February 21, 2011

            Dear Ken:   I need a recommendation for getting my ducts cleaned.  Is this a good idea?   Dave

            The best referral will come from your HVAC company--the folks who clean your furnace each autumn.  They want your on-going business and so will not  recommend some marginal company.  But first let's figure out whether you need the service in the first place.  Duct cleaning has been-shall we say-over-marketed for some time.  Most homes 20 years old or younger probably don't need it.  If one changes the furnace filter regularly and keeps a clean house, the ducting usually stays clean and shiny. 

            You can check it yourself quite easily.  In a darkened room, use a little swivel mirror and a strong flashlight to shine down the length of the pipe.  If you see a layer of dust and crud, it would be a good idea to get a company in to brush and vacuum out the system.  What you may see, however, is simply a round, smooth metal tube that should be left alone.   By the way, you don't need to check all the vent ducting-just sample two or three rooms.  One of my listeners says he uses a small digital camera to accomplish the same thing.  If you have a small enough model, give it a try.

            There is a part of the ducting system whose insides you can't see:  the big sheet metal plenum that rises form the furnace to feed the branches to all the room vents.  Your furnace tech can take a look during the annual cleaning.

            Finally, if you have central air on your furnace, you have a separate problem.  The coils that cool the air stream produce condensed moisture that gathers dust quickly over the summers.  As the little fins get plugged up, you're A/C efficiency falls off rapidly.  So make sure the HVAC folks check and clean the coils every three or four years.  I guarantee you it'll need it.

            Dear Ken:  My master bedroom is over the garage and the closets get very cold this time of year.   Do I need to add insulation?  Renee

            If it's a walk-in closet, does it have a heat vent?  Some don't, and if the closet has outside walls, then there can be a significant difference in temperature between it and the bedroom itself.  Additional insulation without another heat source will do little, if any, good.  One answer-both for a walk-in setup and traditional wall closets-is to install a louvered door set.  That will allow some heated air circulation into the space, and will also help dispel stale odors. 

            Dear Ken:   My dryer vent goes through the crawl space.  Trouble is, it sags between supports and so it's constantly breaking.  Instead, can I run the dryer hose into a water tub, like I've seen on TV?    Ken  

            Those gimmicky dryer accessories that supposedly "save energy", don't work.  In order for your clothes to dry quickly, the exhaust must go to the great outdoors.  Otherwise, the moisture just goes round and round-plus there's the problem of list and dust accumulating in the furnace and water heater. 

            Right now, at each sag point, lint will collect in those low areas and slowly plug up the system.  So, you need to replace the flexible dryer ducting in the crawl space with hard, galvanized piping.  Remember:  no screws in dryer vent pipe;  it must be taped only with that shiny, silver duct tape.   Finally, use foil-coated flexible ducting behind the dryer-not the cloth type, which can be a fire hazard.

            Dear Ken:  You were talking on the show about lubricating patio door tracks with Teflon spray or the new Elmer's dry lube.  I found a product I like for this.  It's called Vinylex and is supposed to be for leather and vinyl car upholstery.  I wipe some on all the window and door tracks, and find it works great.  I get mine at an auto parts store.   David.

            Thanks,  Dave-I just passed it along.