Should I have my air conditioner (whole house) cleaned, filter etc. by a prof. or can I do it myself?

Charlotte S
by Charlotte S

Should I have my air conditioner unit and air conditioner filter cleaned by a prof. or can I do it myself?W hat would be a reasonable charge for such service. Am in Denver. CO.


  11 answers
  • Big waste of money. Unless your health dictates the necessity of having this done. There are many so called professional duct cleaners selling snake oil the industry is really taking a big hit. Follow the advice on the link I attached to get your answer. If your filter system is properly installed so there is no air bypass around the filter and you change this filter as recommended by your HVAC person or filter manufacture there should be no reason to have this done. Many times then not we find the AC coils dirty when servicing or doing a duct blaster test for efficiency and leaks. Coils should be cleaned by a professional contractor who understands the system, the pressures the pipes are under and has the necessary equipment to get the job done correctly. Cleaning ducts is not a DIY type of project, unless you fully understand how its done and are willing to spend more time doing it with make shift devices to do the job. I recently visited a home that has a lined duct system. This type of duct system cannot be cleaned, It must be discarded and a new system installed. Quite often AC only systems use a Duct board system which is a board type fiberglass insulation product that is cut and fabricated to form the duct shapes. This system works well for a few years until dust builds up on the inside of the liner and the fiberglass begins to peel away as the ducts fall apart from the air friction imposed upon it when the fan runs. Anyway check out the link. I think It will answer all of your questions. http://epa.gov/iaq/pubs/airduct.html
  • Donna Jean O Donna Jean O on Jun 06, 2012
    just buy a really good air filter, not those cheap ones...and you shouldn't have any problems...I change mine every 4 months..
  • Sandy H Sandy H on Jun 06, 2012
    Really good results from several friends...............$300 or so...........we are going to have it done ... 40 years in this house
  • JANE C JANE C on Jun 06, 2012
    I change the filters every month. I also vacum the area just inside the vents regularly. My late aunt used to have her system cleaned several times a year-she still had allergy problems and dust. It did not help her.
  • Sara C Sara C on Jun 06, 2012
    oh - my squirrels and rats take care of that for me. After they chew it all up I just replace it. Yay me!
  • Gloria L Gloria L on Jun 06, 2012
    Save your money. Had it done one time and it was a joke. Still as much dust in the air as always.
  • Charlotte, as you can see from some of the posts the results can be good, or not so good. It will really depend upon the condition of the duct system you have and the reasons behind the cleaning. If your suffering from allergies, get your DR to prescribe this to be done so you have a good deduction on taxes next year. But unless your suffering and there is evidence that the dust within the duct system is the cause, your putting money where you need it least. On the filter issue. There are 90 cent filters and four hundred dollar ones as well. You need to be real careful when picking out your filter due to restrictions placed upon the air flow within the blower. The pleated high efficiency HEPA type filters work well and run around $10 or so. These filters should be changed four times a year. Or each season ideally. If your home is well kept, then twice a year should be fine. You want to steer clear of the electrostatic filters sold in many stores. These are plastic high density filters that have custom sized frames that you fit to your current system size. Their design is such that static builds up on the plastic filtering plates as air rushes by. This results in the dust sticking onto the filter media better. These filters while they do work, they are simply to restrictive and do not allow enough air flow through them to allow the furnace or AC system to work properly. Many manufactures of equipment will void their warranty if they are used as well.
  • Rosemarie B Rosemarie B on Jun 07, 2012
    RIP OFF! Charged me over $1000 to do about 16 vents. Said it would more than likely be the cause of my allergies. It wasn't. I am in Ga. the allergy capital of the U.S....and beware if they stick a camera up vent to show you mold in the ducts. Some companies have a film of a moldy duct that you are looking at. Make sure you have a reputable company. Caviat Emptor (or however you spell it)
  • Jay Taylor Jay Taylor on Jul 14, 2014
    When you hire a professional to complete your air conditioning installation, you can rest assure that the job is well done. If you allow a nonprofessional to attempt your air conditioning installation, or you decide to take it on yourself, you may also void warranties offered by the manufacturer.
  • Here is a house where we just changed out the AC due to failure. They had their ducts done only a few weeks prior. Ducts that are lined cannot be properly cleaned. See photos,
  • Hey @Charlotte S - There are some AC maintenance services that are necessary to call a professional for but there are also some that you can do on your own. This is a blog we wrote to help our customers answer the same question you are asking. Hope this helps! http://blog.snyderac.com/blog/bid/337321/The-Importance-of-a-Maintenance-Plan