One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating Of Dallas And What Duct Cleaning Service They Can Do For You Today | Frisco, TX

Photo By LaylaBird at istock

If you are experiencing poor air quality, you may or may not be aware of it. In some cases, people who are dealing with poor air quality in their homes will experience symptoms, such as upper respiratory infections or allergies. They may not know it, but a very common cause of this is the contamination of the air ducts within their HVAC systems.

In many cases, people will need to call in an air duct cleaning service in order to improve the quality of air in their homes. They might be surprised just how much better they feel after calling in one of these services to perform an inspection and cleanup. However, some people may be confused about exactly how they should know whether they need to hire an air duct service or not, as well as what the service will actually do and what they can expect.

How Do You Know if You Need an Air Duct Cleaning?

You might want to know if it makes sense for you to contact an air duct cleaning service. What they would do is clean the multiple components of your heating and cooling systems. In many cases, if they haven’t been properly installed and maintained, they could be contaminated. There are different types of debris that can become lodged in the components of an HVAC system, such as pollen or dust. If there is moisture in the system, pathogens, such as mold, can grow as well. The worst part of this is that when the pathogens grow in your HVAC system, they can end up contaminating the air that you breathe in your home as well.

If you notice any of your family members displaying symptoms of allergies or respiratory infections, or simply feeling unwell, it could very well be a result of contaminated air in your HVAC system that is spreading through your home. If you decide to hire an air duct cleaning provider, you will need to make sure that they are able and willing to clean all components of your HVAC system. There are different methods of cleaning, although they will have to adhere to certain industry standards in order to do an adequate job.

It is possible that you don’t necessarily need to hire one of these providers. If no one in your household is dealing with unexplained symptoms, and you don’t see any evidence that your air ducts might be contaminated, it might not be necessary to call in one of these professionals. It is somewhat normal for a little bit of dust to collect in these registers because dust-laden air will be pulled through the grate of the system. If you have this normal amount of dust or debris, you can easily clean out or vacuum the registers.

However, if people in your household are getting sick and have symptoms that are not explainable in any other way, it could have to do with contamination in your home environment. It might be a good idea to discuss your predicament with your doctor before calling in a professional.

In some cases, you might want to have your air ducts cleaned simply as a routine procedure. It makes sense to think that air ducts will accumulate debris over time and should be cleaned on a periodic basis. If you are able to afford this, it would typically not be harmful, assuming that the job is done properly.

You should definitely keep in mind that if the Frisco, TX air duct cleaning service provider does not follow proper protocol, it is possible that the duct cleaning will cause additional problems in your home. For example, if the professional uses a defective vacuum collection system, the contaminants that are in your air ducts could be released into your home and cause more problems than they would have if the air ducts had been left alone.

In fact, if you bring in an incompetent or careless service provider, they can cause damage to your HVAC system that would end up costing you even more money in the long run. They could drive up the costs associated with running your heating and cooling system, or they could cause damage that would lead to more repairs that need to be done.

This is why if you decide to hire an air duct cleaning service, you should make sure to hire quality professionals. They should be trained and know how to handle the job without causing additional damage.

Things to Keep in Mind While Choosing an Air Duct Cleaning Service

There are a few things that you should keep in mind when you are choosing an air duct cleaning service provider. There are a few different ways that you can find these companies, but not all of these companies are created the same. It would be a good idea for you to talk to a minimum of three air duct cleaning service providers and get detailed estimates before you actually bring them over to clean out your air ducts.

Additionally, when the professional comes to your home, you should have them explain the process to you and show you exactly where the contamination is in your HVAC system. You want to make sure that they are not charging you when there is no real problem to begin with. The following are a few things that you should keep in mind when you are bringing air duct cleaning service professionals into your home:

• Be leery of any companies that make any seemingly unrealistic claims. For example, if they claim that they are certified by the EPA, this is likely false. EPA does not certify duct cleaning companies, and they do not establish standards for duct cleaning either. If they are making any definitive claims about health benefits that come with duct cleaning, you should be aware that these claims are not proven.

• Do not simply accept any procedure that they tell you they want to do. For example, you should not let them use any chemical treatments or biocides unless you have done all the research yourself and know about the advantages and disadvantages of these solutions in your home.

