Air Duct Cleaning?

teflon6string · Nov 6, 2014

Week after week I find my mailbox stuffed with ads and coupons, most of which I ignore. But there's one that always catches my eye:

AIR DUCT CLEANING $45 -- Call today to get this amazing deal!
10% military and senior citizens discount
Negative Pressure Air Duct Cleaning Unlimited Vents to a Single Furnace

Just heresay, but here's what I'm told:
- Appointments are 8 months out.
- It's nothing but a scam (once the gear is all unpacked in your house) to up-sell.
- Demand the $45 advertized special? They do a 10-minute half-*ssed job, skipping most vents. If you insist, they just leave.

So, has anyone in the Portland area used a local firm with a realistic schedule, and who doesn't charge an arm and a leg (like my heating company) to do a decent job cleaning vents? Would appreciate any legit leads. Thanks in advance.

cmica · Nov 6, 2014

maids r us or even naked maids

TOVO · Nov 6, 2014

cmica said:
maids r us or even naked maids

Naked maids? Do tell.

oknow · Nov 7, 2014

TOVO said:
Naked maids? Do tell.

Yeah were all ears
:s0122:

PiratePast40 · Nov 7, 2014

Google it - plenty there!

Stomper · Nov 9, 2014

oknow said:
Yeah were all ears

If ears are all you got, then naked maids won't do YOU much good, now will it?

Stomper · Nov 9, 2014

teflon97239 said:
Week after week I find my mailbox stuffed with ads and coupons, most of which I ignore. But there's one that always catches my eye:

AIR DUCT CLEANING $45 -- Call today to get this amazing deal!
10% military and senior citizens discount
Negative Pressure Air Duct Cleaning Unlimited Vents to a Single Furnace

Just heresay, but here's what I'm told:
- Appointments are 8 months out.
- It's nothing but a scam (once the gear is all unpacked in your house) to up-sell.
- Demand the $45 advertized special? They do a 10-minute half-*ssed job, skipping most vents. If you insist, they just leave.

So, has anyone in the Portland area used a local firm with a realistic schedule, and who doesn't charge an arm and a leg (like my heating company) to do a decent job cleaning vents? Would appreciate any legit leads. Thanks in advance.

Remember, you get what you pay for. Being an HVAC professional (not a duct cleaner) for the last 24yrs. and having observed a few duct cleanings in progress...

They cut a hole in your ductwork (usually at the furnace), stick a 6"-8" flexible hose through it that runs to a truck mounted centrifical vacuum (think monster dust collector), then they cover all the grills with plastic sheeting or newspaper so all the "suck" is concentrated at one grill when they do each one. The good companies will usually will shoot compressed air down each grill to break up any stubborn dirt build-up so it gets sucked out. Then they patch the hole and pack up their gear.

Any competent service company wouldn't be able to even afford to drive their truck to a jobsite for $45, let alone actually clean your ducts properly.... just sayin'.

CoastRange57 · Nov 9, 2014

Stomper said:
Any competent service company wouldn't be able to even afford to drive their truck to a jobsite for $45, let alone actually clean your ducts properly.... just sayin'.

That would be our first clue that it is a come on and rip off.

That and any company that is relying on broadcast direct mail to generate leads is hopelessly out of touch in today's markets. Most of that shot hits the burn box without even a look.

teflon6string · Nov 10, 2014

I totally agree fellers, and thanks for weighing in. Without naming names, my heating oil company has a specific price for the number of vents in my home - and it's a lot. Who knows? That might be what I end up paying. But not without doing a little research first.

I'm not surprised at all that the guys who advertize with the mailers have terrible reputations as ripoffs.

Just hoping someone around Portand can recommend a legit local outfit they have actually used. I like doing business with companies recommended by their satisfied customers.

jbett98 · Nov 10, 2014

I have filters at the cold air return grates and that cuts the dust and debris way down from entering the the duct system.
The furnace gets the more expensive pleated variety and the cheaper fiberglass type at the return ducts.
You just have to keep an eye out on the return duct filters, because you don't want to starve the return air supply and create a negative pressure.

Stomper · Nov 11, 2014

You want to be careful doing that on residential furnaces as the blowers aren't really designed to function properly with the resistance of more than one filter bank, and of course as they accumulate dirt/dust the resistence will just increase even more.