Air Duct Cleaning Services

HVAC duct cleaning is a regular part of preventive maintenance for your home and work. Air quality can affect your health in many different ways. The typical six-room home produces up to 40 pounds of dust each year – like insects, skin cells, mites, pollen and more. Your HVAC system circulates this air up five times each day. Preventative maintenance and regular air duct cleaning increases the heating and cooling efficiency of your HVAC system. Trust Dirty Ducts with your residential/commercial/industrial duct cleaning services.

HVAC duct cleaning also goes hand in hand with equipment upgrades (i.e. installing a brand new furnace or Air Handler Unit….you would not put a new engine in your car and then put back in the used motor oil, would you?) including Indoor Air Quality system upgrades such as upgraded filtration, bipolar ionization and ultraviolet disinfection upgrades. We don’t do these upgrades, but we will work hand in hand with your HVAC Contractor in game planning/discussing any duct cleaning needs that should be done in combination with these upgrades. Click here for an article we wrote to HVAC Contractors discussing how dirty ductwork can damage these upgrades and or cause them to not work correctly. Feel free to share it with your HVAC Contractor or engineer.

Air Duct Cleaning and Energy Efficiency

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, up to 40% of residential heating and cooling energy is wasted. By using Dirty Ducts residential/commercial/industrial duct cleaning services regularly, you reduce your heating and cooling energy costs by as much as 11%. Read this article and research from the NADCA to learn more.

Air Quality and Health

Your ductwork interior can become an unknown breeding ground for fungi, germs, and mold causing your air quality to drop. The Environmental Protection Agency claims that indoor air has been found up to 70 times more polluted than outdoor air. We spend 60% to 90% of our time indoors. Routine air duct cleaning can help stop the spread of some disease, including salmonella, strep, and legionnaire’s disease; all of those have been found in HVAC systems that don’t undergo air duct cleaning as preventative maintenance. Look at the trim around your home and near the vents. Do you see dust? Every time your HVAC system kicks on these contaminants are often released out of the dirty ducts and into your building or home.

How do I know if my ductwork needs cleaning?

1. If it looks dirty, it probably is.
2. If you don’t remember ever having your ductwork cleaned or if you haven’t within the past 5 years, it’s probably time. If your ductwork has been cleaned in the past, you will typically find access doors installed on the supply and return plenums near the furnace.
3. Remove a register grill – ones on the floor or near the floor are easiest to remove (often no screws) and peer inside with a flashlight – check several areas for a representative sample. Better yet, stick a digital camera or cell phone camera inside and take a picture.
4. Do people in the house suffer from allergies, asthma, or other respiratory problems?
5. Do you experience nausea, headaches, itchy eyes, etc. while at home?
6. Do you have pets in the home and/or excessive dust on furniture and horizontal surfaces?
7. Coil cleaning may be required if certain rooms seem warmer or colder than others (this applies more to commercial grade systems).

Process

1. Call or email our office to get your free estimate. You get an upfront estimate with no surprises later.
2. The appointment is set. For a home, it typically takes 3-4 hours. If you are a business, we have after hour and weekend appointments available as well as daytime.
3. Your system is put under negative pressure typically using our Vac Trucks or HEPA Filtered negative air machines. Registers are covered as needed.
4. Pneumatic equipment (brushes, air balls, whips, etc.) is run through the branch ductwork to loosen up stuck on contaminants. These are pushed into the main duct line.
5. The main trunk line is then cleaned with this pneumatic equipment. Access is made through airtight plugs and panels we install.
6. Before and after pictures are taken to be sure we got everything. A few of these are left for you to keep.
7. Contaminants are taken with us for us to dispose of.

What criteria should I use in selecting a HVAC System Cleaner?

1. Interview as many local contractors as you can.
2. Make sure the company is a certified member in good standing of the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA). Click to view certificate.
3. See if the company has been in business long enough to have adequate experience.
4. Get proof that the company is properly licensed and adequately insured.
5. Make sure that the company is going to clean and visually inspect all of the air ducts and related system components.
6. Avoid advertisements for "$99 whole house specials" and other sales gimmicks.
7. Ask if the company has the right equipment to effectively perform cleaning, and if the company has done work in homes similar to yours. Get references from neighbors if possible.
8. Ask if the company has other accreditations (Angie's List, Better Business Bureau, referrals, etc.)

