Duct cleaning - really necessary and how often?

HVAC duct cleaning is a scam. Sure , you'll collect SOME dust in them over the years...and if you have allergies or are "sensitive" to dust, you MIGHT need to have them cleaned, but if you use GOOD filters and change them regularly...probably not.

We had it done around 6 years ago when we moved into our current home. The main reason was for cigarette smoke remediation. The people who built and lived in the home for 10 years were 2 pack a day smokers and the house smelled awful.

We TSP'ed everything we could then primmed and painted(even the ceilings!)but could still smell it. Every inch of flooring was professionally cleaned. Every foot of trim was TSP'ed. We could still smell it.

Next was changing the ceiling fans and light bulbs in every room. There was a thick sticky yellow coating on them and every time we turned them on they would warm up and we could smell it.

Last thing we tried was the duct cleaning with some type of sanitizer/odor product that was run through the system. It worked and now when you enter our home there is no hint of cigarette smoke smell.

So, would I do the duct cleaning again? No probably not. I'm religious about changing every filter in the house 4 times a year with good quality filters and I believe that is enough to keep the vents dust free. I also don't think it was just the duct cleaning that finally eliminated the last remnants of the smoke smell but a combination of everything we did.

I clean my ducts every 3 years or so. Take off the registers and vents, stick a vacuum cleaner head in as far as it will go, and figure it is good enough. The vacuum collects a ton of dust, and always toys from the previous owner (15 years in and I still get toys that have moved closer to the vents so that the vacuum can now reach them), so it at least does something. Takes an hour or so for the whole house. I wouldn't bother paying someone to do that even if they can reach farther with a spinning brush.

Err, you should have cleaned your ducts right after the Reno.

MrSquished said:

Thanks, it felt kind of unnecessary. I talked to my brother in law who also said it felt scammy from what they knew. I went with another guy who does the dryer vent cleaning at a good price vs the all service company whose prices were insane even just for the dryer vent.

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Dryer vents SHOULD be cleaned regularly. The lint will build up and CAN start a fire. I clean mine at least once per year.