We have been in our home for ~11 years and have noticed, in the past several years, of an increase in our family's allergies. It's the first home we have ever owned, and it has a forced air HVAC system with air conditioning. The home I grew up in had a recirculated hot water radiator system, so I was not familiar with what were good quality air filters for the new home's system... thus we kept purchasing/using the same type of filter that the previous home owner used (in our current home). Those were the blue plastic mesh with thin metal screens (with large circular holes) in them. You know, those $2.00 jobs from Home Depot. :mad: :( Well, with the allergies I began looking for what filters were out there in 25" x 25". I ordered some 3M ones (~$16/each). They seem to trap quite a bit of stuff... which makes we wonder if we should have our ducts professionally cleaned. So... here are a few questions for those in-the-know about professional duct cleaning:

1. Are there certain vacuum and/or filtering systems that a professional uses that I should look for? HEPA filtered? Brushed ducts?

2. Are there sprays or treatments for the ducts to somehow dissinfect them?

3. Should I remove all of the supply and return grates to make it easier for the cleaning?

4. What are reasonable duct cleaning costs for a house of ~3000 sq ft? [I know prices and costs vary around the country, but this will give me the right ballpark, such as $50, $500, or $5000]

5. And the final catch-all question - are there any other things I should ask when I get price quotes?

Many many thanks in advance,

Call a professional and have your ducts cleaned and sealed.


Aeroseal Air Duct Sealing - w/o air duct cleaning, mastic, air duct dust (http://www.aeroseal.com/)