• Check the references of the company. You want to make sure that other customers believed that they got the job done well and did not have problems with them. Also, make sure that the customers can confirm that they did not have any issues with their heating and cooling systems after the cleaning process was done.

• Get in touch with your city or county Office of Consumer Affairs, in order to see if any complaints have been filed against the companies that you are considering working with.

• Interview any prospective service providers in Frisco, TX before you hire them for a job. Make sure of the following:
  • They have experience in the cleaning of HVAC systems and have worked on systems that are similar to yours.
  • They will employ procedures that are guaranteed to protect you and your family from any unnecessary contamination.
  • They fully comply with any air duct cleaning service standards that are in place.

• Ask the company if they hold any pertinent state licenses. Texas is one of the states that require air duct cleaning services to hold special licenses.

• Request an estimate of how much it will cost you to get the job done. If the air duct cleaning service provider charges for every hour, for example, request an estimate of how many hours or days it is going to take to get the job done. Also, find out if there are going to be any interruptions in the project. Make sure that the professionals that you choose are willing to provide a written agreement that details the total cost and what the job is going to entail before the project has started.

Make sure that you are a smart consumer when choosing an air duct cleaning service. There are many people who enter into an agreement with a company that seems legitimate with the best of intentions, but then they find themselves getting swindled. You need to do everything you can to protect yourself and prevent such things from happening to you and your family.

What Should an Air Duct Cleaning Service Do?

If you hire an air duct cleaning service in Frisco, TX, there are certain expectations that are reasonable to have of them. If they come to your home, they should do the following:

• Open up the access doors or ports, so that the entire system can be inspected and cleaned appropriately.

• Conduct an investigation before starting the cleaning process. It’s important that they know before they start cleaning if there are any asbestos-containing materials in the HVAC system. These are often located within the register boots and insulation. If there is asbestos in the system, this will require very specialized procedures, and the materials should not be removed or disturbed in any way except by contractors that are highly skilled and properly equipped.

• Use vacuuming equipment that does not make a mess inside your home. The particles should be either exhausted outside of the home or only exhausted inside the home if high-efficiency particulate air vacuuming equipment is used.

• Be mindful of your property. They should be very careful not to damage any furniture or carpet during the cleaning process.

• Dislodge particles, such as dust, using very well-controlled brushing of the surfaces within the ducts. They may also use contact vacuum cleaning for this purpose.

• Utilize only brushes with soft bristles for any components that include fiberglass. There could be fiberglass duct boards or sheet metal ducts that are internally lined with fiberglass within the HVAC system.

• Make sure that the duct work is not damaged. The professional will have to seal and re-insulate any access holes that they might have previously made so that they are airtight when the job is done.

• Follow any industry standards for Frisco, TX air duct cleaning service providers, including the ones that specifically pertain to air ducts that contain fiberglass components.

• If the air duct cleaning service provider tells you that a chemical biocide needs to be used, they need to be able to do the following:
  • Present visible evidence that there is microbial growth within your HVAC system. If a service provider tries to convince you that your ducts are contaminated by showing you a petri dish and microorganisms that grow on it within your home, this is not evidence. There will always be some amount of microorganisms that are present in the air, and this does not mean that your system is contaminated.
  • Tell you why biological growth can only be removed using a biocide, rather than physical methods such as brushing.
  • Show you the label on the biocide once you have agreed to let them use it. It should only be used strictly according to the instructions on the label, and it should only be applied to areas of the duct system that are not insulated, after other cleaning methods have been employed.

Of course, whoever comes into your home is going to need to do everything possible to preserve the materials with which they are working, as well as all the other materials in your home. The whole purpose of this visit should be to improve your quality of life and make your home cleaner and healthier, not to destroy your property.

An air duct cleaning service should also focus primarily on improving the quality of life for you and your family in your home, not on finding ways to charge you money for everything possible.

The Takeaway…

There are many companies out there who will not help you the way you need with your air duct cleaning service needs. If you are looking for a high-quality duct cleaning service in Frisco, TX, you should definitely consider contacting One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas. The professionals who work with this service will be able to address your needs and restore the air quality in your home to what you need it to be.