Options For Healthy Living

Air Duct & Dryer Vent Cleaning Specialists!

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Air Duct and Dryer Vent Cleaning Specialists

Indoor Air Quality Specialists

 

Frequently Asked Questions 

  1. Allergies or Asthma? 
  2. Excessive Dust?  
  3. When Disaster Strikes: 
  4. Energy Prices Got You Down? 
  5. We Just Had Our Furnace Serviced, Didn't They Clean It Too?   
  6. Will Our Home Get Dirty During Cleaning?    
  7. Should We Have Our System Sanitized?
  8. Soot Sealing?
  9. How Long Should Duct Cleaning Take?
  10. . How Often Should We Have Our Ducts Cleaning?
  11. What Does Your Price Include?
  12. . How Many Jobs Do You Schedule Each Day?
  13.  What Are Your Qualifications?
  14.  Questions? Don't Hesitate to Call!

 

1. Allergies or Asthma? Thorough cleaning will remove all of the pollen, dust, dander, pet hair and other allergens from inside your system which may help reduce your symptoms. 

2. Excessive Dust? Duct cleaning alone will NOT eliminate all of the dust from your home, but it should help by removing all of the dust and debris from inside your system. Once it has been thoroughly cleaned you may also want to consider installing a better filtration system. New high efficiency filtration systems are readily available. Contact your service company for details.  


3. When Disaster Strikes: The first thing you should do is call your Insurance Company. They may recommend a fire/water/disaster restoration company or give you list to choose from. We work with many of the finest companies in the area and If you need help choosing, call us and we gladly recommend someone to you. If the company you choose is not someone that refers us, you may request that we do the cleaning instead. Regardless of whether you've had fire or smoke damage, flooding or water damage, mold, a puffback, even tear gas we guarantee you the most thorough cleaning possible!

             

                 Please Note: Following exposure to high heat (fire) or water, fiberglass and flexible ducts should be replaced.    

4. Energy Prices Got You Down! Anything clean simply works better and unless new thorough cleaning should include the mechanical portions of your system such as the blower, blower motor, indoor coil, humidifier, washable filters, etc. Cleaning these critical parts of your system will help to improve air flow and the efficiency of your system. Cleaning these may also help reduce the need for costly repairs caused by dirt buildup on their surfaces.   

5. We Just Had Our Furnace Serviced, Didn't They Clean It Too?  The average clean and check rarely includes cleaning the mechanical portion of the air handling side of your system. Their primary concern is to make sure that your system is operating properly and to determine if any repairs are needed.

6. Will Our Home Get Dirty During Cleaning? Our powerful vacuum will remove all of the dust and debris from inside your duct work, however please note that if you have exposed duct work in the basement or attic, dirt located on their outer surfaces may be dislodged during cleaning. Rest assured that we will do our very best to clean it up for you and that we also use tarps and corner protectors to prevent our equipment from soiling or damaging your floors, walls and furnishings.

7.  Should We Have Our System Sanitized? The answer is generally NO!

 

For mold to grow you, excessive moisture has to be present. Thorough cleaning will remove the mold and sanitizing maybe used as an added precaution, but to prevent recurrence the moisture problem must be corrected. Examples include excessive humidity from long showers, hot tubs, indoor pools, cooking, water incursion from foundation or piping leaks, improperly installed or designed heating and air system or one that has been poorly maintained. 

Please Note: Sanitizers are regulated as pesticides by the US EPA and the US EPA prohibits their use on porous surfaces such as internally insulated or lined metal ducts, panned return ducts, fiberglass duct board and improperly installed or damaged flex duct. That leaves only bare metal duct and thorough cleaning should remove all of the contaminants from these without the need for these types of chemicals. They also mandate that these products be specifically labled for use in HVAC systems. Despite claims to the contrary, the majority of these chemicals are only effective while they are wet and once dry their residue becomes a contaminant in the system. Under normal operating conditions it only takes a few minutes for them to dry!    

8. Soot Sealing? Rarely needed and used mainly by companies (aka blo & go's) who lack the equipment and/or expertise to thoroughly clean your system.   

 

9. How Long Should Duct Cleaning Take? Thorough cleaning takes time and patience. It can't be done in an hour or two and should never be done with a glorified shop vac or other questionable cleaning methods. The time required will depend on the size and complexity of your system and how dirty it is. Our rule of thumb for a single family residence having one furnace is 3 to 5 hours for a small home, 5 to 7 hours for a larger home. If you have more than one furnace or multiple zones then it may take us considerably longer and a very large home with multiple systems may require additional days to complete.

10. How Often Should We Have Our Ducts Cleaning? We generally recommend 5 to 7 years between cleaning, but the actual frequency depends on several factors including the type of filtration you have, the amount of foot traffic in and out of your home, how clean you keep your home and its proximity to outside dirt generating activities such as farming or busy roads. Remodeling and hobbies such as woodworking may also increase the need for more frequent cleaning.

11. What Does Your Price Include? Our quoted prices are guaranteed and include all of the materials, labor and equipment needed to thoroughly clean your system. At Options For Healthy Living there are never any hidden fees, fine print or costly add-on products or services to later inflate our price.

12. How Many Jobs Do You Schedule Each Day! We schedule only one! This gives us the time to give you the most thorough cleaning possible!

13. What Are Your Qualifications? I am the only professional air duct cleaner in the tri-state area to have degrees in both Indoor Air Quality and Heating, Ventilating & Air Conditioning. I have been professsionally trained in air duct cleaning, take continuing education classes to improve my skills and now have over 11 years of hands-on experience. I am also a certified Indoor Air Quality Specialist and more importantly all of my knowledge and experience are on every job we do!   

14. Questions? Don't hesitate to call!  If no answer, please leave a message and I will return your call as soon as possible! Evenings are best and we answer thru 11PM (Eastern Standard Time) You are also welcome to e-mail your questions to me at  ronhampe@optionsforhealthyliving.com.  

Thank you,
Ron Hampe
 
Owner - Options For Healthy Living
P.O. Box 381
Hickory, PA 15340
724-356-7598


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