Duct cleaning services seem to be everywhere these days. With the rapid proliferation of air conditioning and ventilation units and the subsequent explosion in their popularity, there are several great duct cleaning providers around. Their services are advertised as coming with a number of benefits – such as an improvement in indoor air quality, and the elimination unpleasant odors – but are these claims necessarily true? Do duct cleaning services do everything that they say?
The thought of your ducts and vents being clogged with dust will probably instinctively make you want to pick up the phone straight away and hire a cleaner. It makes perfect sense that sees all that dust and muck will give you an unpleasant icky feeling – and you’ll want to get rid of it. But some of the evidence that’s been gathered suggests that the process of removing it – by generating lots of airborne particles – can actually cause its own problems.
So, when you’re asking yourself the question, “is duct cleaning worth it?”, there are some important considerations to bear in mind. The benefits of duct cleaning services (according to their providers) are usually centered around these four claims:
Better air quality
By removing the dirt, dust, and contaminants that are tainting the air supply flowing through the vents, duct cleaning will give you cleaner and fresher air in your home or business. This seems fairly self-evident, and it also stands to reason that a duct cleaning will also help to get rid of some of those unpleasant smells that can build up over time.
Reduction in breathing problem symptoms
Following on from the above point, removal of the dirt and dust particles trapped within the ventilation ducts will also lead to a reduction in the symptoms of breathing problems – such as allergies and asthma. Again, this seems fairly self-evident – but it is also important to note that it will take a while after cleaning for the benefits of this to be observed. The reason for this is that the cleaning process itself disturbs inert particles and makes them airborne again – which means that for a while after cleaning you may notice an increase in things like sneezing.
Increased efficiency and lower costs
Another important benefit cited by duct cleaning services is that regular maintenance and thorough cleaning will increase the efficiency of the systems themselves – which in turn leads to lower energy bills and increased savings. While this is very likely to be true, an important factor to consider here is the cost of maintaining and cleaning itself. Any potential savings from the benefits of having your ducts cleaned may well, in the end, be offset by the fees that will have to be paid to the cleaning providers.
Increased heater and cooler system longevity
The other benefit usually pointed out by venting and duct-cleaning professionals is that of an increased life span for your expensive air conditioning and heating systems. This seems a perfectly reasonable claim, as it’s obvious that having a well-maintained and well-looked-after ventilation system will mean that that system will tend to last longer.
While duct cleaning services undoubtedly have their benefits, there are some other things to bear in mind as well. The benefits that cleaning offers may be quite small in themselves – and you’ll need to weight the money you might save from cheaper energy bills against the actual cost of maintenance.