"Do I need my air ducts cleaned?"

by Robert Colen

A frequently asked question we hear from residents of On Top of the World Communities (OTOW) is, "Does our home need its air ducts cleaned?" This question usually arises after an air conditioning technician visits a home for routine maintenance on the unit.

Over the past year, we have alerted OTOW residents about the trend of air conditioning contractors who make a living by scaring residents into purchasing unnecessary equipment and duct cleaning. In fact, just this month, we heard from a resident who was convinced by her air conditioning technician that she needed to pay $1,000 to clean "mold" from her ducts. Dennis Hisey, OTOW's State Licensed Mold Assessor and Mold Remediator, met with the homeowner and provided his opinion that she did not have mold in her ducts. Fortunately, we encouraged her to get a second opinion for that particular recommendation and all future air conditioning maintenance or purchases.

Nonetheless, the question of whether duct work needs to be cleaned is very serious. The Environmental Protection Agency has a report published on its website that states, "Duct cleaning has never been shown to actually prevent health problems." It further states that one of the times to consider duct cleaning is if there is a substantial amount of mold visible in the air supply lines. If there are any doubts on whether you have mold in your duct work, we recommend that a state licensed mold assessor is more qualified to determine if mold is present than the air conditioning guy trying to make a sales quota.

If you are concerned about dust or mold getting in your air conditioning supply lines, we strongly recommend using the pleated media filter. These filters are readily available at Wal Mart and other local stores. The most important thing we stress to OTOW homeowners is to get a second opinion when an air conditioning technician is trying to sell you a product or service.



This video, hosted by On Top of the World Communities Warranty Specialist Dennis Hisey, explains the basic maintenance of a heating and air conditioning system for all homeowners. Topics covered are what type of air filter to use, when to change the air filter, how to change the air filter and how to clean the condensate line

Robert Colen is the Warranty Supervisor for On Top of the World Communities.