# DIY Air Duct Cleaning... How to?



## murray (Jun 3, 2005)

dont bother unless you have a moisture problem .the dust that is in there is clinging and not going anywhere ,these duct cleaning guys just clean out the dust that is clinging creating a new spot for dust to settle.though I do agree its someone elses dust yuck...but its not going anywhere .besides ,theres no air moving through a 4" solid galv pipe


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## raycyrx (Sep 18, 2005)

I considered a duct cleaning when I replaced my furnace a few years back. Granted... I was talking to a furnace guy at the time, but he recommended (since I was adding a hefty filtration accessory to the system) that I not bother. Let the filter on the return do the work instead of a cleaning.


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## K2eoj (Aug 14, 2005)

Why not try to take a section apart and see what is in there if it is accessable. I agree that scratching up the galv. finish would probably make more dust cling to it. I once disassembled all the ducts on a small, 80 yr old house and cleaned them with a soft brush and hose in the back yard. They were not as dirty as I was expecting and much less dirty than the returns and near the floor registers. HS.


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## skipjack (Aug 15, 2008)

I just had my ducts done when I had a new furnace put in. I'm sure they hadn't been cleaned in 50 years. I was watching the guys and they hooked a big flexible tube to a vacuum in their truck. This put negative pressure in the system and then one guy went around with what looked like a long, rubber cat o' nine tails attached to a crank and this thing would essentially thrash around in the ductwork loosening up all the gorp while the vacuum sucked it out into the truck. 

It was a pretty dirty job, in my case. But it only cost a couple hundred bucks to have someone do it. 

Your ducts were installed in '97... unless there's a lot of pet hair flying around, I'd say your ducts are probably not that bad.


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## dac122 (Sep 5, 2008)

I live in an area with identical heating/cooling seasons as you. I just opened my plenum while doing work on my furnace and got a good look down my 27' 20 year old trunk. The fine layer of dust I saw is not worth a few hundred bucks to maybe get it and all my runs clean. If you have a major mold problem I might consider it, but then you probably have bigger problems than that.

I would save your money and just replace your filter every 30 days during heating season like most people don't.


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