First I am going to say that you get what you pay for, and at $450 for Duct and dryer cleaning on my townhome it was well worth the price.
He showed up on time after making an appointment today, because of a cancellation . David, the technician, even called with an ETA. He explained everything that he was doing and how they do things different from most companies, and there is a lot. I searched and searched online.
They do not use some small vacuum, but a truck with a powerful vacuum!
He started at the top floor going from vent to vent blowing the dust loose from each vent so that it could be sucked from the vacuum, and worked his way to the basement. Of course each vent was closed to create a better vacuum within the vent system. The upstairs he couldn't go too deep into the vents because they were tubes that were easy to puncture. These vents shouldn't have too much dust in it anyways. On the main floor and basement he used his snake attachment to go deep into those aluminum vents.
Now is the the return vents, in which I took before and after pictures of the 2 return vents, and the main return area. Wholly crap, that was a lot of dust buildup. These vents should have a lot because this is where the air is sucked into the system. Cleaning this art alone was worth the price.
I could expect this much, but he showed me where the wasn't a good seal around the filter area and duct tape sealed it. Now unfiltered dirty air will not be going into the system. I was going to replace the filter after the service anyways, but damn it was filthy. He even cleaned up the heater system.
Now the dryer vent was all backed up. As soon as he opened the outside vent all kinds of lint came out, and as he snaked it, oh my all kinds of dust and lint flew out. He had to go and put a mask on.
I'm probably leaving some stuff out, but I would most def use them again and I'd recommend them to people I know. I used another company in San Diego, and it was half the price, but did half the work. I don't always leave 5 star reviews, but this company deserves it... I just don't see how a company can charge $100 or less. The amount of work, and power used from their truck. Unless those companies plug their systems into your home, or add extra costs. I heard of many scams out there and I believe it...
They don't sanitize, but being in healthcare, that is worthless, unless you had mold in your vents, but that is rare. Bacteria is everywhere, it may be sanitized now, but soon enough bacteria will be back. Don't buy into that crap. Dust and debris is all that it needed to get sucked out. Make sure you buy a good filter, but get a mid grade. Even though those good filters are 90 day, replace at 60. I have always done that and David recommended that too. They can filter too good and the filter will actually block air after being filled with dust and make your AC work harder. Plus dirty air will try and force itself around the filter. IF you choose to buy a cheap monthly filter, change it every 2-3 weeks, but definitely don't go over a month. For your health, and to make your AC unit last longer. read more