Duct cleaning

I have a 3 level townhouse with central air.

Is duct cleaning DYI? I am not a big DYI guy but duct cleaning seems to be expensive $300 so thought of checking if that is an easy job.

 

It's not a DIY job. What reason is there that you feal they need cleaned though ?

 

The EPA states that there is no evidence that duct cleaning prevents health problems, as there are greater sources of contaminants in the home than ducts. Duct cleaning is, however, recommended if there is mold, rodent droppings, or debris in ducts that is causing blockage. Most dust in ducts adheres to inside of ducts. Should you have mold, rodent droppings, or clogs in ducts, proceed with duct cleaning. Do not fall victim to advertising that claims duct cleaning is needed. Do not fear giant dust mites that are exaggerated in photos because they are microscopic and do NOT live in ducts.

Regular cleaning and vacuuming with vacuum that has HEPA filter tends to offer the greatest control for dust mites. People who suffer from indoor dust allergies tend to also minimize the number of surfaces that have fabrics which harbor dust. Mattresses and pillows can be covered with dust proof covers and linens washed weekly. Carpet can be removed and replaced with hard surface floor covering. Draperies and curtains can be replaced with plastic or wood blinds or shutters. Upholstered chairs can be replaced with wood, plastic, or leather. Dust mites are in every home, but some people are more sensitive to the dead skin they shed and their feces. For most people, a little household dust or dust in ducts poses no health issues.

 

$300.00 That price can't be wright! Id call some one else!

 

Costs will vary from area to area and among duct cleaners. Costs will also vary depending on size of home and complexity of duct system. A professional cleaning could cost from $450 to $1,000 and time to complete the cleaning can take from a few to several hours in a typical home. Get at least three estimates.


Make sure duct cleaner is a licensed professional who has worker's compensation insurance and liability insurance. Ask for copies of license and insurance certificates and call agencies to make sure they are active. Most professional duct cleaners are also members of professional organizations.

 

Thanks Mattison, Twlevepole and airman.
Here is what prompted me to think in that direction.
You are right commercial ads had huge influence on my thinking but now that you pointed i will be more cautious on that.


Recently i was getting rash , those itchy red spots. As it suddenly started one day i thought could be some food allergy and took some medicines. But i noticed my wife is scratching, not as much as i do. And noticed my daughter did for sometime.
I didn't had a clue what was going. Then it was not bad at all for quite sometime. Few weeks back i had my parents come in and my dad started scratching after 2 weeks.

Then i started suspecting some in the house could be causing. Relating that to what i see in paper ad i was thinking i should go for duct cleaning.

You are right, when i opened couple of returns, it is nowhere close to the duct pack that the ad showes. Duct system also looks good (not neat as of course there is some dust but not much i say). But how do i know if there is any mold .. obviously we can't look thru the whole duct system right?

Yesterday i noticed faucet attached to my utility room in garage was leaking. I use this faucet to water our flowerbed. I know it was leaking heavy where i connect the hose but i kind of neglected it. Now i noticed that the whole wall under the faucet got soaked and i could see the black mold formed. (Furnace, waterheater and others are next to it on the otherside of the wall) I am not sure if this could be cause for the itching we are seeing.

How do i go about finding the cause for our problem?

I decided to replace the drywall section that looks bad .. .. before i replace do you suggest any sanitizers that could clean the area before i reinstall a new wall?


Appreciate your help ...
-A

 

Another suggestion i liked from your post is that pay attention and change the bedsheet regularly and vaccume the carpet.

Our busy life kind of puts us off from that and i maynot have vaccumed in past 2 months. (Of course our living area is hardwood and we clean that regularly. But our bedrooms are carpet and we didn't pay any attention to them)


Now that you know our situation, i appreciate your suggestions.

 

Id say clean and let dry out where the mold was. then spray it down with a 50/50 mix water and clorox .let that dry before you drywall it.
As to clean the duct forget it. Use a MERV 5 filter in the furnace& AC unit Change it every 30 to 90 days when unit runs. The duct will be ok . Dont go for the duct cleaning deal. If you keep the filter clean it will clean your ducts.

ED

 

Thank you all. I am having second thoughts on changing the drywall. I already sprayed it with clorox and dryed it. After doing it couple of times in next few days i plan to scrap it and mud it (remember this is in an unfinished garage corner). Do you see any issue with this?


Also i found the reason for the allergies we were having. Today i found plenty of bed bugs under our bed. Really surprised how that happened. I can connect that to one of our visits to our friends place in NJ . I had the allergy same day. I am thinking we transported some bed bugs from there (2 months back

Can you suggest what i can do about this ?

Atleast i am relieved that this has nothing to do with duct.