Is Air Duct Cleaning a Scam?

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Are you thinking about the level of cleanliness of your home’s air ducts? Is this something that gets dirty and should be regularly cleaned? Are there health risk to dirty air ducts?

Skip Straight to the Full Post

“Duct cleaning has never been shown to actually prevent health problems.”

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Regular air duct cleaning, especially the $99 specials, is pretty useless.

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Visible Mold Take off your air register and look inside. Can you see visible mold growth inside the duct? If so then a professional cleaning is recommended.

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Post Renovation If you’ve recently completed a renovation then it’s possible that the duct work has gathered a lot of dust, and even debris, that wouldn’t normally be an issue. This should be a one time cleaning to get you back to normal.

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Chronic Sickness If you and your family are suffering from constant allergies or chronic sickness that is made worse at home then it is possible that there is something in your HVAC system that needs resolution. Air duct cleaning in this case is a good way to at least rule this out as an issue.

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Tips for Hiring Pros?

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More Home Improvement tips:

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Is Air Duct Cleaning a Scam?

Are you thinking about the level of cleanliness of your home’s air ducts? Is this something that gets dirty and should be regularly cleaned? Are there health risk to dirty air ducts?

“Duct cleaning has never been shown to actually prevent health problems.”

That’s not the whole story though because there are indeed a few times when air duct cleaning can be helpful or even necessary.

The EPA Says:

However:

Regular air duct cleaning, especially the $99 specials, is pretty useless.

Most of the dust in those ducts poses no health danger because your ducts only receive air after it has passed through your furnace filter.

The Facts are Clear:

Visible Mold Take off your air register and look inside. Can you see visible mold growth inside the duct? If so then a professional cleaning is recommended.

So When Does Duct Cleaning Make Sense?

Post Renovation If you’ve recently completed a renovation then it’s possible that the duct work has gathered a lot of dust, and even debris, that wouldn’t normally be an issue. This should be a one time cleaning to get you back to normal.

So When Does Duct Cleaning Make Sense?

Chronic Sickness If you and your family are suffering from constant allergies or chronic sickness that is made worse at home then it is possible that there is something in your HVAC system that needs resolution. Air duct cleaning in this case is a good way to at least rule this out as an issue.

So When Does Duct Cleaning Make Sense?

Tips for Hiring Pros?

Check out my tips for finding and hiring a reputable company to clean your ducts AND how to make sure the job is finished correctly HERE!

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