Furnace duct cleaning scare tactics

[rustled]

Agree re: beware the up-sell. Duct cleaning can be a good investment, though.

The ducts in the house purchased years back were pretty bad. Previous owners had a lot of pets and didn't keep up with the cleaning. The filter had been plugged so bad the furnace wasn't able to keep the house warm. Replaced that and then took off the return-duct grills to have a look. Good half-inch of dust and pet hair and who-knows-what in there. Some of the air flowing through those ducts gets recirculated, and even if it does go through the filter it's probably still contaminated with that who-knows-what.

Tried vacuuming out the first few feet but there was some kind of residue that needed to be wiped (maybe a microfiber would have worked, but this was the olden days) and figured there was probably some crud in the warm-air ducts, too, so had a cleaning company in to do the whole system. No scary up-sell tactics, fortunately, just nice clean ducts.

[Jhunter199]

Cleaning your ducts is not a scam because the only filter that cleans the air after it's passed through your furnace filter and pushed through dirty ducts is your lungs.

Regarding CO2, theres no excuse not to have a detector, they're cheap and may just save your life.

So what is it in between the furnace filter and your lungs that is your concern?

There are particles of all types of stuff in the air we breath, inside and out. What is in the ducts that is any different from what is outside of them?

As I mentioned, our 40+ year old home had an insignificant amount of debris come out of the ducts.

Ever think maybe the duct cleaner you had just did a real *bleep* poor job? Just a thought, If I didn't clean an area of my home for 40 years, I would imagine it would be pretty dirty, even if it was a corner that had zero traffic.

[Bpeep]

The return ducts in homes with smokers and pets can get incredibly nasty.
The crud in them can get inches thick and can be like a sticky insulation.
Ick.
Mites.
Ick.

[youjustcomplain]

Well this is what happened to me.
We hired this Kelowna company to do a duct cleaning. The employee finished the job and proceeded to measure the carbon monoxide levels in the house. He told us that are levels were sitting at 38 ppm's which he said was really high and dangerous and he should turn off the furnace and gas till we get it fixed.This was in December when it was pretty darn cold. He said we needed a new furnace because it was old and that the heat exchanger is probably cracked which is why we have a dangerously high carbon monoxide reading. He said people have died with way lower readings and that this was too high. He asked if we would like a estimate on a new furnace, which we said okay. He wrote up the estimate and then said he would contact us later and left. So he actually left us to die? So worried about the level but concerned why he just left us like that, we went out and bought another carbon monoxide detector thinking the one we had wasn't working. But the new one didn't go off either. So a sleepless night we had being worried. In the morning I called Fortis and told them we were told we had a bad leak. They came immediately to check out our house. The ppm levels came back perfect '0' and even the oxygen levels were perfect. Fortis said that the this company doesn't have the proper machines to measure the levels and if they thought there was a problem the employee should have turned off the gas and called Fortis right on the spot. Fortis also told us that some of these companies have done this before and this isn't the first time they heard about this. We paid over $350+ for this service and that's how they treat people? He must of being trying to make his quota of furnace sales.
Now our furnace is acting up by having short turn ons and offs after the furnace runs for awhile.
Beware and ALWAYS, ALWAYS get a second opinion.

38 ppm isn't a critically high number. It won't kill you unless you're already vulnerable. I seem to recall the levels where you start to feel symptoms are 75-100 ppm. Your detector will go off around 20 ppm I think, which is because you are supposed to get a warning before you might be feeling sick.

I've seen instances where people cooking on their gas stove all day, without the range hood running caused a build up of CO in the house. Essentially, incomplete combustion can/will cause CO. When you toss your pot of cold water on the gas cook top and turn it on, the flame that comes off is hot enough to be almost complete combustion. Then it hits the cold pot and due to the reduced heat, a bit of CO is caused. Over time, without the fan running, that CO will start to build up in your house. Your HVAC system will push the CO around the house and eventually set off your CO alarm. A mistake would be to blame the HVAC system. Typically, open your windows, turn on your vents. This is presuming you're not feeling any symptoms. Mostly headache and nausea are common with CO poisoning. If you feel symptoms, get out and call 911. If you think about it, also call your gas company.

CO does kill people, treat it with respect, but no need to over react just because an alarm is going off. If you smell gas, well that's a different beast.

[Ironhorse1]

Has anyone been able to do anything about an excessively noisy duct?

[Rider59]

Has anyone been able to do anything about an excessively noisy duct?

More screws and some duct tape?

[dasandman]

I have now been sent a letter from their lawyer to remove my review from the companies website by Jan 31st or they will take further action. Isn't that what reviews are for?! I told the truth on what exactly happened. They say I gave a false review. But I told the truth and my husband was here to witness it. So it must be their employee that is doing the lying. Any suggestions?

[dodgerdodge]

I have now been sent a letter from their lawyer to remove my review from the companies website by Jan 31st or they will take further action. Isn't that what reviews are for?! I told the truth on what exactly happened. They say I gave a false review. But I told the truth and my husband was here to witness it. So it must be their employee that is doing the lying. Any suggestions?

Sadly i think they have the right to do that and clearly feel they were not in the wrong. I guess without absolute proof you have no option but to remove it regardless how wrong that would seem to you. Lawyers letters can lead to trouble and costs you probably don't need.

[just popping in]

Why ask to "rate" and/or "review" the service if you are then told to remove what your experience is like? I would leave the review there. Company should suck it up that someone doesn't like their service, accept the criticism and work on how to improve their service.

[alanjh595]

I have now been sent a letter from their lawyer to remove my review from the companies website by Jan 31st or they will take further action. Isn't that what reviews are for?! I told the truth on what exactly happened. They say I gave a false review. But I told the truth and my husband was here to witness it. So it must be their employee that is doing the lying. Any suggestions?

I would like to see what they mean by, "further action"? They have probably used threats in the past and they have worked. Look up the name of the lawyer and the firm he represents.
Stand your ground.

[Jhunter199]

Personally I would put another review stating what has happened after you left the first review. Heck maybe Casanet want to do a storey on it?

[LANDM]

That is a classic threatening move. Don’t respond and don’t remove the review. If you are right, there is nothing to worry about. They simply count on being able to scare 80% of the people with the letter so it’s worth it.

[Bsuds]

Sadly i think they have the right to do that and clearly feel they were not in the wrong. I guess without absolute proof you have no option but to remove it regardless how wrong that would seem to you. Lawyers letters can lead to trouble and costs you probably don't need.

First I think it's a scare tactic and wouldn't remove the review until you see what the "further action" actually is.
You have the option to remove the review when and if they decide to do anything.

[alanjh595]

Perhaps, "further action" would be a refund if you removed the review?

[just popping in]

Perhaps, "further action" would be a refund if you removed the review?

That almost suggests they pay people for good reviews.