Air Quality Series on Air Duct Cleaning Part 1 Of 3

February is National Care About Your Indoor Air Month and there is limited knowledge about how beneficial it is to have your air ducts cleaned and about possible problems with doing so. There are different conditions in everybody’s home, so it isn’t possible to make general statements about whether or not it would be helpful to have your air ducts cleaned. To find out if you should get your air ducts cleaned in your home read our FAQ:Should I have my air ducts cleaned regularly?

Once you’ve decided that you are in need of a cleaning it’s important that you hire a qualified professional to do the job. You can find duct cleaning companies under "Heating and Cooling" on TotalHousehold or through the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA). As with all service providers, some duct cleaning service providers are more knowledgeable and more responsible than others. Contact at least three service providers and get estimates in writing from each of them before hiring one. Have the service providers show you the mold contamination that is convincing them you should have your ducts cleaned.

Other Do's And Don’ts Of Hiring An Air Duct Service Provider:

• Do not hire a duct cleaning service provider who makes broad claims about how duct cleaning benefits your health, as there is not substantiation for such claims. Also, be wary of any duct cleaning service provider who claims he/she is certified by the EPA. The EPA does not certify, approve or endorse duct cleaning companies and it hasn’t established any standards for duct cleaning.

• Do not allow the service provider to use chemicals or biocides to clean your ducts unless you are aware of the plusses and minuses (listed below) of using those products.

• Do contact your local Better Business Bureau or your county or city consumer affairs office to find out if there have been any complaints against the service providers you are considering hiring.

• Do check the references the service provider has given you to make sure the customers were satisfied with the work and did not have any problems with their heating and cooling system once the cleaning was done.

• Do interview the service providers you are considering hiring and make sure that:

• They are experienced duct cleaning service providers and have cleaned the ducts on your type of system.
• They comply with the NADCA’s standards for air duct cleaning. If your ducts are fiberboard or have internal fiberglass duct liner insulation, make sure they also comply with the recommendations of the North American Insulation Manufacturer’s Association (NAIMA).
• They will take precautions to protect your home, you and your pets from mold contamination.

• Do ask whether the service provider holds a license in your state. Since 1996, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Texas require air duct cleaners to be licensed. Other states may require special licenses as well. For more, go to your state’s consumer protection section on our site.

• Do get a written estimate as to how many hours it will take the service provider to complete the job, especially if the service provider is charging by the hour. Also ask if there will be any interruptions in the job. Be sure that the service provider gives you an agreement in writing, detailing the scope of the work and the total cost before he/she starts working.

An air duct cleaning service provider should:

• Open the doors and access ports to your system to allow it to be inspected and cleaned.

• Inspect your heating and cooling system for materials that contain asbestos before beginning to clean. If there are asbestos containing materials in your system, they must not be removed or disturbed and you need to call a specially trained contractor, as specialized procedures are required for handling asbestos materials.
• Use a vacuum that will exhaust outdoors or, if the vacuum exhausts inside, use only HEPA vacuums.

• Protect your furniture and carpet during the clean up phase of the project.

• Brush the duct surfaces in a well-controlled fashion along with contact cleaning with the vacuum to loosen dust and other particles.

• For fiberglass duct boards or ducts lined internally with fiberglass, use soft-bristled brushes only. Flex duct can be cleaned using soft-bristled brushes, but it may cost less to replace any flex duct that is accessible.

• Protect the duct work. This includes re-insulating and sealing any access holes that may have been used or made during the job, to make sure they are airtight.

• Comply with the standards of the NADCA for air duct cleaning and the recommendations of the NAIMA for fiberglass duct board or ducts lined with fiberglass.

Use the post-cleaning checklist found in part two of series to find out if the job was completed thoroughly. Also, you can learn about keeping your air ducts free of mold in part three of this series.