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I think there’s a benefit to it, but without dust allergies, mold issues, etc I don’t think it’s needed.
But if your wife says you need it, you do.
Matt
If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.
-Jack Handy
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Once in a while I’ll turn my furnace fan to “ON” and then go around the house starting at the second floor with my electric leaf blower and blast air into the return ducts for a few minutes each. No need to remove any grill covers on the wall, just blast the air and watch all the dust build up go down inside the wall returns. I continue downstairs working furthest away from the furnace to the closest. I then let the blower run an additional hour before shutting it down. I finish up with changing the furnace filter and that job is done. While I have the blower in the house I also use it to clean out my dryer duct. I put a towel around the blower and exhaust vent and then turn it on which sends all that build up outside. Easy-peezey and I don’t feel ripped off.
Any free advice given is worth double price paid.
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Location: Kansas City, Kansas
Our 2500 sq. ft. house was built in 1965. Several owners(have spoken with original builder and all but last tenants). Last tenants spent 5 years tearing up the yard and causing a lot of damage(dogs) to interior. We bought the house as a repo, spent 30 days rehabbing and cleaning. Paint, new flooring, doors, etc.
When done with that, had a reputable company come clean the ductwork(three different furnaces/AC units).
The techs admitted the duct work was really pretty clean. Not really much crud and very little embedded dirt.
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Location: Merryland
If your house is dusty and there's no obvious reason for it, get them cleaned. Aside from that, mold would probably be the only reason to clean them. I do mold assessments and once in a while I find high levels coming from supply registers. You can usually open the HVAC condenser cabinet and see if it exists in the ducts. It will be on the interior of the cabinet.
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I normally tell folks that after construction and when moving into a place. You don’t know what the previous left behind. Take a look at how the furnace filter fits, if air can leak past. Buy mid priced filters and check/change them often.
Blackhat
Bad experiences come from poor decisions. So do good stories.
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Not a SCAM
However, whether or not
YOUR ducts need cleaning will depend on many factors.
I've personally had a furnace malfunction until a savvy tech tool a look at the blower - which turned out to be caked in dust/lint causing an overheating fault. As a precaution I had the ducts cleaned and a couple were dirty while most were spic and span.
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Blackhat hit on something. I remodeled my current house and my last house. Built walls, moved walls etc. A lot of drywall work. Dust will always be there unless the ducts are cleaned.
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The process is not a scam, but there are a number of less than reputable firms offering their services...we hired one just before our first child was due...they never even removed the registers, so I made them come back and do it again...on their dime...
