HVAC technicians vs Air Duct Cleaning Technician

Posted by: Denver duct cleaning written by: Pat Johnson article source: Ezinearticles

As the owner of a very successful duct cleaning business as well as a seasoned technician I am often asked by our customers if we are qualified to clean their furnace/AC system and my response is this...

The cleaning that a duct cleaner can do on your furnace/AC only consists of cleaning the components that the air moves through, However, the law is very clear in this matter and states that Duct Cleaning companies may only clean these conveyance components while they remain in tact and they may never be removed or altered in any way whatsoever.

with that being said you should also note that a reputable Air duct Cleaning company should be equipped with several unique cleaning tools that will enable them to a good job of cleaning the conveyance components while leaving them in place.

I feel it is my duty as a professional to inform homeowners that what a duct cleaner does on your HVAC system is no substitute for what a certified Heating/Air Conditioning Tech (HVAC Tech) will do on the system when it comes to doing a tune up and diagnostics

The law is very strict when it comes down to what a Duct Cleaner can and cannot do on an HVAC system

Duct cleaning companies are prohibited from doing any cleaning in the combustion area of your furnace, this is the area where thee burners, pilot light, gas valves and electrical components are located and are completely off limits to any unlicensed individuals .

Any unlicensed individuals that are poking around in that area of your HVAC equipment are violating state and provincial laws and should be reported to the proper authorities, it should also be noted that should anything go afoul they will not be covered by their insurance company.

We are often told by our customers that such and such duct cleaning company claims that they will do an inspection on the HVAC system as part of their procedure.

If any duct cleaning company ever claims that will do any sort of inspection or diagnostics to your heating/AC system, I strongly urge you not to retain their services and to report them to your local consumer protection branch.

The only exception to the above would be if the Company employed a properly certified HVAC technician that would be doing the actual inspection or service work or if the duct cleaning company was contracting out to another company that is HVAC Certified, in which case you would be wise to ask for proof of qualifications

Pat Johnson - Is President of Enviro-Pure Air Care Residential Duct Cleaning Company located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Pat has many years experience in the Duct Cleaning Industry and has written numerous articles about Duct Cleaning practices. For more information visit their frequently asked questions

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pat_Johnson

Vent Cleaning Benefits

Posted by: Denver air duct cleaning

I found this article on Ezinearticles which was written by Ross Morrell a few years back. The article touches on benefits of air duct cleaning as well as the process.

"Vent duct cleaning is something which is not paid its due importance in a household. It is always that you talk of pollution outside in the place around which is visible but what about the indoor air which you breathe. It is dirtier and more polluted than the visible outside one. Most people do not realize that the bacteria mold and ducts are lurking in the air ducts and vents in their homes.

Vent duct cleaning is important, as the dirt residing there does not cause only nuisance, but can also be hazardous for one's health. It can cause problems such as asthma and respiratory allergies. To save yourself from any such problems you should vent duct cleaning at least once a year if not once in the spring and again in the fall.

Usually vent duct cleaning is left to professionals because the job is quite involved. Vent duct cleaning must be thorough to be effective. It's important to know which factors comprise a proper vent duct cleaning so that you do not become the victim of lazy vent duct scam artists. Some vent duct cleaning companies charge low rates and then they skimp and cut corners in their cleaning methods.

To get into hands of a proper vent duct cleaning, it is necessary to know the steps involved in its procedure. A proper vent duct cleaning includes the following things. It takes care of cleaning of all registers, the furnace fan cleaning, cleaning of inside of all ducts. It even includes cleaning of the inside of ventilation and heating system. The air conditioning and heat pump coils is a nother story and needs to be conducted by a profesional in that feild. The vent duct cleaning should run disinfectant through the duct vent system to kill any bacteria, mold and mites that is lingering.

There are 2 different methods used for vent duct cleaning. The first involves cleaning with a large vacuum brushing system that works its way through the ducting system and the other involves a high-pressure air hose being forced through the ducting system to remove debris and particles. Usually a proper vent duct cleaning takes round about 1.5 hours (depending on the size of your home and it costs depend on the amount of ducts and cold air returns. Thus a substantial amount of money is paid but it is worth to improve the quality of air inside your house.

For more information about Vent and duct cleaning please have a look at this link: Vent and duct cleaning | Dallas | Houston | San Antonio | Austin | Fort Worth

Ross Morrell is an industry professional and a specialist in fire and flood restoration, mold remediation, disaster clean up, reconstruction, carpet cleaning, tile and grout cleaning and air duct cleaning. He has written numerous articles on these various topics for

http://www.fireandfloodrepair.com He has many intresting topics and ideas to give our customers important information and basic knowledge... Check out more of his articles."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ross_Morrell

Is Your Air Conditioning Ductwork Causing You Problems?

(Article author: Jackadron)

It's easy to tell when the air conditioner or furnace stops working, but how do you know when the ductwork isn't doing its job properly? When you have your regular maintenance done on your unit by the contractor checking the air conditioning in Germantown, MD , you should ask that he also check your duct system.

Ductwork is viewed as being fixed in place so we don't think about it much except when it comes time to clean it or it makes a rattling noise. Yet the condition and installation of your ductwork has an enormous impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of your heating and cooling system.

Identifying the Problem

Ductwork systems can have several problems that may impact how well your air conditioning and heating system is able to do its job. Two of the most common problems the contractor finds in the ductwork for the air conditioning in Germantown, MD is poor design and installation.

