Can cleaning the air ducts system damage your duct system?
Darrel Qualls
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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PROAustin Air Companie
6 years ago20 year old duct system is pretty old, if your ducts are made of flex duct or duct board there is a good chance a duct cleaning will not reach the cleanliness of a new duct system.
With that said if you have a 2 story structure, it's unlikely you will have the access needed to replace every piece of the duct system.
So there are trade offs going from replacement to cleaning, not to mention truth in cleaning. How are you going to know how clean the duct system is after the cleaning?
The ads of duct cleaning typically start around $59 a system. At this price point it would be impossible for duct cleaner to stay in business, but that is the con game of this kind of service.
If the duct system isn't thoroughly cleaned, it won't be long until you'll need to do it again.
the duct above is a 35 year old duct. This type are impossible to clean well as the inner part of the duct has a cloth like material.
This supply plenum was replaced recently. I don't know how recently, but you can clearly see the stuff that was growing in the ducts is making it's way toward the cool dark ac supply box.
Here's another picture of same plenum.
Nothing is cleaner, healthier than a new duct system.I service the Katy, Texas area.
Darrel Qualls thanked Austin Air CompanieRelated Discussions
Two Furnaces one duct system
Comments (7)Of course you can have 2 units tied into 1 duct system. As to your actual question, i'll answer it. You will need to either manually or mechanically block off the unit not being used...Fof instance, install the gas furnace facing the existing heat pump etc, then slide a rigid baffle in front of the heat pump, blocking any pass through air flow when using the gas furnace...lol, simple as moving one baffle incorporated into the supply plenum. 2 separate T stats, separate power supplies, same existing duct system, supply and return. I never did like the way 98% of people ask you more questions than you ask them.....Why, Why, Why.....dunno "Why" they need to know Why, just answer the question OP posted, lol....See MoreAir Duct cleaning
Comments (2)Tell the company's who bid you want to have them take before and after pictures of your ducts. So you can see how dirty they are to how fresh and sparkly they become! I'm still trying to find the before and after house I see in all those adds....See MoreHelp! I'm allergic to the air duct system!
Comments (20)sktn77a: magic 8 ball says 'I am only good at guessing, I am not there.' A couple of things: The drywall should be marked somewhere, but you may have to remove it from the wall to find it. Another option would be to check with home depot to see if they ever bought any Chinese drywall during the time in which you bought it. System draws air: The return draws air from where ever it can when the unit cycles on. This is more common when the return is undersized, the blower acts as a vacuum pulling air thru cracks and crevices in the return. Because you're in a townhome it maybe being pulled from a neighbor. This depends on many things, how the air return was designed for the home among other things. In older homes it is fairly common that builders built chase returns and sealing them was rarely done back in the day. Supply plenums are typically insulated on the inside of the plenum. That insulation can become very nasty and home to countless allergens. If that is the case I doubt cleaning it would do much. You would have to open it up and inspect it. If it is insulated and aged, the stuff will just crumble in your hands... enough to gag a maggot....See MoreHow do I fix this undersize duct system?
Comments (7)Thanks. I can add additional return pretty easy just because of attic layout. an additional supply trunk is going to take some time/work to do right. The attic has plywood on top of the joists - so I'd have to run it on top of that across the space - which would be a pain, or pull up the plywood and put it underneath. I need to add more insulation and seal a bunch of things, so I can do that all at once. I put an aprilaire 2210 (20*25*3 filter I think) filter box on it. That causing any issues?...See More
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