Websites for duct cleaners.

Every three to five years for most houses is plenty. Do it sooner if you have just renovated, moved into a house that had pets or a smoker, see dust puffing from the registers when the furnace kicks on, or have had mice in the basement. If the last cleaning was recent and the filter has been changed on schedule, we will tell you the ducts are fine and just do the dryer vent.

Honest answer: Health Canada says there is no proof that routine duct cleaning prevents health problems, and we will not tell you otherwise. What it does do is get real debris out of the system — construction dust, pet hair, the stuff that fell down the floor registers for twenty years — and let the blower and coil move the air they were designed to. Clean ducts, a clean blower and a fresh filter is what makes the difference you can feel.

Because $99 does not cover the truck, the technician and two or three hours in your house. Those jobs are priced to get in the door, then billed per vent, per return, per furnace and per sanitizer once the crew is standing in your basement. We quote the whole house up front from your furnace count and roughly how many registers you have, and that is the number on the invoice.

Two to four hours for a typical house with one furnace, longer for two systems or a big post-reno mess. Before we arrive, move anything sitting on or in front of the floor and wall registers and clear a path to the furnace and the dryer. Pets are happier shut in a room we have already finished, since the vacuum hose is loud.

Towels take two cycles, the top of the dryer is hot to the touch, the flap on the outside hood does not open when the dryer runs, or there is lint built up around the hood. Once a year is the right interval for most homes, sooner for a long run or one with a lot of elbows. If we find foil or plastic flex duct hidden in the wall, we will tell you, because it should be replaced with rigid or semi-rigid metal.

Not unless there is a reason to and you say yes. Sanitizing makes sense after smoke, water damage, rodents or a strong pet odour, and then only with a product Health Canada has registered for the job. A blanket sanitizer on every job is a line item, not a service, and we do not add it.