Why should I choose DDC…?

• Certified staff by NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaners Association). NADCA members have signed a Code of Ethics stating that they will do everything possible to protect the consumer, and follow NADCA Standards for cleaning to the best of their ability. Air duct cleaning companies must meet stringent requirements to become a NADCA member.
• Our company uses the most advanced H.E.P.A. (High Efficiency Particulate Air) Filtered Air Duct Cleaning System available. Our filters are identical to those used to decontaminate air of asbestos fibers and mold spores. It is manufactured to meet or exceed OSHA, EPA, and NADCA Standards for cleaning the air of nuisance dust.
• We’ll show you. We take before and after pictures to leave with you and we’ll show different areas of the system with our boroscope.
• Fully Insured with Assurance Brokers Ltd. (Phone @ 618-692-9800).
• Professional and courteous staff making your experience an enjoyable one.

What is NADCA? Click here >>

Why should I choose a NADCA member to have my air ducts cleaned? Click here >>

How often should residential HVAC system be cleaned?

Frequency of cleaning depends on several factors, not the least of which is the preference of the home owner. Some of the things that may lead a home owner to consider more frequent cleaning include:

• Smokers in the household.
• Pets that shed high amounts of hair and dander.
• Water contamination or damage to the home or HVAC system.
• Residents with allergies or asthma who might benefit from a reduction in the amount of indoor air pollutants in the home’s HVAC system.
• After home renovations or remodeling.
• Prior to occupancy of a new home.

Pre and Post Cleaning Checklist. Click here >>

How long should it take to clean a typical residential HVAC System?

The amount of time it takes to clean a residential HVAC system depends on many variables such as the size of the home, the number of systems, the extent of the contamination and the number of HVAC cleaners performing the job. Ask at least two contractors to inspect your system and give you a time estimate for your particular system. This will give you a general idea of how long the job should take as well as an idea of how thoroughly the contractor plans to do the job.

A typical 2,000 sq. ft. home averages 4-5 man hours to complete the cleaning.

What is a normal price range for the air duct cleaning service?

At Dirty Ducts Cleaning, we make pricing simple. Residential duct cleaning customer pricing is based on your homes finished square footage and number of furnaces (if more than one). You know your exact duct cleaning price before we arrive. You avoid hidden costs and surprises later. Please contact us with your home's square footage and location for a free phone or email estimate. If you don't know your home's finished squared footage, do not worry, we can look it up for you on the local assessor page.

Commercial duct cleaning customers can contact us to discuss your building's HVAC system. Often we will arrange a site visit with one of our estimators. This can be done during normal business hours and is followed up with a written proposal. Also, if HVAC blue prints are available, we can often create an estimate off of these if you would like to email them. An onsite visit may still be required.

Consumers should beware of "bait and switch" air duct cleaning companies. These companies often charge what appears to be a lesser fee and then once they have their foot in the door they add costs for additional duct mains, additional vents, charging for upper and lower return vents signally, etc. In the end your bill can be 2 to 4 times higher than the original estimate. Be sure to be aware of all hidden charges and small print before booking.

Consumers should also beware of “blow-and-go” air duct cleaning companies. These companies often charge a nominal fee and do a poor job of cleaning the heating and cooling system. These companies may also persuade the consumer into unneeded services with and/or without their permission.

(If you have knowledge of a practicing “blow-and-go” or "bait and switch" air duct cleaner, contact your local Better Business Bureau to report the company, and your local, federal, and state elected officials to demand legislation.)

Copy of NADCA Certification Click here to download PDF

Copy of Liability Insurance Click here to download PDF

Did you know?

• We have been in over 5,000 homes, thousands of industrial buildings/factories, thousands of commercial buildings, hundreds of schools, and hundreds of hospitals
• We receive the Angie’s List Super Service Award year in and year out
• We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau
• We do several brand new homes and brand new commercial facilities before the occupants even move in.