You've seen the coupons. They come in the household coupon packs
or with store credit card bills. "Whole house cleaning" specials
for what it would cost to go to a nice dinner and a movie. Don't
be fooled. Remember, Air Duct Cleaning is not something that is
cheap and quick.
Lets consider a company 1 hour away. Lets
also consider they are using "high tech tools" and two "certified"
employees with pay rates at $12 hourly. One last assumption, their
$99 Special takes 1.5 hours for a small ranch style home.
Remember, this is the companies cost of doing business, not your cost or
service.
Travel time to and back (1hr)
$48
Time spent on job
(1.5hr)
$36
Fuel for Vehicle
$26
Materials (Patches)
$10
Total
$120
T
here’s no magic process or super-duper labor saving machines available
that can make air duct cleaning a lower cost service than carpet
cleaning. A rotating brush on a plug-in vacuum cleaners hose or
“multi-motor HEPA vacuum” can’t effectively remove dust, wood, nails and
debris accumulated throughout an air duct system.A HEPA vacuum requires slow moving air to filter correctly.
This means that they are not as powerful as some companies want you to
believe.
Estimation based on per vent counts can never truly estimate a job.Every home is different. Some homes have multiple systems,
other homes multiple zones and possibly even a combination. What about
different types of duct work? Are they concerned about how they
can access the units? If they can access the units what about ALL
of your trunk duct? (your main duct work in the home) What about
if your basement is finished, how do they expect to clean the sealed up
trunk line or account for the extra time involved? What about
painted on floor, wall or ceiling registers? If you think about
it, all these factors greatly effect cleaning time although these
questions are rarely asked.
Ducts systems in a home are extensive and take a considerable amount of
effort and time to successfully clean. An average home (1,500sqft)
has enough inside duct surface area to equal a typical bedroom.
In addition, an average home has around 20lbs of building debris within
the ductwork. The debris is typically pieces of wood, nails and
sheetrock mud left over from home construction plus the additional
accumulation of dust that has clung to these pieces. Ask yourself,
how can a shop vacuum be powerful enough to pull a piece of wood up a
duct? How can these cleaners be removing these contaminants
by only making 1” holes in your duct work main lines? Armstrong
Heating needs to cut 12”x12” holes on average every 15 feet in your main
duct work lines. This is to accommodate our vacuum hose, high
pressure air and power cleaning tools. This also allows us to
properly inspect and remove large pieces of construction debris.
As always we install access panels that are air tight and guaranteed.Armstrong urges you to investigate before you invest.Check out your local BBB and inquire about their status as a
company.Research unbiased
air duct cleaning website, NADCA.COM and EPA.GOV and never trust a
cleaner proposing to spray chemicals in your ducts. It’s the air you
breathe.
“Fluff” and debris accumulated in the filter compartment of a forced air
system two weeks after a “Whole House Special”. The process was very
effective at sweeping the debris from the branches into the main trunk
ducts.
The
conditions left behind in the return main trunk duct two months after a
“Whole House Special”. The lint and debris is left clinging to all four
duct walls.
This
is how the ducts should look after a proper cleaning.Notice the removal of ALL debris.
