Air duct cleaning for AC unit (house, price, estimates)

[sunshine088]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has ever had their air duct cleaned? If so, who did it? I heard people can damage them and I want to know who does a good job and is knowledgeable. Anyone know the price ranges/estimates?

Thanks!

[vigo]

We used Coit and they did a great job. They charged about $300 for a 4 bedroom house with vents in every room. I'd use them again in a heartbeat.

[heydade]

I have also heard that air duct cleanig is really not needed most of the time. Do your research.

[acegolfer]

Originally Posted by heydade

I have also heard that air duct cleanig is really not needed most of the time. Do your research.

I second this.

If you hire A/C company for air duct cleaning, they will insist on other A/C services, which is costly. This is what happened to my buddy, who wanted $39 air duct cleaning originally ended up paying $300.

My A/C stopped working 3 times this summer and I have learned a lot about how it works.

Here's what I learned.

1. Replace filter every month.
2. Clean out the PVC pipe for nice drainage. Pour bleach (just a cap full) every month.
3. Every 6 months, open up the inside and outside units and clean the coil. These are fragile so don't put too much pressure. I was surprised how dirty the inside unit coils were when I wiped using a towel. For outside unit, gently spray using water hose. Make sure the power is off when working the outside unit. There is a separate circuit breaker near the outside unit.
4. Once a year, open up the inside unit front bottom panel. You will find the drip pan which is connected to the PVC pipe. Clean out any algae. Any built up there may clog up your PVC pipe.

If you don't bother to do this, at least hire a trustworthy handyman who would do all the above. PM me if you need a referral. Never hire a A/C company because they will try to sell you a new A/C system. My handyman says recent units should last 20 years, if properly maintained.

[rkumar3]

I fully agree with acegolfer, It is so hard to find a good reliable A/C person/company. I used to have a good A/C technician who was semi retired and worked for himself but haven't been able to find him the last couple of times when i called him. Infact, my own A/C has been acting up for last few days and i went with a recommendation and still wasn't satisfied with the guy... All he did was cleaned up the coils in inside unit and hosed down the outside compressor... Took him less than an hour and still charged me $150.

I would love to find another reliable A/C guy since I often need one for one of client's homes. If anyone has a reliable guy/company please PM me or post it here.

[fauve]

Maybe Chelsa's husband should start his own business. Chelsa, are you reading this?