How To Pick The Best Air Duct Cleaning Company in Utah (And Avoid Scams)
As a Utah business or home owner, you want to take great care of the family members and employees that are spending so much time indoors. Cleaning your air ducts is an important part of this, as it cleans the dust and dirt out of your central air system. Regularly cleaning your air ducts increases the air quality inside your home or office, which has important health benefits. To find out more about the benefits of air duct cleaning, read this blog. You can also use this checklist to find out if your home is in need of an air duct cleaning.
When you’ve determined that your home or business is in need of air duct cleaning, the search for a trust-worthy and cost-effective Utah-based air duct cleaning company begins. Good o’le Google can help you get started, but the wide variety of options is likely to be overwhelming. It can be hard to know what to look for, and which companies to trust. Add extreme deals and coupons into the mix, and it’s easy to get misled.
There are many scams out there that promise to clean your air ducts for an extremely low price. How can you identify a reputable air duct cleaning company in the Salt Lake County, Utah County, Davis Country, Park City or elsewhere along the Wasatch front?
Here are a few tips to help you find the best air duct cleaning company in Utah:
1. Read air duct cleaning company reviews
As with any company, one of the best ways to know their level of work is by looking at reviews from previous customers. Advertisements and marketing can make an air duct company look very attractive, but one look at the reviews on Google, Yelp or Facebook can quickly shatter this image. Looking at the reviews or rating on the Better Business Bureau will also show you if there have been any complaints filed against the company.
Also ask your neighbors or friends what air duct cleaning company they have used. Their experiences are likely to be far more reliable than any advertisement or Groupon deal you come across.
2. Be aware of the aggressive sales techniques
You might have found an amazing coupon deal and schedule an air duct cleaning for as low as $40. However, it never ends there. The representative on his way to your home is more of a salesman than he is a technician. After completing minimal work, they try to convince you that you have a need for a more thorough cleaning or mold removal. “From the moment they pull up to your house, they're looking for ways to upsell you," says NADCA executive director John Schulte. These upgrades to their service will likely be far more expensive than if you would have chosen a company that gave you an accurate (and more realistic) estimate prior to starting the cleaning.
One regular “upsell technique” is a mold test. It’s important that your air ducts are clear of any mold, However; some air duct cleaning companies that offer extremely low prices will even perform fake mold inspections. They use these fake test results to then offer you an unnecessary, and expensive, mold removal in addition to the “cheap” air duct cleaning you purchased.
3. Don’t get charged for unnecessary services
Unfortunately, not every business has honesty and integrity as their core values. This could result in high charges for unrendered services.
An article about Air Duct cleaning scams on Angie’s list reports a true horror story that exemplifies this:
“Wael Masri thought Global Air Pro would clean the ducts in his Raleigh, N.C., home for less than $100 based on an advertisement, but he says the technician charged him $1,000 for extra services and products that weren't delivered. Then, Masri's air conditioner stopped working and he had to hire a handyman to fix damage he attributes to Global Air Pro.
"The sales guy was very suave and charming, and I was caught off guard," Masri says.”
Another story done by Inside Edition shows how a hidden camera revealed how one so-called air duct cleaning technicians tried to charge an extra $700 for a service that wasn’t needed or performed.
“Then it was time to put the repair men to the test. “He inspected the pool cue, longer than he inspected the unit,” one expert said while monitoring the situation from the control room. Finally, the man took out a flashlight and peered inside for a couple of seconds.
“The dust is already in the system,” he told INSIDE EDITION’s Lisa Guerrero.
Despite his initial offer of $29, he wanted to charge $700 to clean and sanitize the system. That’s when INSIDE EDITION decided to let him know he’d stepped into the House of Shame. The experts told him they were watching and he never even looked at the blow motor. He then walked out.”
You likely won’t have three experts watch the air duct cleaner you decide to hire with hidden cameras, which is why it’s important to go with an air vent cleaning company that has a good reputation, and is upfront about their pricing. The timeless wise saying, “you get what you pay for,” couldn’t be more true when it comes to air duct cleaning.
4. Know how much an average air duct cleaning usually costs
Depending on where you live and the state of your HVAC system, an air duct cleaning should start around $400 and take two people about 4 hours for an average home (2000 sq ft). Exact cost will vary, but a $50 dollar cleaning that’s finished within 30 minutes is simply not possible. This sort of quick job means that the technician is cutting corners (big time) and only cleaning what’s visible to you!
5. Pick a company with the most powerful equipment
If a construction worker for your remodel shows up to the job with only a hammer and a box of nails, you’d send him straight back home. The quality of the tools that someone uses reveals his level of expertise and professionalism.
Many air duct companies use what can be equated to a glorified shop vac, which only stirs up the dust and dirt causing it to travel deeper into your air ducts. It may be out of sight now, but it’s still affecting your indoor air quality and the state of your central air system. In fact, it may be even harder to remove the dirt and debris now that it’s been blown further into the air ducts.
As one of the only air duct cleaning companies in Utah that uses a high-powered vac-truck, we are able to actually do a thorough cleaning job. Without the proper suction the majority of dust and other debris will remain within the air ducts long after cleaning is complete. No other system comes close in effectiveness!
This state of the art 16,000 CFM (cubic feet per minute) power vac truck will put your HVAC system under negative pressure. The vacuum is continually extracting the dislodged dust and debris, pulling it out of your home and into our power vac truck. Unlike other air duct cleaning companies that lack the appropriate equipment, dust is never blown throughout your home.
Live In Northern Utah? Crystal Clean Vents is ready to clean your air ducts!
As a Utah air duct cleaning professional since 1996, we’re committed to giving every homeowner and business owner in Utah the best air duct cleaning experience they could have. Most of our business comes by word of mouth from satisfied customers, because we always want to ensure the best quality and service to our customers. If you have any questions or concerns regarding air duct cleaning for your home, please don’t hesitate to contact us. As a family-run business in Salt Lake County, we offer a free estimate that sets clear expectations and a transparent plan of action.
Contact us today by calling 801-561-0924 or by filling out this inquiry form.