It was cold last night but I saw all kinds of dust blowing out of the vents...nasty!
How often do you get the air ducts cleaned in your home?
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We haven't yet. Our house is three years old. Do you just need a new filter? We change those twice a year.
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Never? We change the filters, but how do you clean the air ducts?
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@MrsH: @PurplePumps: I have no idea either! I think I'll check Yelp!
ETA: I found a local company that does vent cleaning...I'll call tomorrow for an estimate! Our house is old and I don't think it has ever been done.
Ewhhhh...I saw this pic online!
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OMG. That's kind of scary. I kind of wish I could unsee that now! How do they get in to clean them, super long vacuum? Or do they have to take it apart?
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@PurplePumps: I'll let you know what I find out!
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Interested in hearing how much it will cost!
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Definitely want to know the estimate. We change our filter 2x a year, but have never had the ducts cleaned. We've lived here for 7 years, and the house is 65+ years old. Wonder if they've ever been cleaned...?
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My what?
Never even heard of them. *hangs head in shame
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I recently had my air ducts cleaned and when they were done, I could totally smell/breathe/ the air difference. It was "cleaner". I also had less dust around the house for awhile. We have an older home so heck who knows when the last time it was cleaned.
The rate I paid was $7 per vent and $20 per vent return. It ended up being less than $100 for my house since I only have 1 vent return.
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@Alivoo01: Woo hoo! I have bad allergies so I really want to get it done soon!
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DH had the vents done in the condo when we first started dating, so almost 5 years ago. I don't remember what he paid, but it wasn't expensive at all. We plan on doing it sometime this year in the new house.
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I've been wanting to get ours done for a while now. They will definitely be done before the baby comes!
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For the most part it's a waste of money. If debris/particles aren't circulating through your furnace filter, then it's not actually moving through in the ducts into your living spaces.
A report by CHMC (in Canada):
http://www.thetruthaboutductcleaning.com/cmhc-duct-cleaning/ -
I'm curious about all these people changing their filters 2ce a year. I always heard once a month -- do you guys just not have pets, or not live in an area where your AC is running constantly? Or are we just suckers?
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We've never had it done.
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@fatkid: hm. interesting. I still think I'd rather my ducts look clean like the photo above on the right than the photo above on the left. I really don't see how there wouldn't be less dust with the right photo than the one on the left.
I guess it really just depends on if it's worth it to the home owner and it is worth it for me.
@ladyfingers: we try to change ours once every 2 months but it's usually once every 3 months.
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@ladyfingers: I've heard once a month too, and will be following that rule when we buy a house.
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@.twist.: I agree it's gross, but that's what these cleaning companies are banking on (peace-of-mind), and I don't think it impairs the HVAC system from functioning properly. The accumulated particles are _settled_ in your ducts. It's not going anywhere. If it reaches a point where a large build up, eg. sawdust after a renovation, is impacting air flow then it may be recommended.
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@ladyfingers: we have a super sized hepa filter that we only have to change once a year. Before we got a new furnace we got special allergy filters that only needed changed once every 3 months. All depends on your system & the filter you invest in.
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@fatkid: We had some renovations done before we moved in so I think I will get them cleaned this time and I prob won't do it again for years...if ever!
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@ladyfingers: It totally depends on your system and filters! My filters only have to be replaced once a year (or every 9 months if we have pets). I know other people have to change them once a month.
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@ladyfingers: @Bao: Our system reminds us to change the filters quarterly, and when we check the filters there is absolutely nothing on them. We have special allergy filters and are conscientious about dust so we'd change them if there was anything. We had the air ducts cleaned a little over a year ago and even then they commented that they didn't find anything other than random objects that had fallen in during renovations.
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@fatkid: that's what I've heard too, it is a waste of money unless you get the unit cleaned out too. It is cosmetic, and will just have debris blown back in as soon as it turns back on again.
We change our filters every 4-6 weeks, they definitely have significant dust accumulations.
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