Seeking Insight: Genuine Questions on Air Duct Cleaning

[nobes]

Hello everyone,

I've been contemplating the idea of getting my air ducts cleaned, but I find myself grappling with a few uncertainties.

Firstly, how do I determine if my air ducts truly need cleaning? Are there specific signs or indicators I should be looking out for?

Additionally, I'm curious about the potential benefits of air duct cleaning beyond just improving air quality. Can it also enhance the overall efficiency of my HVAC system?

And finally, what's the recommended frequency for this maintenance task?

Any insights or personal experiences shared would be greatly appreciated.

 

[nobes]

Hello everyone,

I've been contemplating the idea of getting my air ducts cleaned, but I find myself grappling with a few uncertainties.

Firstly, how do I determine if my air ducts truly need cleaning? Are there specific signs or indicators I should be looking out for?

Additionally, I'm curious about the potential benefits of air duct cleaning beyond just improving air quality. Can it also enhance the overall efficiency of my HVAC system?

And finally, what's the recommended frequency for this maintenance task?
here is a got a result in search about air duct cleaning https://unitedhomeservices.com/air-duct-cleaning/carrollton-tx/
Any insights or personal experiences shared would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance for any help

 

[tomtheelder2020]

It has been, like, 15 years since I did a bunch of research on this for my own home, so I can't offer specifics. The bottom line I came to was that the people recommending duct cleaning are overwhelmingly people who make money from that recommendation. I recall seeing an EPA website that said, essentially, there is no need to do anything to your ducts unless you have an identifiable problem, and then the solution is likely not just cleaning them. If there is mold in your ducts, find the moisture source and eliminate it. If you have enough build up in your ducts that it is affecting air flow - man that is a lot of material. What is it and where is it coming from?

I live in a VERY dusty area (near agricultural fields). I never had my ducts cleaned and I have no problems.

 

[PJB12]

Can you remove a register & look inside the duct with one of those inexpensive endoscopes that connect to a phone? Or maybe a mirror? Also, if you can drop a section of return air pan in the basement & look it would help you decide.

A forced air person where I worked told me that the only time duct cleaning is really necessary is immediately after construction or a major remodel because contractors dump junk inside. True? I don't know.

An Example:
My house has an air handler for humidifying and air conditioning only, but the fan runs at least 18 hours a day, often 24, all year (SWMBO's Law).
I removed the main duct and a return air pan to fix a joist recently. I expected dust. After about 20 years, the dust was quite negligible- less than 2 thousandths of an inch I'd estimate. And my house is always under some sort of construction. The filter gets changed often.

A brother of mine had a company come out to clean his 30-something year old house's ducts. He was told they didn't need cleaning. (But they did sell him on sealing from inside, which my brother said helped.)

Paul