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Duct Cleaning FAQ

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What is anti-microbial fogging? 

It is a mist that is blown through your duct system with a specially designed fogger.  It is used to kill mold and mildew spores hiding in the crevices of your duct work.  It completely sanitizes your duct system and is an EPA approved product, used frequently in hospitals and nursing homes.  However, we tend to err on the side of caution and ask pets and occupants to vacate your home during the 15 minute fogging procedure.  As soon as the product dries, it becomes inactive. Anti-microbial fogging is available to everyone for FREE, but it is typically not necessary for homes in Alaska unless you've had water damage in your home or other reason to be concerned about mold/mildew spores in your system.  Most companies will charge up to $299 extra for this service, but we believe that if it is necessary, it should be included in the cost of cleaning your system.

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What is an electrostatic filter and why should I have one for my furnace? 

An electrostatic filter carried by EnviroCare is one that traps the highest percentage of particulates (up to 95%) to keep your air clean and your furnace running efficiently.  It's also great because it can be pulled out, rinsed off, and replaced in the furnace.  It'll save you a lot of money on filter replacement and on breathing dirty air until your remember to stop by the home improvement store to by another flimsy cardboard filter that traps less than 15% of airborne particulates.

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Can you clean my dryer vent? 

Yes we can clean most dryer vents.  We can do it while we are cleaning the rest of your forced air ducts (which results in lower dryer vent cleaning cost), or we can just come out to do the dryer vent to eliminate this fire hazard and improve the efficiency of your dryer. 

We had one poor client who was running her dryer 6 times to dry one load of laundry.  She called out a service repair technician and there was nothing wrong with her dryer.  We came out, and her duct was literally packed with lint.  Now her laundry dries in one cycle and she's thrilled.

In most cases, you don't need to move your dryer for dryer vent cleaning.  We can access the vent from the outside.  And, if your dryer vent exits through the roof, that's not a problem either.

"At the time I had the duct cleaning, I had the dryer vent cleaning.  There was a problem with th edryer vent and Wade went above and beyond to not only repair the problem that was a builder error but did not charge me to fix it!  He spent a considerable amount of time on this one.  -Laurie John"

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Can duct cleaning only be done in the summer? 

Well, it depends.  Other companies require a hose to run outside your home, leaving your front door open AND having furnace down time of 5-8 hours.  However, EnviroCare's patented Rotobrush is specifically designed for residential homes.  It is self-contained and designed to clean better and faster, meaning that your front door stays closed and your furnace down-time will be 4 hours or less in most homes.  So, with EnviroCare, you can get duct cleaning all year--even in the dead of winter. 

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Do you clean with a portable or a truckmount?

The patented Rotobrush is a portable system designed specifically for residential homes.  Unlike carpet cleaning equipment, there is no significant difference in vacuum suction at the point of cleaning between portable duct cleaners and truck mounted cleaners (due to the cfm and length of the hoses)

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I've been told that duct cleaning really isn't important--it's just a marketing ploy to get my money.

That's the current trend in information provided by the EPA, and in my opinion, must be a "downplay" to not create panic in the public.  The government is well known for saying something is dangerous, then isn't, then is again. 

   I will tell you that many systems DO NOT need cleaning.  We've inspected systems that are really clean--the clients had proper equipment and performed proper maintenance and we let them know that.  However, the majority of systems have never been cleaned and we pull out tons of dirt, debris, rotting food, and even some rodent carcasses.  There's no way circulating that air can be healthy. 

   But don't take my word for it.  Get the book by Dr. Michael Berry, Sick Building Syndrome (I purchased my copy online).  In it, Dr. Berry discusses contaminants in the work place.  I also have a tape of  a lecture he did discussing some of his book and the scientific results he obtained.  They measured contaminants in an office building to confirm high indoor pollution.  Then they did janitorial cleaning, carpet cleaning, and duct cleaning.  The results were significant reductions in indoor air pollution. 

   There have been no formal studies as far as I'm aware in the residential setting and therefore no "direct proof" of duct cleaning improving health.  No one is disputing what your ducts hold.  Common sense tells you that breathing circulated contaminants is bad and breathing clean air is best.  Even the medial community teaches that cleanliness is healthist and to even clean what you can't see.  So why are your ducts different?  Don't wait for the government to "officially" confirm the health benefits of duct cleaning.

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Do you clean the flue to my furnace?

No, our equipment is not able to clean the flue of the furnace to the outside of the property.

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Do you clean chimneys?

No, our equipment is not designed for cleaning chimneys.

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How often will my ducts need to be cleaned?

Duct cleaning typically is only needed every 5 years or more.  We recommend having them checked every two years as the length of cleanliness is dependant upon using good filters, keeping filters clean, and other factors--such as if you have kids stuffing food down dining room registers (it's happened!)

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