Duct Cleaning

[Patricia Kuehne]

Our A/C ducts are approx. 30 years old. We have our A/C serviced 2 times a year. I have noticed for the last year a whole lot of fine grey dust on everything we own in this house. I cannot figure out where it is coming from. I have gotten to the point of changing the filters about every two weeks and use a quality filter. I have asked our A/C man to check to see if we have any leaks in our duct work and he said none were found. I want to know if duct cleaning is a real help or a hoax to just get money. How can I be convinced that we need this or not. Thanking you in advance. PK.

 

[DougB]

There is no evidence that duct cleaning will improve the air quality in your home.

It's a racket.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

How much stuff is on /in that filter every 2 weeks? Most dust is from outside If you know somebody with a microscope, there might be a clue as to the source. I have friends who are near a quarry with a concrete plant that get dust that they think is from the quarry. How seasonal is your dust? Pollen is a dust source.

I have a Neato robot vacuum cleaner that picks up floor dust. Easy, but I would suggest you stay around during operation until you have found where it might get stuck. You might consider a dust-mite-proof mattress cover. Notice how much dust there is under the bed?

Getting your AC serviced twice per year seems excessive, except for maybe vacuuming the outside compressor unit if it collects debris.

I don't know if periodic duct cleaning is a hoax or not. You can remove a register and reach inside to get a clue, I would think. IMO annual duct cleaning would be odd.

Just comments. I am not so studied on dust or ducts.