DQOTD: Cleaning Air Ducts?

[Midpack]

I like to be prudently proactive with home maintenance. But I’ve never had duct cleaning done in my life, and I doubt I ever will. My reason: While it might be safe with sheet metal ducts, most of our ductwork is flexible duct work, and that could be damaged by cleaning - and the homeowner probably wouldn’t know. However, that’s my uneducated conclusion, maybe others know better?

If no one in your household suffers from allergies or unexplained symptoms or illnesses and if, after a visual inspection of the inside of the ducts, you see no indication that your air ducts are contaminated with large deposits of dust or mold (no musty odor or visible mold growth), having your air ducts cleaned is probably unnecessary.

EPA does not recommend that air ducts be cleaned except on an as-needed basis because of the continuing uncertainty about the benefits of duct cleaning under most circumstances.

https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/should-you-have-air-ducts-your-home-cleaned#deciding

 

[COcheesehead]

We had it done, but we were new construction. They pulled out a ton of sawdust, dead bugs, rags. I don’t think any of our duct work is flexible.

 

[levindb]

I would do the dryer vent...similar but different. It definitely helps with dryer efficiency and it can be done by the homeowner if they are comfortable with a power drill and the dryer vent is not 2 stories high.

 

[eytonxav]

Most homes in Texas have flexible ducting. I have always heard not to have them cleaned as it can do more harm than good. I think investing in highest rated MERV filters is a better proposition.

 

[skyking1]

I agree that cleaning flex ducts would be potentially problematic.
I have hard ducting in this house but I have not had it cleaned professionally.
What you can do is remove the registers and use a flexible vacuum hose in the immediate vicinity of the register. I have done that at our house and it was good to collect all that stuff that falls in. I have no idea why the dogs are not nekkid, they toss so much hair into everywhere.

 

[Koolau]

We had a duct open for some reason (carpeting??) and our cat decided to go exploring. It took him a couple of hours to find his way back out. When he did, he was so clean, we decided duct cleaning probably was not worth the money.

 

[Sunset]

I would do the dryer vent...similar but different. It definitely helps with dryer efficiency and it can be done by the homeowner if they are comfortable with a power drill and the dryer vent is not 2 stories high.

I just did this, didn't need a power drill, just used the screw together poles with the tiny chimney sweep brush on the end. It worked well.

My BIL told me, I could have just used a leaf blower (with hearing protection on) and it will blow all the stuff out the pipe into the back yard
I'll try it someday if I ever have a leaf blower.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I agree that cleaning flex ducts would be potentially problematic.
I have hard ducting in this house but I have not had it cleaned professionally.
What you can do is remove the registers and use a flexible vacuum hose in the immediate vicinity of the register. I have done that at our house and it was good to collect all that stuff that falls in. I have no idea why the dogs are not nekkid, they toss so much hair into everywhere.

Heck, just vacuuming the intake registers with a brush attachment from the outside is probably the most efficient thing you can do. I did take them off once to vacuum inside that duct, and I sprayed them down in the shower, but that's probably not necessary. Now I just turn off the fan and vacuum.

 

[Jerry1]

I just did this, didn't need a power drill, just used the screw together poles with the tiny chimney sweep brush on the end. It worked well.

My BIL told me, I could have just used a leaf blower (with hearing protection on) and it will blow all the stuff out the pipe into the back yard
I'll try it someday if I ever have a leaf blower.

You need the brush. Lint is kind of sticky. After I brushed mine though, I did bring my battery operated leaf blower into the house and let it rip. It did get any remnants of lint that remained.

 

[Sunset]

You need the brush. Lint is kind of sticky. After I brushed mine though, I did bring my battery operated leaf blower into the house and let it rip. It did get any remnants of lint that remained.

That lint is amazingly sticky, I'd shove the brush in the pipe turn it a few times and out would come a lot of lint. I used a vacuum to remove the lint from the floor and the brush then suck loose stuff in the pipe and repeat..

 

[teej1985]

Most homes in Texas have flexible ducting. I have always heard not to have them cleaned as it can do more harm than good. I think investing in highest rated MERV filters is a better proposition.

I thought higher rated filters are bad for your HVAC?

 

[Telly]

I thought higher rated filters are bad for your HVAC?

Ahh, restriction per unit area. Depends on how they are applied. On a 1" thick filter, too restrictive! When I replaced my furnaces years ago, I standardized on the Honeywell 4" thick frames.

One takes the compatible 20" x 25" filters. They do a rounded fan-fold back and forth in the cardboard-framed slide-in filter, so the actual surface area in that 20" x 25" is very high. So even that the per-unit-area restriction is high, there is so much area that they flow very freely. I change that filter only every even-numbered year!

The other bigger furnace I have a Honeywell electrostatic 20' x 25" precipitator in it. It has a pre-filter made of metal mesh, to catch large stuff first, then the precipitator cells (2 side-by-side), then very fine-cell final filters, the air flows through the cells like little tubes. Everything is washable and reusable.

