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Posted by LDR on November 8, 2005, 11:37 am
I know nothing about this subject, so no contribution is too small. My
wife suggests cleaning out the ducts in our home heating system. She
thinks it must be done professionally. I will spring for that, of
course, but is it possible to achieve reasonable results using a shop
vac--mine's a good one but doubt it could deal with encrusted stuff, if
that is an issue. Best thanks in advance.
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Posted by Joseph Meehan on November 8, 2005, 11:57 am
LDR wrote:
show/hide quoted text
>I know nothing about this subject, so no contribution is too small. My
> wife suggests cleaning out the ducts in our home heating system. She
> thinks it must be done professionally. I will spring for that, of
> course, but is it possible to achieve reasonable results using a shop
> vac--mine's a good one but doubt it could deal with encrusted stuff,
> if that is an issue. Best thanks in advance.
The shop vac is not likely to help much, even if it needs cleaning.
The real question is why does your wife believe it needs cleaning? The
industry has done a good job of selling duct cleaning without really telling
anyone why it is needed. I strongly suspect that most duct cleaning done is
not needed and does little or no good.
The same can't be said about furnace cleaning. I suspect far too few
people check or clean their furnace. It should be inspected on a regular
bases and you should expect to clean it from time to time. The lack of a
furnace filter is a sure way to need a cleaning and the lack of changing a
filter that needs it can do more damage.
So why does you wife believe it needs cleaning?
--
Joseph Meehan
Dia duit
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Posted by houseonhawthorne on November 8, 2005, 12:24 pm
I did some research into this subject not too long ago, for my
employer. It turns out there is a lot more to this industry than I
ever imagined. Here is what I reported to him.
First, some useful links on the subject:
http://healthandenergy.com/air_duct_cleaning.htm" - two very useful
articles about the history and effectiveness of duct cleaning
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/airduct.html - the official consumer
article from the EPA, referenced and paraphrased in many articles on
the subject
http://www.cmhc.ca/en/burema/gesein/abhose/abhose_ce29.cfm -
information from Canada's housing agency
http://www.nadca.com - home page of the National Air Duct Cleaning
Association, containing consumer information and a listing of certified
contractors
Based on these and other sites, here is a summary of the information
I've found:
-Air duct cleaning on a yearly basis is not required or recommended.
The EPA recommends at most that it be done on an "as needed" basis, and
even the NADCA recommends it only every 5-7 years.
-Whether air duct cleaning actually provides any health benefits or
improves indoor air quality is still under debate. Improvements in
indoor air quality may best be achieved by removing shoes on entry, not
allowing pets indoors, frequent vacuuming (with central vacuums being
particularly good for this), and replacing filters on HVAC equipment.
-Despite the claims of some cleaners, dust mites do not breed in air
ducts. They breed in carpets, beds, and upholstery, and are thus best
removed with a vacuum cleaner.
-The duct cleaning industry is full of fraudulent practitioners, making
broad claims and offering very low prices (often supplemented with
add-on fees). The EPA and NADCA caution consumers against these
unlicensed, "blow and go" cleaners, warning that an improper job can
actually worsen indoor air quality. The EPA estimates that a proper
duct cleaning job costs about $450-$1000 and takes about 4-8 hours; any
contractor claiming less should be suspect. The EPA provides the
following checklist for choosing a cleaner:
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/airduct.html#consumer%20checklist.
-A proper duct cleaning job should include all items on the following
checklist: http://www.nadca.com/consumer_info/post_clean_checklist.asp.
-The use of spray sealants and chemical biocides is of questionable
value, and may actually pose health risks. None of these chemicals
have yet been tested or approved by the EPA.
I hope this information is helpful.
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Posted by Christian Fox on November 8, 2005, 1:22 pm
paris@earthlink.net says...
show/hide quoted text
>I know nothing about this subject, so no contribution is too small. My
>wife suggests cleaning out the ducts in our home heating system. She
>thinks it must be done professionally. I will spring for that, of
>course, but is it possible to achieve reasonable results using a shop
>vac--mine's a good one but doubt it could deal with encrusted stuff, if
>that is an issue. Best thanks in advance.
The folks at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation looked at whether duct
cleaning
was worthwhile. The information is at the following link:
http://www.cmhc.ca/en/burema/gesein/abhose/abhose_ce29.cfm
A shop vac will do well for easily-accessible areas like the cold air returns,
but it
won't reach far enough to clean all of the ductwork.
Bear in mind that professional duct cleaning doesn't really do much to improve
indoor air
quality, and if anything tends to stir up a lot of dust during and immediately
after the
cleaning is completed.
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Posted by SQLit on November 8, 2005, 2:21 pm
show/hide quoted text
> I know nothing about this subject, so no contribution is too small. My
> wife suggests cleaning out the ducts in our home heating system. She
> thinks it must be done professionally. I will spring for that, of
> course, but is it possible to achieve reasonable results using a shop
> vac--mine's a good one but doubt it could deal with encrusted stuff, if
> that is an issue. Best thanks in advance.
I replaced my a/c this year so when the "boys" were tearing stuff off the
roof I was spraying the ducts with Clorox and orange clean. I used a rag mop
to pick up the residue.
My ducts were sheet metal and straight as an arrow. Also short enough for me
to reach every thing from the vents. The return was pretty bad and I got it
from below and above when the old unit came off. Evap coil was almost
completely covered with dirt. Previous owner must have either ran the unit
with out a filter or used the 0.99 cent varity.
If your using something better than the 0.99 cent filters your ducting might
not be all that bad.
Have you looked?
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> wife suggests cleaning out the ducts in our home heating system. She
> thinks it must be done professionally. I will spring for that, of
> course, but is it possible to achieve reasonable results using a shop
> vac--mine's a good one but doubt it could deal with encrusted stuff,
> if that is an issue. Best thanks in advance.