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Posted May 31st 2013 by: Matt Mountain

This project was a little different than the typical duct cleaning job. I received a call for a commercial duct cleaning bid at a local jewelry store. They knew their ducts needed to be cleaned because the registers on the ceiling vents were extremely dirty and looked pretty horrible against the white ceiling of the store. I provided them with a bid and although they chose not to do the full duct cleaning at that time, they still wanted to do something about those nasty looking vents.

I could tell by looking at the vents that they weren’t going to come clean with just a brush and vacuum and not even scrubbing or power washing would make them look like new again. We decided that the best course of action would be to clean the registers, and then re-paint them with a rust-proof paint. Another technician and myself arrived at the store before hours and removed all the registers, bringing them outside to be cleaned. We scrubbed the vents with some Simple Green cleaner, let them dry, and re-painted them to look brand new. Below is a before and after picture showing the results.

A couple of months ago I posted a story about finding a large amount of insulation while performing a duct cleaning. I mentioned how surprised I was at the amount of insulation I found, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see that much again. Well, I should have known better…

This time, finding the insulation in the ductwork wasn’t a complete surprise. My customer actually told me that he knew there was insulation in a part of the air return; he also thought that he had gotten the majority of it out himself. After I finished the supply side of the duct system, I cut an additional access hole into the return duct where I knew the insulation was. This is what I found:

The entire duct (which measured 8in. x 16in.) was completely packed full of insulation for about eight feet. There was also a significant amount in one of the off-runs. There was so much insulation that it completely filled my HEPA collection system, overflowed it actually… three times.

All in all I was able to fill 4 garbage bags with the insulation that I pulled from the ducts. Not getting this insulation out of the duct could have had some serious consequences. Initially it would have completely cut off circulation for three air return vents. The insulation would have slowly made its way back to the filter one bit at a time and would eventually plug the filter also significantly limiting air-flow throughout the system. Pieces could have also gotten past the filter and caused more expensive problems within the furnace itself. Luckily I was able to completely eradicate the insulation from the duct work and restore the system to proper operation.

This is a great article from the Angie’s List Magazine, published in June of 2009. The writer consulted with consumers, the EPA, and the National Air Duct Cleaners Association to compose an article that is very informative for people who are considering hiring

an air duct cleaning contractor.??The article highlights the importance for hiring a quality contractor,?saying that a poor cleaning job can be much worse than no cleaning at

all. Also included in the article is information on what a typical consumer can expect in terms of time and cost of the work. It also has a?great informational diagram that can help you gain a better understanding of your home’s HVAC system.

Click Here to read the article.

There can be many factors involved in determining just how often you need to have the air duct system in your home or business cleaned. These can include but are not limited to: age of the occupants, number of pets in the home, smokers in the home, allergy or asthma sufferers, or even the type of flooring you have. In general once a proper duct cleaning has been performed you likely won’t need the service for another 3-5 years. However there can be situations which call for a cleaning to take place more frequently. The National Air Duct Cleaners Association recommends that you have your HVAC system inspected once every two years. That way a cleaning professional can give you their professional opinion on whether or not the system is in need of cleaning, or how much longer you can wait.

An inspection can be performed in as little as 15 minutes if proper access holes are present in the ductwork, otherwise a technician will need to make these to perform the inspection. If you’ve had proper duct cleaning done in the past, these access points should already be present on your system. Inspections are performed with a variety of tools including a flashlight and mirror as well as a camera. Our cost for a residential inspection is $65 plus tax. If we determine that you are indeed in need of cleaning, and you choose to hire us, we will deduct 50% of the inspection fee from the cost of your duct cleaning.