If for some reason I decide to ditch the precipitator, I can just unplug it, remove the slide-in guts, and put in a 4" thick 20" x 25" filter, like the other unit.
There are multiple manufacturers of the 4" thick filters, and various MERV ratings. IIRC, I'm running MERV 11.

The previous furnaces had 1" thick fiberglass slide-in filters, and as the HVAC community says, they are there to protect the equipment! I had tried many years ago a self-static 1" filter, "Air Medic" or something like that. It reduced A/C performance, not viable for our area!

My DW has told me for years that I'm an "explainer" type of person. Can anyone here sense that?

 

[11522914]

Most homes in Texas have flexible ducting. I have always heard not to have them cleaned as it can do more harm than good. I think investing in highest rated MERV filters is a better proposition.

That's what I did. When I had my HVAC system replaced years ago I had them put in a whole house filter which uses a MERV 16.

My wife & daughter were experiencing allergies in the house prior to the installation of the whole house filter. After installation their issues completely stopped and have not resumed so I give it a thumbs up !!

Plus I only have to change one filter once a year. Very efficient.

 

[ERD50]

I just did this, didn't need a power drill, just used the screw together poles with the tiny chimney sweep brush on the end. It worked well.

My BIL told me, I could have just used a leaf blower (with hearing protection on) and it will blow all the stuff out the pipe into the back yard
I'll try it someday if I ever have a leaf blower.

You need the brush. Lint is kind of sticky. After I brushed mine though, I did bring my battery operated leaf blower into the house and let it rip. It did get any remnants of lint that remained.

Careful with the leaf blower approach. I've read that it can create enough pressure to loosen a connection in the pipe. If that is hidden or not noticed, you are leaking humid air (mold problem) and CO if gas dryer (death problem).

My dryer vent is totally visible, but goes through a weird turn to get around the joist, so I'm definitely going to borrow DD's leaf blower and give this a try, and inspect after. I'm sure I'll need it outside to blow away the mess!

-ERD50

 

[Koolau]

Ahh, restriction per unit area. Depends on how they are applied. On a 1" thick filter, too restrictive! When I replaced my furnaces years ago, I standardized on the Honeywell 4" thick frames.

One takes the compatible 20" x 25" filters. They do a rounded fan-fold back and forth in the cardboard-framed slide-in filter, so the actual surface area in that 20" x 25" is very high. So even that the per-unit-area restriction is high, there is so much area that they flow very freely. I change that filter only every even-numbered year!

The other bigger furnace I have a Honeywell electrostatic 20' x 25" precipitator in it. It has a pre-filter made of metal mesh, to catch large stuff first, then the precipitator cells (2 side-by-side), then very fine-cell final filters, the air flows through the cells like little tubes. Everything is washable and reusable.

If for some reason I decide to ditch the precipitator, I can just unplug it, remove the slide-in guts, and put in a 4" thick 20" x 25" filter, like the other unit.
There are multiple manufacturers of the 4" thick filters, and various MERV ratings. IIRC, I'm running MERV 11.

The previous furnaces had 1" thick fiberglass slide-in filters, and as the HVAC community says, they are there to protect the equipment! I had tried many years ago a self-static 1" filter, "Air Medic" or something like that. It reduced A/C performance, not viable for our area!

My DW has told me for years that I'm an "explainer" type of person. Can anyone here sense that?

I like it! Keep it up.

 

[pacergal]

We have done it twice, once after kitchen remodel and wood floor sand/refinish 20 years ago and again about two years ago.

The last one was very good--he had a camera that scoped all of the ducts first, which he did right in front of me and I could see so much lint--ugh. He used a brush and vacuum system, cost was quite reasonable about $200 and included new air filters.
I have allergies and did notice a difference, especially in how much less dust settled on the furniture!
It was worth it to me, and I plan to have him out every few years.

 

[ERD50]

... did notice a difference, especially in how much less dust settled on the furniture! ...

I'm trying to understand how this could be?

If the dust is settling in the ducts, it's not getting on your furniture. Maybe it gets disturbed once in a while, and that dust comes out and gets on the furniture. But, if it didn't settle there to begin with, it would be in the air and settling on your furniture!

I don't see how cleaning affects that. How has the amount of dust in the air changed?

If the dust has accumulated and is growing mold, I suppose that could affect allergies.

I had to explain to DW that a somewhat dirty furnace/AC air filter doesn't make the air dirty, just the opposite! Some hair/lint/dirt on that filter actually makes more of a trap for other hair/dirt/lint, so it becomes more effective at cleaning the air. Of course, you don't want the filter so dirty that it impeding air flow too much. But it's not making the air worse.

-ERD50

 

[Time2]

We had a duct open for some reason (carpeting??) and our cat decided to go exploring. It took him a couple of hours to find his way back out. When he did, he was so clean, we decided duct cleaning probably was not worth the money.

Hmm, new business franchise, duct cleaning cats! If out cat is clean, you don't pay.