Air can only flow through the ductwork that is not restricted. A poorly designed system will have too many bends or areas where air is restricted from flowing freely, and that forces the air conditioner to work harder than it should have to in order to keep the house cool. Not only will this mean the house is not properly cooled, but this will shorten the life of your unit.

The same principle is true for the heating system!

Ductwork that is not installed well is also a problem. Ductwork that has a leak or is not properly insulated will lead to your unit laboring to maintain the temperature set on the thermostat. It�s important to have the heating contractor in Germantown, MD do a visual inspection of ductwork to insure it is well sealed and well insulated.

Sometimes a house can settle and that may also lead to leaking ductwork.

Where's That Draft Coming From?

A third common problem related to ductwork is the presence of one centrally located air return. The air return plays a critical role in the efficiency of the heating and cooling system. When the air is cut off to the air return by closing off the room, the rooms throughout the house will not be heated and cooled evenly.

The comfort of your conditioned air and the life your heating and cooling system are directly impacted by the way ductwork is installed and maintained. It�s easy to ignore the ductwork because it�s virtually out of sight. When was the last time you went into the attic and checked the insulation around the ductwork?

The heating contractor in Germantown, MD can check the ductwork for:

Leaky connections
Return leaks
Leaks where furnace and ductwork connects
Damaged ductwork
Ductwork that has insulation missing or slipping
Air flow restrictions

It's important to not ignore the ductwork in your home. It plays a central role in the operation of the heating and cooling system. Ignore it and the result can be a system that frequently breaks down or works inefficiently. It's a lot cheaper to maintain the ductwork or to have it modified than to replace the air conditioner or furnace because it wore out early.

Air Duct Cleaning - More than Indoor Air Quality

Air duct cleaning is actually a misnomer.

The air ducts are only one part of the AC system that the air you breathe passes through. The air from your rooms is drawn into the AC system, passes through the blower fan, is drawn across the cooling coils, and only then is forced out through the duct system and back into the rooms.

To improve air quality, complete HVAC system (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) cleaning is required, especially in a humid climate like we have here in Houston Texas.
Why waste money just cleaning the air ducts when the air will still be passing through the dirt, debris, and microbial growth on the coils, blower fan and other parts of the system?
Clean air ducts aid AC system efficiency

Cleaner air is only one benefit of so-called "air duct cleaning." An important benefit of a clean AC system (especially with the high price of electricity today) is that it improves the energy efficiency of your system. The biggest area of concern is the cooling, or evaporator, coils. These are the coils that you don't see, the ones that are up in the attic or wherever the main part of your AC system happens to be. The coils you see outside your house, the condenser coils, are different. The air in your house never passes over these coils.

It's called a split system and works like this. The air in your house is drawn into the AC system and passes over the evaporator coils which have cold refrigerant flowing through them. The air is cooled as it passes over the cold coils, and the excess moisture in the air condenses on the coils much like the moisture in your bathroom condenses on the relatively cold mirror while you are showering. The heat and humidity are removed at the same time, thus "conditioning" the air in your home.

And what about the big unit outside? Well, the heat is absorbed by the refrigerant in the coils and flows through tubing to your outside unit, the condenser. Here the refrigerant is "condensed" by a pump and the heat is, in a sense, squeezed out of the refrigerant and blown into the atmosphere by a large fan. When you hear that fan running on the condenser unit, if you put your hand over the unit, you can feel the heat that was removed from inside your home being blown away.

But why then are the evaporator (inside) coils so important for energy efficiency? The evaporator coils can be several rows deep. As we saw, when the hot humid air passes over the cold coils the moisture is constantly condensing on these coils. The moisture on the coils makes them a perfect medium for picking up the dirt and debris in the air. The moisture and soil on the coils and in the condensate pan, where the water flows to, also provides a perfect condition for microbial growth. As the dirt and debris build up on the several rows of coils, two things happen.

First, the area between the tubing gets clogged with debris and the there is less space for the air to pass through. Your AC has to run longer to get the same amount of air to the cooling coils as it did when they were clean.

Second, the air passing over the coils is now actually coming in contact with the built up dirt, not the coils themselves. Less heat and moisture are being removed from the air because the dirt is actually preventing the air from coming in contact with the "cold" coils. So now your AC has to run even longer, since the air that is getting through the coils isn't being cooled or dehumidified nearly as quickly as it would be coming in contact with clean coils. Your system has to run longer and harder to cool your house, wasting energy and putting additional wear and tear on your AC system.

Don't waste money on incomplete duct cleaning.
So you can see that, especially in humid climates like we have in Houston, air duct cleaning without coil cleaning is not enough to reduce your energy usage and improve your air quality. The amount of moisture condensing on the evaporator coils in our climate makes coil cleaning imperative. Complete HVAC system cleaning is the only way to go if you are considering air duct cleaning. In our opinion, anything less is a waste of money.

David A. Selter is the President of DRYMORE Company in Houston, Texas, with decades of experience in air duct and HVAC system cleaning services in the Gulf Coast area.
DRYMORE is an A+ BBB rated company with experience that includes air duct cleaning, complete HVAC system cleaning, as well as water damage cleanup and repair, and storm preparation services.

For more information, please visit http://www.drymore.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_A_Selter