Duct cleaning - good idea or scam?

[Anonymous]

What if it smells a bit like mildew when your AC kicks on (but not heat if that makes any sense)?

[Anonymous]

We did it when we moved into an old home. 40+ years of dust caked into the vents meant that was mixing with the indoor air and entering our lungs. The air didn't have a musty smell anymore when the heat turned on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What if it smells a bit like mildew when your AC kicks on (but not heat if that makes any sense)?

I would check if the HVAC or ductwork has mold in it, especially if there's any asthmatics in the home.

[Anonymous]

For my DD with severe asthma, her doctor recommended removing the carpets, cleaning the ductwork, and using a MERV 13 filter in the HVAC.

[Anonymous]

We did it after a renovation. They had long brooms and vacuums and what not. It might have been a scam, but if nothing else it got the debris close to each register. Registers were coated with old dust coated with drywall dust.

[Anonymous]

The article linked earlier in this thread mentions that after a renovation there may be a need to clean the ducts if the registers weren’t covered. It also notes that if there’s mold entering your ducts, you should be searching for the moisture. If the moisture problem is connected to your HVAC/cooling coils, you’re better off working with a heating/cooling contractor to identify and fix the problem rather than hiring duct cleaners. The article also notes that cleaning can often cause more problems than it fixes by disturbing crud in the ducts that was previously caked on and not entering the air.

[Anonymous]

Change your air filter regularly.

[Anonymous]

We did it when we moved into an old house. The dryer vent in particular was insanely filled with crap. The dryer barely worked and the build up was a fire hazard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did it when we moved into an old house. The dryer vent in particular was insanely filled with crap. The dryer barely worked and the build up was a fire hazard.

The dryer vent is a completely different situation from air ducts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did it when we moved into an old house. The dryer vent in particular was insanely filled with crap. The dryer barely worked and the build up was a fire hazard.

Wait, are you saying you've only cleaned out your dryer vent once? That should be done every year or two, it's not safe to go long stretches inbetween, please get yours cleaned or do it yourself.

(Ducts, on the other hand, should be cleaned rarely-to-never.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did it when we moved into an old house. The dryer vent in particular was insanely filled with crap. The dryer barely worked and the build up was a fire hazard.

The dryer vent is a completely different situation from air ducts.

This, and it’s a necessity to clean it and not a scam. It’s a literal fire hazard if you don’t. Air duct cleaning is a scam. The way the registers work is that they literally stick dust to the sides of the ducts.

[Anonymous]

Buy a little tool on Amazon one time. I think ours was $20.

So now we can do it annually and never pay more.

[Anonymous]

How do you clean a dryer vent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you clean a dryer vent?

Buy a dryer vent cleaning kit, or pay someone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you clean a dryer vent?

It’s so easy. Go to Amazon and find dryer vent kit. It’s a brush tool with flexible pole attachments that you can attach to a drill. I clean my own over the summer and cleaning. It was so easy. Do not be intimidated by it. It was 30 minute task.