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I came across a few incidents in my neighborhood where the house owners were actually fooled by the duct cleaning service providers. Some of their air vents were not even touched by the so called 'service providers'. Last week I happened to visit my friend's home in Toronto and she showed me her air vents that were said to be cleaned by a professional service provider. I was shocked to see the debris left out. It was clear that he pranked her in the name of duct cleaning service.
For avoiding situations like this, the EPA has provided a handy checklist. You can even give this checklist to the duct cleaning service provider before its employees begin to work. Before going through the checklist you can visually inspect the HVAC system on your own and this will give you a narrow outline of their work. For a more detailed inspection, you can request a thorough visual inspection from the duct cleaning provider. Some duct cleaning companies have remote photography systems to show their customers what the inside of their ducts looks like before and after the cleaning. While viewing the photography after cleaning the ducts should appear clean. If you can see any dirt or debris, the ducts are not sufficiently clean.
Now you can walk through the checklist by EPA with the provider. Here are some of the things the EPA says that you should look for:
-Did the company clean the entire HVAC system, including the ductwork and all components?
-The key parts: blower compartment, return air plenum, supply air plenum, heat exchanger surface, interior ductwork surfaces, grilles and diffusers and blower blades should appear visibly clean.
-After you turn on the system, it should function properly in both the heating and cooling modes, and there should be little air leakage around the access doors or covers.
-Do the fins of the coil look straight?
-The filters should fit properly and be the proper efficiency.
-The registers, grilles, and diffusers should be tightly attached to the floors, walls, and ceilings.
Next time when you hire a company to clean your vents be sure to check out all the points which I have mentioned above to get the best results.
For avoiding situations like this, the EPA has provided a handy checklist. You can even give this checklist to the duct cleaning service provider before its employees begin to work. Before going through the checklist you can visually inspect the HVAC system on your own and this will give you a narrow outline of their work. For a more detailed inspection, you can request a thorough visual inspection from the duct cleaning provider. Some duct cleaning companies have remote photography systems to show their customers what the inside of their ducts looks like before and after the cleaning. While viewing the photography after cleaning the ducts should appear clean. If you can see any dirt or debris, the ducts are not sufficiently clean.
Now you can walk through the checklist by EPA with the provider. Here are some of the things the EPA says that you should look for:
-Did the company clean the entire HVAC system, including the ductwork and all components?
-The key parts: blower compartment, return air plenum, supply air plenum, heat exchanger surface, interior ductwork surfaces, grilles and diffusers and blower blades should appear visibly clean.
-After you turn on the system, it should function properly in both the heating and cooling modes, and there should be little air leakage around the access doors or covers.
-Do the fins of the coil look straight?
-The filters should fit properly and be the proper efficiency.
-The registers, grilles, and diffusers should be tightly attached to the floors, walls, and ceilings.
Next time when you hire a company to clean your vents be sure to check out all the points which I have mentioned above to get the best results.
