Hello:

Son just moved into a house that has gas, forced hot air heating (in New
England)
The ducts are also used for A/C system where the condenser is mounted
outside the house.

Realize this is a pretty general question, but nobody in family has ever
had this type of heating system befo

How often is it a "good idea" to hire a duct-cleaning company to come in
and clean out all the duct work ?

Can't know for sure, but it wouldn't
surprise me if it hasn't ever been done since the house was built 25 yrs
ago.

BTW: how do they do this ?

Thanks,
Bob

"Robert11" wrote in message
...
Hello:

Son just moved into a house that has gas, forced hot air heating (in New
England)
The ducts are also used for A/C system where the condenser is mounted
outside the house.

Realize this is a pretty general question, but nobody in family has ever
had this type of heating system befo

How often is it a "good idea" to hire a duct-cleaning company to come in
and clean out all the duct work ?

Can't know for sure, but it wouldn't
surprise me if it hasn't ever been done since the house was built 25 yrs
ago.

BTW: how do they do this ?

Thanks,
Bob

Pull down the registers one by one and use a shop vac and a brush for all of
the areas that you can reach. If it is really dirty it will be apparent.
The ~$100 specials advertised here are just that. I would not be to
concerned unless the family is sensitive to allergens.

"Robert11" wrote in message
...
Hello:

Son just moved into a house that has gas, forced hot air heating (in New
England)
The ducts are also used for A/C system where the condenser is mounted
outside the house.

Realize this is a pretty general question, but nobody in family has ever
had this type of heating system befo

How often is it a "good idea" to hire a duct-cleaning company to come in
and clean out all the duct work ?

unless you have a specific reason, never is usually often enough.

randy

Robert11 wrote:
Hello:

Son just moved into a house that has gas, forced hot air heating (in New
England)
The ducts are also used for A/C system where the condenser is mounted
outside the house.

Realize this is a pretty general question, but nobody in family has
ever had this type of heating system befo

How often is it a "good idea" to hire a duct-cleaning company to come
in and clean out all the duct work ?

In many if not most homes, it is NEVER a good idea for the home owner.
It is ALWAYS a good idea for the guys selling duct cleaning.

It sounds to me that it is time for you to have a competent professional
HVAC tech examine your system and make recommendations which may include
duct cleaning as well as servicing of the basic systems. Since you just
moved in it is not likely you have reliable information about their current
condition.

Can't know for sure, but it wouldn't
surprise me if it hasn't ever been done since the house was built 25
yrs ago.

I lived in a home for over 30 years and never had it done. Back then we
did not have all those outfits telling us we needed it done and funny, we
never suffered at all. :-)


BTW: how do they do this ?

Thanks,
Bob

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

Robert11 wrote:
Hello:

Son just moved into a house that has gas, forced hot air heating (in New
England)
The ducts are also used for A/C system where the condenser is mounted
outside the house.

Realize this is a pretty general question, but nobody in family has
ever had this type of heating system befo

How often is it a "good idea" to hire a duct-cleaning company to come
in and clean out all the duct work ?

For many if not most homes the answer is NEVER for the owners. On the
there hand for the duct cleaning outfits it is ALWAYS.

There are some good reasons to do this, but I fear nearly all of the
times it is done it is only due to satisfy the needs of the cleaning outfits
not the home owners. Most of the rest are for people with special allergy
and mold problems.

You just moved in and I would guess you haven to have your HVAC system
checked out by a competent HVAC tech yet. I suggest you have that done.
The tech should be able to determine the need for duct cleaning.

Before the days of the franchised duct cleaners, we lived rather well
without getting them cleaned. I lived about 20 years in one home and I am
sure they were never cleaned, yet we all survived and did not know any
better. Today those selling the service are telling us we all need
something that frankly few do.


Can't know for sure, but it wouldn't
surprise me if it hasn't ever been done since the house was built 25
yrs ago.

BTW: how do they do this ?

Thanks,
Bob

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

One reason I had mine done I could never find those 2 bats , mouse and
chipmunk that came in, they were not in the bag after cleaning, maybe
the dog was hungry or they will turn up someday.

There is an advice page on my website which addresses duct cleaning. Never
use a sealer, but disinfection and fogging is not a bad idea if you are
getting it done. Do not trust anyone that takes pictures of your returns as
a reason for duct cleaning, everyone's returns are gross.

--
Bob Pietrangelo


www.comfort-solution.biz
On Time or Your Service Call is FREE
Preventive Maintenance Specialist




"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
One reason I had mine done I could never find those 2 bats , mouse and
chipmunk that came in, they were not in the bag after cleaning, maybe
the dog was hungry or they will turn up someday.

"Robert11" wrote in message
...
Hello:

Son just moved into a house that has gas, forced hot air heating (in New
England)
The ducts are also used for A/C system where the condenser is mounted outside
the house.

Realize this is a pretty general question, but nobody in family has ever
had this type of heating system befo

How often is it a "good idea" to hire a duct-cleaning company to come in
and clean out all the duct work ?

Can't know for sure, but it wouldn't
surprise me if it hasn't ever been done since the house was built 25 yrs ago.

BTW: how do they do this ?

Thanks,
Bob

This is Turtle.

1] If you keep a clean filter in your system , you should never need to clean
your ducts. Duct cleaning is for people who run systems without a filter for a
year or two and then decide to put a filter back in it after the evaperator coil
cleaning cost that hit them.

2] How Often to clean your ducts ? Every 100 years or everytime you run the
system a year or two without a filter. Pull a discharge register closest to the
furnace and inspect for build up of dust at that point and you will see if
someone did not keep up with the filter or not.

