subject: Residential Air Duct Cleaning in Maryland - The Hidden Muck [print this page] Residential Air Duct Cleaning in Maryland - The Hidden Muck
I can't count how many times I've heard a homeowner say "Oh my God!". Then they usually look at me in embarrassment, but honestly I've seen it thousands of times. To me, it's just another day at work, and the work I'm talking about is air duct cleaning. There's all sorts of things hidden in the average HVAC system, especially in the older homes of Maryland. The vast majority of people don't realize what's in their indoor air. Air duct cleaning is an out of site out of mind business, but a lot of the things you can't see can harm you. The average person will inhale over two tablespoons of dust per year, and within that amount is the stuff that's sitting in your homes duct work.
There's Two Sides to Your HVAC System - Both Can Endanger Indoor Air Quality
To simpy explain your duct work, for cleaning purposes, there's two sides.There's the intake (return) and the conditioned air (supply). The return is the air that goes into the system. This side is usually the dirtiest.The return air is filtered and then conditioned. The supply air, either heated or cooled and supplied throughout the home. Most older homes don't have enough intake volume, and they're the homes that usually need more frequent cleaning. However there are also dynamics outside that can play a role in how often a homes duct work needs cleaning. Things like construction, remodeling and trees can effect the dynamics of indoor air quality. Mold from excessive moisture is also common in supply plenums, especially near evaporator coils. Evaporator coils are the coils that cool the air, and by nature they cause condensation. This condensation, in the darkness of the duct work, often leads to mold growth.
The Scams, The Coupons, and Liz Crenshaw
How can you even talk about air duct cleaning without mentioning the scams. Liz Crenshaw just did a special in Maryland about air duct cleaning scams. After watching what those knuckle heads were doing, caught on tape, I couldn't agree more. That's just inexcusable. Is the whole industry a scam, and do all the air duct cleaning technicians act in that manner? Hardly, but the condition, in my honest opinion, has been caused by misleading advertisement. Those get your foot in the door coupons are to blame. A lot of those, low ball coupon, companies have had to rescind their ads. After all, they got caught dirty handed on national tv. The lesson here is, if it sounds too good to be true, than it probably is. I doubt those coupons will disappear, it seems more pop up everyday. They'll have to pay their fines, risk ruining their reputation and well... perhaps face Liz Crenshaw. There's no way a company can clean your entire air duct system for those low coupon costs, unless they're going for additional business. By additional business I mean something else to sell you. It could be in many different ways, but usually it's a semi annual service contract. If you choose to try using a company that's charging less than $300 to clean your entire duct system, than buyer beware.
