Duct Cleaning

[zoops]

I'd never heard of this until about a year ago but have heard a couple people mention it since. Anybody routinely have their heating ductwork cleaned in their house? What's it cost?

 

[guywhofishes]

I consider dirty vents to provide cleaner air than spanky clean ones (like a dirty filter cleans better than a new one)

until flow becomes an issue anyway

I think [MENTION=1485]Duckslayer100[/MENTION] has expertise to share

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p.s. I have boiler heat - so what do I know

 

[BrokenBackJack]

Not our heating ducts but our dryer vent duct we had cleaned this year. It was year 3 and we called a company here in town. Cost us around $120. They cleaned the dryer too. Was surprised how much there was in the vent and dryer. I don't think the new dryers have the blowing capacity that our old dryers did, to exhaust the lint out.
Our new dryer has a light that comes on when the duct is needing cleaning.
Could be that our dryer vent exhausts on the roof and not out the side of the house. Takes more power to blow up than to blow out.
That and we mostly dry on medium heat too.

 

[BRK]

Had my vents done for the first time this year. Came out to about $400 and it took him just under 4 hours. Worth it, I'll do it every 3-5 years.

 

[Duckslayer100]

Here's what I know:
Should you get your ducts cleaned on occasion: Yes.
Does it matter as much to clean your vents if you forget to change out your air filer regularly or use a POS filter system: No

Having clean duct work isn't just for the air your breathe, it's for the air that goes through your HVAC system. Clean system leads to better efficiency, fewer breakdowns, and longer service life.

The problem with almost all duct work is it's inherently leaky. Even with today's "standards," most new home construction in North Dakota is awful when it comes to airflow and leaks. If you have leaky ductwork in a floor joist, guess what? It's sucking up all the dust and debris in there, or worse yet, dumping your warm/cool air where it doesn't belong.

We tout duct sealing along with duct cleaning. We use Aeroseal, which isn't necessarily "cheap" however it does come with a lifetime warranty and the results are phenomenal. Plus it's sealing from the inside out, so no tearing out sheetrock etc.

I could rattle on and no, but I do this crap for a living, and I come to Nodak to commiserate about hunting and fishing

 

[risingsun]

Very good info. Thanks "Ductsprayer,"

 

[johnr]

would this spray work in my underpants?

 

[JMF]

Duck cleaning?

 

[Skeeter]

would this spray work in my underpants?

Just wipe more

 

[BrokenBackJack]

I can't go there! ;:;badidea

 

[JayKay]

would this spray work in my underpants?

Wait, did you mean "spay"?

 

[BP338]

Yes, it helps break down the duck butter. Helps with efficiency and helps avoid breakdowns...

 

[guywhofishes]

Just wipe

FIFY

this is johnr we're talking about

 

[WormWiggler]

greasy biker probably has a fancy smansy bidet

 

[Retired Educator]

My experience with dryer vent is the metal vent flows better than the flexible hose. The flex duct has to many ridges and that stops lint. Do know of a family who had serious fire damage to their house this past year because the lint in the dryer vent started on fire. Yes a dryer vent should be cleaned periodically.

As far as the vent going out the roof, I'm not an expert but would think a horizontal vent would vent better than a vertical.

 

[1bigfokker]

4" pvc pipe. Clean it like a cannon.

 

[3Roosters]

Better half told me clothes were taking longer to dry..yeah sure..whatever was my response...wrong response...hahaha if she is noticing it is taking longer for clothes to dry...it must be taking longer for clothes to dry..haha..and she was right..i went outside and pulled dryer vent cover off and removed the equivalent of like if i had to estimate..it was like at least a large snow ball worth of lint that i removed. I am quite sure that was impeding the drying effectiveness. Damn..she was right. haha.. i ate humble pie that nite and told her to let me know when if it happens again..us men folk suck sometimes..haha

 

[Ericb]

Better half told me clothes were taking longer to dry..yeah sure..whatever was my response...wrong response...hahaha if she is noticing it is taking longer for clothes to dry...it must be taking longer for clothes to dry..haha..and she was right..i went outside and pulled dryer vent cover off and removed the equivalent of like if i had to estimate..it was like at least a large snow ball worth of lint that i removed. I am quite sure that was impeding the drying effectiveness. Damn..she was right. haha.. i ate humble pie that nite and told her to let me know when if it happens again..us men folk suck sometimes..haha

Went threw the same thing. Wife got a cool tool with is a brush on on wire with extensions. Ran it threw the drier vent and the clothes were dry again. Started running it threw the ac duct work and holy shit there was a mess! You wouldn't believe what got down in there, pretty sure all the kids missing toys and a bag of dog food. House is 15 years old and probably ly had never been done but is now on the annual schedule.