Where Good Neighbors and Good Servicemen Meet
Duct Cleaning
If you manage to keep dirt our of your ducts, they will never need cleaning. Do your best to keep your ducts clean, and don't assume they are dirty. Before you call in a duct cleaning company, have your trusted Kool Kontractor inspect your system.
Duct Contamination
- At the time of original installation or equipment replacement, it's important that plenums and ducts be properly sealed to prevent attic air from infiltrating the system. If that is not done, attic dirt can be drawn into your ducts.
- If you use the wrong filter, dirt can get through it.
- If you don't change your filter regularly, dirt can get around it.
- Stopped drains or a coil freeze-up can cause internal water damage in the form of mildew and discoloration.
- It takes constant moisture over a prolonged period of time for mold to grow. Usually mold is the result of gross user negligence.
- If you burn the wrong candles, the result can be black soot that will contaminate both your equipment and ducts. When candles became fashionable, I predicted there would be problems, and I've seen cases that required an expensive clean-up. For additional information, read The Dark Side of Candles—Part One, and The Dark Side of Candles—Part Two.
Duct Cleaning
Some ducts can be cleaned, but others require replacement. I will address the issue starting with the earliest type of ducts and progressing to the newer ones.
- Traditional, externally wrapped, sheet metal ducts are your best candidate for cleaning.
- Next, the AC industry began to use fiberglass ductboard ducts that do not require additional insulation. These ducts can be vacuumed from the inside, but numerous openings must be made.
- At this time, flexible ducts are extremely popular in the AC industry. The liner is made of mylar, and it comes with fiberglass insulation, applied externally, and then wrapped with a silver foil face. These ducts cannot be cleaned, but often they can be replaced, and at a reasonable cost.
- Single story homes are best, when it comes to duct cleaning. Ducts that run between floors, and through hidden passage ways, are sometimes inaccessible.
In 1995, I build a single story duplex that I use for rental property. At that time, I installed sheet metal ductwork, which may someday need to be cleaned. If I were to do the job today, I would use flexible ducts, that would someday be replaced. Flexible ducts are good for 20-30 years.
Duct cleaning companies are listed in our Word of Mouth Pages Directory. The Kool Kontractor is obviously your first choice.
Kleanliness is Kool,
Dr. Kool
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