, there's rhem that talk and them that actually have it and know how to
use it....

"Rick Blaine" wrote

"Nancy Young" wrote:

He didn't really seem too worried about impressing me
with the size of his tool.

Ah well, there's rhem that talk and them that actually have it and know
how to
use it....

Yup, he just brought it in and got the job done. (laugh)

nancy

Postal68 writes:

I am going to have my air ducts and returns cleaned out. What kind of
results should I expect to happen from this process.

Feeling like a sucker? Like a rube with no concept of mass conservation?

Your vents contain dust. So what? It's not coming out. That's why it's
*in* there.

Richard J Kinch wrote:

Postal68 writes:


I am going to have my air ducts and returns cleaned out. What kind of
results should I expect to happen from this process.


Feeling like a sucker? Like a rube with no concept of mass conservation?

Your vents contain dust. So what? It's not coming out. That's why it's
*in* there.
Hi,
Quite a while ago, CMHC(Canadian Mortgage & Housing Corp.) did a
research on the effect of duct cleaning under normal situation.
The value of it was negligible. I just have electronic cleaner on my
natural gas furnace.

On Apr 11, 9:44 pm, "Postal68" wrote:
"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message

...

You can expect to have cleaner air ducts and you may feel better about
that. In rare cases if you have amoldand/alergy problem related to the
ducts (not nearly as common as the duct cleaners would have you believe)
you may find some relief there. In any case you will find your wallet a
little lighter.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

Well,
regardless of the airflow, I will feel better having the ducts cleaned out.
I can see in some of them they are very dirty and dusty and just to get them
cleaned will make me feel a little better for my health and my families.

Don't just clean them- have the company sterilize them. If you clean
them out they vaccum out the dust and dirt. If allergens and molds are
in the ducts they will continue to spread througout the house.

www.moldshield.org