Can you clean air ducts yourself? If yes, how?

Question

I was quoted $500 to clean the air ducts in my 775 sq. foot condo. That seems high. Is it possible to do it yourself? If yes, how?

Answer 1

Rent a heavy duty shop vac and 30 to 40 feet of hose from a rental outfit.  Remove the vent covers and with the vac running, work the hose into the ducts by twisting, wiggling and pushing.  This won't do as good a job as a powerful truck-mounted vacuum but will likely be good enough.

By the way, if your ducts are getting dirty, I would get onto the condo board about changing the filters more regularly (assuming it is a central system).   If you have your own forced air furnace in your condo, that's your job.  Inspect the filter once a month during the heating season and change it at the first sign of its being dirty -- or better yet buy a cleanable, static charge filter that will keep your air much cleaner -- about $150.00 for the electric job; about 1.50 for a cheap disposable.

Answer 2

It does seem high, since they will do it in about 1 hour.  

Haggle with the guy, especially if he is the one doing the work.  Tell him "I don't need a receipt, do you need $200?"

There isn't any places that rent the equipment either.  All they use is a vaccum, with a really long flexible hose and a 10 or 12 inch circular soft brush.

You only need to do it if there is :

1. Mold

2. insects coming out

3. clogged (low flow of air)

There are so many other factors to look at.  Age of AC unit, type of ductwork, setup of coil and plenum.