Hire a Qualified Duct Cleaner

As a qualified duct cleaning contractor I have discovered that most homeowners feel that they are very uninformed when it come to the principals and practices of proper air duct cleaning hygiene.

Let me begin by saying that the EPA as well as the National air duct cleaners association have stated that residential duct cleaning should take no less than between 4 and 8 hours to complete, anything short of that and you are probably not getting a thorough job.

Consumers are cautioned against duct cleaning companies that claim to be able to clean your entire air duct system in a very short period of time and for an unrealistic low price, in this industry that kind of service is completely unacceptable and is known as the blo-n-go style of duct cleaning.

Remember...anything short of between 4 and 8 hours and you are probably not getting what you're paying for.

Many homeowners are also under the impression that the main ducts and primary vents are the only components that require cleaning, However this is not the case, a thorough duct cleaning must include any internal surface in which the air moves across, this not only includes the main ducts and vents but must also include the conveyance compartment of the furnace/AC, heat exchanger, AC coils, drain pan, blower, filter housing and any air cleaning equipment that might be installed.

Duct Cleaning For Home

As a qualified duct cleaning contractor I have discovered that most homeowners feel that they are very uninformed when it comes to understanding what size vacuum should be used to clean their air duct system.

We are continuously asked weather we use a portable vacuum or a truck mounted vacuum and 90% of the time the customer really has no idea why they are even asking this question except for the fact that they have been told that either a portable is better or that a truck mount is better.

Of course most Duct Cleaning companies that you call will inevitably tell you that their vacuum is better than the other guys…They are after all trying to get your business.

The truth is that any vacuum that produces at least 2000cfm (two thousand cubic feet per minute) of air flow will be enough to extract the dust from your duct system provided that the duct cleaning contactor uses standard tools and procedures set forth by the National Air Duct Cleaners Association.

I can appreciate that from a customer’s point of view it would seem that the vacuum would be the most important piece of equipment in a Duct Cleaners arsenal, however, the vacuum really is last on the list.

The importance in equipment is as follows: First would be the Technician and the skills he or she processes, Secondly would be the Air Compressor that is used (this is where bigger is better) Third would be the host of agitation tools used to dislodge the debris and move it toward the vacuum and Last but not least is the vacuum itself.

So next time a Air Duct Cleaning Atlanta company tries to sell you on their service strictly on the type of the vacuum they use, I suggest you ask some serious questions pertaining to their level of competence and rate of customer satisfaction.

Duct Cleaning Could be the Healthiest Home Improvement You Will Ever Make!

Air duct Cleaning Robots

Are Robots effective in cleaning Residential air ducts?

The short answer to the above question is simply...NO!

While robots certainly have their place in this industry it definitely in not in residential air duct systems, not only are they very ineffective but the risk of losing one of these VERY EXPENSIVE Robots inside your duct system is something that no experienced Duct Cleaning technician would ever take.

Robots can be quite effective in commercial applications, However, residential duct systems are a very different beast altogether, It is unlikely that even the most experienced duct cleaner would ever be able to clean more than 20% to 30% of any residential duct system with the use of a robot.

I could write a book on all the reasons why a robot will NEVER get your home's duct system cleaned, the reasons are just too numerous to list here.

I would challenge any duct cleaning company, that they can not effectively clean the average residential duct system with the use of a robot...There's just NO WAY!

What typically will happen when a duct cleaner shows up to your house with his almighty robot, is that he will begin to explain to you how your particular home's duct system will simply not accommodate the use of a robot so therefore he will resort to using the standard manual tools.

I am here to tell you...that is the same story they use in virtually 100% of the households they encounter.

The way I figure it is this, If I can only clean 20% to 30% of the system with the robot and I must use the standard tools for the remaining 70% to 80% of the system, I may as well just use the standard tools on 100% of the system...It just makes perfect sense to me!

So although an advertisement that shows a FANCY-DANCY Robot may look good from a customers perspective, Believe me when I tell you that they are simply not effective in a typical residential system.

If a Duct Cleaning company tells you otherwise, I suggest that you ask them if they are willing to show you proof that their Robot is reaching all areas of your Ducts.

Air Duct Cleaning

As a qualified Air Duct cleaning technician it is my intention here to answer one of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to air duct cleaning.

The one question that we are asked on all of our air duct cleaning jobs is...How often should my air ducts be cleaned?

If you have ever asked an air duct cleaning company that same question, then you have probably received the standard answer of...Every 3 to 5 years.

I've even heard of some air duct cleaning companies making ridiculous claims that they will warranty their work for a minimum of 5 years, in other words they are saying that no dust will enter your air duct system for a period of 5 years. That's like saying that if I wash your windows, they won't get dirty for 5 years.

I suggest that you stay clear of any air duct cleaning company that makes such a ridiculous claim, If they are going to start off their business relationship with you on a complete lie then they are likely to be unethical, unprofessional and a rip off company.

As you can tell... These kinds of air duct cleaning companies make my blood boil!

Now, back to the topic of how often you should have your air duct cleaned.

The standard answer in this industry is as I mentioned above, every 3 to 5 years however, one must take several things in to consideration, a more frequent air duct cleaning should be performed if:

1) there are smokers in the house

2) there are shedding pets in the house

3) there has been recent remodeling work

4) there are numerous occupants in the home

5) you are not very tidy

6) the cold air return vents are located on the floors versus on the walls

7) you are moving into a new home

these are just a few of the reasons why one might consider a more frequent air duct cleaning schedule.

If you are unsure as to weather or not you are due for an air duct cleaning, I suggest that you remove one of the cold air registers in you home and have a look inside, If you don't like what you see then hire an air duct cleaning company.

Air Duct Cleaning Could be the Healthiest Home Improvement You Will Ever Make!

Video Duct Cleaning

In my opinion, a Duct Cleaners wireless video inspection camera is nothing more than a sales gimmick, In fact, the only place that an air duct cleaning technician will put his inspection camera, is inside the main duct right beside the hole where the vacuum is hooked up.

We can simply put our head up inside that same vacuum hole and physically view the duct's interior with our own eyes

These relatively CHEAP wireless inspection cameras are of very poor quality and can actually make a dirty duct system appear to be clean.

The technician will be unable to show you inside any of the heating vents with these cameras and he will be limited to showing you only a small portion of the main ducts.

From our many years of experience we have found that a visual inspection with the use of a flashlight, mirror, inspection holes and our own eyes will offer a much clearer picture of how the duct work appears at the end of our cleaning process.

So if any duct cleaning company claims that they will do a superior duct cleaning cleaning due to the fact that they use an inspection camera, I suggest you challenge them to prove that they are getting their inspection camera into all the areas of your duct system...It's simply impossible!