Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Residential AC Duct Cleaning? Worth it?

I've been in my home for 6 years and have never had it done. I noticed that my AC isn't as efficient and isn't blowing like it should

I was quoted a price of $450 today, it this fair for a 2600 sq ft home?

Any input would be appreciated

No! And double No!

Measure the temperature drop across the evaporator by measuring the air temp at the input and then at the output of a vent. It should be around a 20 degree difference. If it's less then your AC may have issues(like low refrigerant or the condenser is packed with leaves). If it's more then your filter may need to be replaced, your evaporator may be dirty, or your blower motor may have issues.

I've never found air duct cleaning to be worth it.

hell no

If you have enough dust to plug heating ducts, you have bigger problems than inefficiency.

This.

You also could have leaks around your duct work, blowing into your attic.

Such as our good friends found out in a pretty nice rental they were living in while building their new house. She was breaking out badly, her only known allergy was to cats. Husband got to looking around the house, under the crawl space etc, trying to find out if any were under the house. Came to the outside package HVAC unit and saw a gap in the ductwork. Looked inside and a cat had made its home there.

The landlord made it right, fixed the ductwork and hired a cleaning company to clean all the ductwork. Our friend said it would amaze you the amount of 'junk' that was pulled out of the ducts. I guess you'd expect that if the duct was open and a cat was living in it though. Said as soon as it had been properly sealed and cleaned his wife wasn't fighting allergies anymore.

Pull off the intake vents and look inside. I'm not an expert but the output ducts that are downstream of the filter don't seem like they'd be as much of a problem.

When I bought my house I used a shop vac with a long extension and vacuumed all the ducts. The previous owner had never replaced the filter and it collapsed after getting clogged shut. It worked good enough for me.

Dryer ducts are well worth cleaning if hasn't been done in recent years. Those are major fire hazard.

Gimmick. They'll go up in your attic wrap some duct tape, be gone in three hours and charge you the $450!

If the duct is in bad shape to where it's loosing as much of it's efficiency as you seem to be implying it might have even pulled loose in spots or torn/ripped on the rafters...

Phil

I have a friend who does duct cleaning. I have helped him do it and if done correctly and thoroughly a duct cleaning can be beneficial for people with allergies, etc.
In the case of your AC not being as efficient I would have a general system check and duct inspection before an actual duct cleaning.

How old is your house? If it is only 6 years old I'd say no. If it is a older home and you don't know the history then I'd say duct cleaning by a VERY reputable company could be warranted. The price you quoted is low for that size house, If done by (say it again) a reputable company.

That said, I doubt unless your ducts are JAMMED with debris that is your problem. Make sure the furnace filter is in excellent shape and make sure nobody closed off any air diffusers or blocked (like with furniture) the cold air returns.

Take down any big tree that would have helped to shade the house in the past?

Heck, I'm just throwing these things out there for you. keep us posted.

I guess I just assumed you have a forced air gas furnace, not just a forced air a/c unit only??

Clean condenser coil...from the back to the front. Check refrigerant level. You should then be good to go. powdr

6 yr old home shouldn't be that dirty unless returns are dirty from construction,as mentioned 3hrs and they're gone.

Clean condenser coil?? How will that help with air flow through the duct?

To the OP, invest in a higher MERV rating filter and make sure little to no air bypasses it.

Jim

I think the duct cleaning is going to be a waste of money. Better way to spend your money would be to get you HVAC unit checked out. Clean filters, clean coils, good charge, squirrel cage clean and not full of gunk. Also that all of your ductwork is sealed. If you have any flex connections, they are notorious for popping off.

I balance air and hydronic systems, and dirty duct is almost never the problem.

Contrary to other comments, I say do it. I had my ducts cleaned several years ago (house 30 years old then - never cleaned) and was amazed at the dirt that was collected. This dirt was pretty disgusting and certainly impeded the airflow. Even a small coating of dirt and dust can impede the airflow - just think of a light frost on an aircraft wing on take-off. Recall the Air Florida Flight 90 in DC 30 years ago.

If the condenser coil is dirty it does not transfer heat as well, the condenser does just as the name says it does, it condenses a high temp, high pressure gas into a liquid. The system needs a steady supply of liquid sent through the smaller pipe down to the air handler unit (the A coil and some of them are not shaped that way anymore)when it passes through a metering device (small hole) it boils, like on your stove but at about
-20 degrees. Investing in a higher MERV filter can actually make the problem worse.

There is a lack of airflow somewhere, if the filter has been changed on a regular basis, my guess is on the outside unit, and washing the coil outside would be my first step.

From there I would look inside the home, I would look at cleaning the "A-Coil" or it may be as simple as someone trying to save energy by closing off the registers in most of the house, because they do not use those rooms anyway. These systems need to move a certain amount of air, and if they can't it makes them unhappy.

Skip the duct cleaning for now, and if you decide to have it done it should cost more than 400, done correctly it is a very labor ($$$) intensive job.

I would say more than likely "no". Unless it is a VERY old home, AND you're having problems with allergies or the like.

I work with large commercial building HVAC systems, and I've found that even then, very rarely is it warranted. Usually the result of unlined insulated ductwork deteriorating "upstream" somewhere. When that happens, you need to address the insulation issue first, THEN have the ducts cleaned.

As has been said...have the evap and condensor coils cleaned, or do it yourself, and make sure the unit's charge is topped off, you've got a good 20 degree delta, and you should be good to go.