Is Duct Cleaning a Necessity?

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the jury is still out on the effectiveness of duct cleaning. However, many allergy sufferers claim that the procedure cuts their allergy symptoms. If you are interested in having the procedure in your home, there are some things that you consider.

When you have your ducts cleaned by professionals, it may cost several hundred dollars. Before scheduling the service, you may want to open a few of the registers and take a look to see if you find buildup in the vents.

In addition to checking in the registers, you should also shut off the power to the system and open the service panel to the heat exchanger. It is a good idea to check the exchanger at least at the beginning of heating and air conditioning season. It is possible that the coils here need to be cleaned.

If it is time to have the system cleaned, the service should also clean the heat exchanger. If it is not yet time to have the system cleaned but you find a buildup here, you can use a whisk broom to gently loosen any contaminants that have collected in the exchanger and then use a shop vacuum to remove them.

If the coils need to be cleaned, but you do not want to pay to have the entire duct system cleaned, many heating and air conditioning companies can do the cleaning as a part of the normal servicing of your system. This may be a less expensive way to get all the cleaning that is needed. It will also help your system to operate more efficiently and at a lower cost.

There are a few services that may pop up in various cities that will offer a cleaning service at a very low price. As the old adage goes, you get what you pay for. If you schedule services with one of these companies, be sure that they have the professional machinery to clean your ducts properly. They should have more than just a shop vacuum or their service may actually stir up more allergens to be released into your home than they remove from the system. If addition, many homeowners have found that they end up paying just as much for the cut rate service as the one done properly after all the additional fees are calculated.

Both advocates and adversaries of having duct cleaning agree that keeping the best quality air filter in the system that you can afford and changing that filter on a regular basis is the key to keeping a system free of dust and allergens.

If you do opt to pay for cleaning, you will want to install a high quality filter after the cleaning is completed. Avoid the least expensive filters. One professional describes these as bowling ball filters, meaning the anything smaller or lighter in weight than a bowling ball could pass through them. If you do stay with disposable filters, the best ones are made of filter paper and are a z-fold in design.

Autor: Adriana A Noton

Professional home comfort consultants can help with all of your home air quality concerns regarding duct cleaning Toronto. To improve the efficiency of your overall home management, please contact gas companies Toronto for additional assistance.

Added: February 14, 2010
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/