3] Watch out for the $100 or $200 specials cleaning offers for if they really
clean the ducts like they should. They will not do it for chump change of $100
or $200 for you will really work cleaning them properly. A Duct cleaning company
that really cleans the duct properly will not talk to you for $100 or $200 . Now
if you get a play around duct cleaning company. A $100 or $200 is good money to
play around with. Most $100.00 duct cleaning special companys that offer it is
just a come on to get to look at your cooling or heating system to sell you
something.

4] Here is what I would do. Get you a shop vac and pull all the discharge
registers in all the rooms. Vacuum the grills off or wash them as need be. You
may even paint them if need. Vacuum out all the discharge boxes and duct as far
as you can reach into them. Re install the grills. Cut the electric power to the
furnace and return air grill and vacuum all the area very good in the furnace
and the area under or above the furnace. put all the stuff back. Then get you a
good Media filter for your system and install it. Then get you a bottle of [
Bio-Fresh cd only and not just Bio Fresh ] and spray the filter about 4 or 5
good sprays and run the fan for about 1 hour to circulate the air to get the [
Bio-Fresh cd only ]to get to your whole house. Here is a look at the stuff and
look & read closely about other knock off forms of it.
http://www.nucalgon/website.nsf/0/9C...1?OpenDocument

They also have a place to buy it is different areas of the country where it says
[ Where To Buy ] Put you State in there and it will give location of places to
buy it. I don't have anything in the buying or selling it but i use it in my
HVAC business and it works.

So Here You Go.

TURTLE

I noticed nobody described the process, so I'll give it a whack:

They came to our house with a truck-mounted something or other that sounded
like a jet taxiing. They cut small holes in the exposed ductwork (which they
later plugged), and fed in both a suction hose to remove the dust and a
smaller hose-like object that writhed like a snake whose purpose was to
shake things loose in the inaccessible areas. They also went in through the
various vents.

My wife had this done in a futile attempt to cut down on the amount of dust
that blows around the house. It didn't work. I wouldn't do it again.

--
Regards,

Jerry Schwartz
http://www.writebynight.com
e-card JerryS https://ecardfile.com/

Robert11 wrote:
Hello:

Son just moved into a house that has gas, forced hot air heating (in New
England)
The ducts are also used for A/C system where the condenser is mounted
outside the house.

Realize this is a pretty general question, but nobody in family has ever
had this type of heating system befo

How often is it a "good idea" to hire a duct-cleaning company to come in
and clean out all the duct work ?

Can't know for sure, but it wouldn't
surprise me if it hasn't ever been done since the house was built 25 yrs
ago.

BTW: how do they do this ?

Thanks,
Bob



This is answered all the time in this newsgroup.
The answer is NEVER. My house is more than 25
years old and duct cleaning would be a total
waste. Save the money and change the filter every
3 months instead of the recommended 6 months or
so. if you are worried about mold, the most
likely place is the ac exchanger in the furnace
unit. Cleaning that is standard as part of
annual AC maintenance. Duct cleaning is basically
a scam based on fear of mold which is not normally
a consideration in home cold air returns (an
exception would be if water is leaking into the
duct system, in which case structure failure is a
greater consideration).

I would recommend checking the filter EVERY month and change it when it
gets dirty. I have seen houses that need filter changes every 2 weeks
and some that could 6 months and everything in between. In my area
about a month seems to be the most common. As for duct cleaning, if
you have unlined metal ducts it may be OK in some cases. If you do it
make sure the contractor is NADC certified. I will not do it in my
HVAC business because I do not believe it is worth it. Most ducts in
my area are duct board and flex that are dificult to clean and can be
damaged by the process. Use caution if you proceed. With 50 year old
ducts, most likely they are unlined sheet metal.


Stretch

I actually just got a quote on that the other day. It seems that for
allergies (prevalent in Oklahoma) you need to do it every 7-10 years. I
personally have never had it done, but all my vents are ceiling mounted.
This is different because since both units use the same work, you tend to
have air blowing them consistently. Now this is assuming that you clean out
your filter regularly. If you have floor vents, you probably want to get
the cleaned out a little more often since that is usually one of the key
places that you get mildew first (besides a basement).

Scot Lilly

www.pratamortgage.com


"Robert11" wrote in message
...
Hello:

Son just moved into a house that has gas, forced hot air heating (in New
England)
The ducts are also used for A/C system where the condenser is mounted
outside the house.

Realize this is a pretty general question, but nobody in family has ever
had this type of heating system befo

How often is it a "good idea" to hire a duct-cleaning company to come in
and clean out all the duct work ?

Can't know for sure, but it wouldn't
surprise me if it hasn't ever been done since the house was built 25 yrs
ago.

BTW: how do they do this ?

Thanks,
Bob

Scott , alergies are everywhere, if filters are good, not fiberglass
junk and kept clean then ducts will remain clean. Im sure whoever said
7-10 yrs was the salesman. As WC fields used to say.

I have installed a dreyer vent hose to the outside of my house and
connected it to the return duct of my furnace just before the filter.
When the furnace blower runs, it sucks in fresh air through the vent
from outside and mixes it with the return air from the house. Keeps
the house nice and fresh in the winter.

Mark

"Robert11" wrote:

How often is it a "good idea" to hire a duct-cleaning company to come in
and clean out all the duct work ?

I had it done by the contractor, when they replaced the furnace and a/c.

There were specific problems where the ducts had been plugged up by bird
debris, so it needed it.

malkober you mean you are sucking in air from thr dryer hose, that lint
filled hose! And when the dreyer runs gas to! Kinda dumb.

no,

not THE dryer house,, its a seperate hose that leads outside LIKE a
dryer vent hose. It is not connected to the dryer in any way. This
hose runs from outside to the return duct only. Yeah, hooking it to
the dryer also would be kinda dumb.


Mark