(Allergy related, hope this is right place) Any opinions on whether duct cleaning has any real

[dameatball]

benefits for allergy sufferers. I'm not sure how to actually quantify this kind of thing but maybe someone has some related opinions. I am having a local company come out to give me an estimate tomorrow. I have seen some stuff on the internet that seems bogus, so curious to hear some ideas. Thank you.

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Please be very careful w/anyone you find on FBook as there are huge scams. The ads all

read the same and the people look like Susie and Johnny Creamcheese and they went to harvard, etc and do duct cleaning? Fake fake fake.

[dameatball]

3. Yes, I have seen those FB scams. The company coming out has been around for a long time.

I think there are a few other brick and mortar legit outfits that do it. My main concern right now is if it really works. I'm sure it can't hurt anything to have clean ductwork but whether it is really a health benefit is apparently debateable.

[Chainfire]

2. I think that the party who benefits most is the cleaner.

You may get some value if the job is done properly, I have seen it take place inside of commercial buildings, and I was not the least bit impressed with the results. Use good filters in your return grill, clean or change them often, and save your money.

[dameatball]

4. You may be right. I'm not an easy sell, so it can't hurt to listen.

[Chainfire]

6. They will show you how you can't live without it.

It brings back a story from a long time ago.

We had a Kirby vacuum cleaner salesman call at our door. I let him in and listened to his pitch. It came time for him to demonstrate just how good his vacuum was compared to mine. We went to the bed, took off the covers and I vacuumed a small spot. He placed a white filter cloth over his vacuum and vacuumed the same spot. Of course the filter came back soiled. So, I asked him for one of his filters to use with my machine over the same spot again and he got angry and walked out.

Do ask the salesman if he has a method to check the quality of the air coming from your vents both before and after the cleaning.

[usonian]

9. We had a "free" duct cleaning, and then the fancy looking "test" for mold.

Always comes out positive, I am sure. "Fancy" means that it took some time to culture, or whatever.

Pretty determined upsell, not quite as bad as time-share salespeople.

Yeah, it kind of hurt to listen.

[dameatball]

10. Thanks for the warning. My ex dragged me to a time share nightmare many years ago. Yikes.

[empedocles]

5. Ductwork fed by a clothes dryer can accumulate a lot dust. I had that.

[multigraincracker]

7. Let us know what you find out.

In the mean time try a COVID mask for a day or two. They worked great when I went for jogs last spring.

[dameatball]

8. Yes, I live on a dirt road, so I take one when I walk the dog. Also have a cat, so the furry friends

are not helping things. I'm keeping them though. Been with me a very long time.

[Pobeka]

11. I go back to first principles.

If there is dust settled and collected in your ducts, and the force of your AC/Heater fan hasn't changed a bit, why would the dust suddenly "jump up" back into the airstream and flow out your vents, when it was too heavy to do that in the first place?

So the duct in your vents will pretty much just stay there and not be in the air coming out of the vents.

If someone cleans the ducts, and not completely, it's possible what is left over may be loosened enough that it blows around and mechanically breaks up again.

Given that logic, the only reason I can see cleaning ducts is if they are so heavily loaded with dust that it doesn't allow for a free enough flow of air and might be overloading the fan.

[Warpy]

12. Depends on how often you change the furnace filter

That will trap most dust and pollen, making the ducts an extremely minor source of allergens.

The duct that does need to be cleaned once in a while is the dryer duct, especially if you use fabric softener. Fires have started in those things from the combination of softener and built up lint.