Furnace duct cleaning scare tactics

[dasandman]

Just wondering if anyone else has had a bad experience getting their furnace ducts cleaned. We had ours cleaned through a company in Kelowna. The employee threatened us that he should turn off our furnace and gas till we replace our furnace because we could die of carbon monoxide. He said our readings were way too high at 38 ppms. Just wondering how many other people out there have experienced this also?

[Bpeep]

If the person was qualified gasfitter and found high co from a cracked heat exchanger they would be legally bound to turn off the fuel to the furnace.
If they don't, and peeps die from co and it's proven the furnace peeps knew, they could be liable.
Sounds like the person was a duct cleaning lackey.
Do you have any co detectors in your house? You should if you don't. They're cheap enough. Home depot carries them.
When was the last time you had someone qualified inspect your furnace?
As far as trusting some lackey and their advice?
I don't and wouldn't.
I wouldn't even trust any lackey enough to let in my home.

[gsc]

Bman is 100 percent right. Also if you are un sure about the company you can call Fortis BC and they can send someone out for free if you think there might be a gas leak. We had to do that this fall and they had no problem sending out someone and tested for everything. They offer a 24/HR service and are always super friendly. I will warn you though it can be very dangerous and should be taken very serious. You might actually need a new furnace or new gas fittings.

Here is the contact info if needed
Call toll free: ☎1-800-663-9911 (24 hours)

[Hassel99]

Just wondering if anyone else has had a bed experience getting their furnace ducts cleaned. We had ours cleaned through a company in Kelowna. He threatened us that he should turn off our furnace and gas till we replace our furnace because we could die of carbon monoxide. He said our readings were way too high. They were using a scare tactic to try and sell us a new furnace. Just wondering how many other people out there have experienced this also?

Do you have a carbon monoxide detector? If not why not

[TreeGuy]

Duct work cleaning is a scam.

All the air that goes through the ducts leaving the furnace is filtered.

Mrs Tree insisted we clean our ducts. So okay we get them done.

Our house is 45 years old. We’ve done multiple renovations. We have had a couple of dogs.

The guy showed my wife what came out of our ducts and it was hardly anything.

Scam.

[youjustcomplain]

Duct work cleaning is a scam.

All the air that goes through the ducts leaving the furnace is filtered.

Mrs Tree insisted we clean our ducts. So okay we get them done.

Our house is 45 years old. We’ve done multiple renovations. We have had a couple of dogs.

The guy showed my wife what came out of our ducts and it was hardly anything.

Scam.

My furnace was misbehaving 2 years ago. (8 year old furnace). I asked the guy who fixed it if I would need duct cleaning since there has been a lot of advertising around that practice. The guy laughed and asked why I'd bother since all of the air that travels through the ducts is filtered air. He said that the only dirt or dust is what falls into the floor vents which will be almost nothing. Good point. I'll never do it.

You can replace your smoke detectors with smoke/co detectors. So, no need to cover your house with new strange devices.. they look like and act like a normal smoke detector, but will go into alarm when your CO ppm reaches a specific level.

Yes, fortis will come out for free, but be careful using them just because they're free. If they show up and detect gas in the house, your gas will be shut off. It's cold outside. I'd get a HVAC tech in to assess the potential problem as they will be able to fix the issue so that your house isn't without heat.

[whitecandle]

I vacuum the ducts every year and then install those air vent thingamabobs on the floor vents. BC Hydro came out and did a home assessment - got a new carbon monoxide detector installed along with 10 LED light bulbs, the guy left a new shower head, a couple of sink aerators, 4 packages of weatherstripping, and 2 night lights I can install when needed.

The guy took one look at my fridge and said you're getting a new one. 18 cu ft. Fridgidaire will be delivered in the next couple of weeks and the old one hauled away.

[TreeGuy]

I vacuum the ducts every year and then install those air vent thingamabobs on the floor vents. BC Hydro came out and did a home assessment - got a new carbon monoxide detector installed along with 10 LED light bulbs, the guy left a new shower head, a couple of sink aerators, 4 packages of weatherstripping, and 2 night lights I can install when needed.

The guy took one look at my fridge and said you're getting a new one. 18 cu ft. Fridgidaire will be delivered in the next couple of weeks and the old one hauled away.

Our furnace guy said that those restrict the air flow and that they are harmful to the furnace.

[oneh2obabe]

I'm going to double-check with my furnace guy. The ones I bought are light-weight and I told him I'd be changing them every month. Showed them to him and he said no problem using them.

[TreeGuy]

I'm going to double-check with my furnace guy. The ones I bought are light-weight and I told him I'd be changing them every month. Showed them to him and he said no problem using them.

Or check with the manufacturer.

[Lady tehMa]

Just wondering if anyone else has had a bed experience getting their furnace ducts cleaned. We had ours cleaned through a company in Kelowna. He threatened us that he should turn off our furnace and gas till we replace our furnace because we could die of carbon monoxide. He said our readings were way too high. They were using a scare tactic to try and sell us a new furnace. Just wondering how many other people out there have experienced this also?

I had that happen with a furnace check-up; he turned everything off. My brother in law was minding the place and I came home to find him wrapped in blankets and my plants dead. It was the furnace place with a blue and white logo of a flame, and it was about 23 years ago. I ended up getting another company in (Sun Valley) who turned it on and said it wasn't dangerous. A few years later when we came in to a bit of money and decided to replace our furnace, we called the latter.

[dasandman]

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 the end of November 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 if he thought there was a problem the employee should have turned off the gas and called Fortis right on the spot. We paid over $350+ for this service and that's how he treats people?
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.

[Bpeep]

^^^ that company has been sued before for claiming cracked heat exchangers when they in fact were not.
They were in the media over it.

People trust professionals but they get lied to just so the business can generate income.
Or so the person recommending the new furnace receives a commission for it.
There's lots of shady practice out there.

[alanjh595]

^^^ that company has been sued before for claiming cracked heat exchangers when they in fact were not.
They were in the media over it.

People trust professionals but they get lied to just so the business can generate income.

Does any service person have the right to turn off your gas, or must be a gas ticket holder?

[RVThereYet]

I hate companies that literally prey on some of their unwitting customers with "scare" tactics like these HVAC companies (i.e. your CO levels are dangerously high), or some mechanics for example could be put into that same boat.

Or scams like the furnace duct cleaning, or Scotch Guarding your new car upholstery or furniture come to mind as well.

There are many other schemes designed to lighten your wallet, but most have one thing in common, they use fear of the unknown to sell something or a service that isn't really needed or required.