Did you know you should have your HVAC ducts cleaned every three to five years? That’s according to the National Air Duct Cleaners Association, and to Mitch Cohen, the owner and operator of C&S Air Duct Cleaning based in Merrimac.
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“When you notice buildup around the vents, any musty smell coming out of the vents, excess amounts of dust on the furniture, or if you’re experiencing breathing issues or indoor allergies,” that’s when you know it’s time to have your ducts cleaned out, explains Cohen.
He started his company in 2020 following a career as a carpenter builder out of the Newburyport area, and after noticing that uptick in concern about indoor air quality that the pandemic ushered in. A friend who’d been working in the HVAC industry for years suggested air duct cleaning as a new business venture. “Everyone was working from home and really concerned about the air they were breathing,” he says. “That was the inspiration to get this started.”
Mitch grew up in Newburyport, and now lives in Newmarket, NH with his wife, Liz, and their two kids, Leiland and Olivia. C&S is based in Merrimac, and services homes and businesses throughout Essex County, Middlesex County, southern New Hampshire, and even up into southern Maine. They’ve recently opened a second location out of Newmarket, too.
While most of C&S’s business is residential, their commercial sector is expanding. About 25% of their work is now commercial, and they have some impressive clients — they do all the Longhorn Steakhouses throughout New England, along with some Dunkin Donuts, some Planet Fitnesses, some other restaurants, and some municipality buildings, like city halls and fire departments.
The company’s going into its fourth year of operation, and Cohen’s especially proud of his business’s Google rating — a perfect five-star rating after 338 reviews, making them the most highly rated HVAC duct cleaning company on the North Shore. So we sat down with the expert himself to learn more about how and why you should have your HVAC ducts cleaned.
What’s the importance of having your HVAC ducts cleaned?
Indoor allergies and pet allergies are two of the biggest reasons to get your ducts cleaned, says Cohen. It’ll cut down on dust in your home, and it’ll help your HVAC system (central air conditioning and/or forced hot air heating) “run at its most efficient.”
And if you’re not sure when your ducts were last cleaned, try sticking your phone in and snapping a few pictures, which will give you a pretty good idea of how much buildup is in your ducts. You might even “occasionally see spotting from mold or mildew getting built up from condensation coming out of the system,” says Cohen — a clear sign that something needs to be cleaned up there.
C&S takes before and after photos of every job. To see more photos and to learn more about the company’s work, equipment, and process, follow C&S Air Duct Cleaning on Facebook.
Another often overlooked duct that requires cleaning? Your dryer vent. C&S includes the dryer vent as a free service with every duct cleaning they do, although you can do just a standalone dryer vent cleaning, as well, which should be done every one to three years. This one is a safety thing — according to the National Fire Protection Agency, almost 14,000 dryer fires occur in the U.S. each year, most of which start when the highly flammable lint in a dryer vent is ignited.
What sets C&S Air Duct Cleaning apart?
“We are 100% owner-operated,” says Cohen of what sets his team apart from the competition. That, and their impressively flawless Google rating.
“I’m involved from the start to the finish for every job,” he says. He makes that initial phone call with a client to give them a quote after they’ve filled out a submission form on the website, and he’s there to show the before and after photos at the end of every job. C&S’s pricing structure is based on the number of vents in a home — the more vents, the more work, so instead of pricing per square foot, they price per actual vent.
Cohen notes that homeowners should keep their eyes out for scammy nationwide HVAC cleaning companies trying to “nab seniors and other vulnerable people through posts on Facebook” and Google ads, he says, adding that these companies do poor work and don’t have the customer service his team has. You can usually spot them using generic stock photos and out of state phone numbers, Cohen says.
Small but mighty, his team comprises four other employees, each of which Cohen hand-selected from his background in construction. But he loves having a small team he can trust to operate on their own just as much as he loves being present for every single job.
“Meeting people is definitely my favorite part about this,” says Cohen. He gets to meet two or three families a day (the company averages about 10 homes a week), and really gets to understand the impact of his work. “A lot of parents that are expecting, or there’s a newborn in the house, or they’re taking care of elderly parents and they’re looking to improve air quality — these are the people I get to meet,” he says.
Frequently asked questions, answered by Mitch Cohen
Is there a right or wrong time of year to clean your air ducts? The answer is no. There tends to be a big rush in the fall when people are ready to turn on their heat, and another rush in the spring when people get ready to turn on their AC. But the ducts are just as dirty any time of year.
How long does the HVAC duct cleaning process take? That depends on the system, but on average, a smaller house takes anywhere from 2-3 hours and a larger house can take 4-8.
Do we need to leave the house? No, you do not. While it’s slightly noisy and pets don’t like us, there’s nothing toxic going into the air and you don’t have to vacate the property.
Does the process damage any of the duct work? The answer is no.
How much does HVAC duct cleaning cost? It’s priced per number of vents in your home — both input and output. For more information, inquire via our website.
How do I get an accurate quote? If you know the number of input and output vents in your home, I can give you an accurate quote over the phone. If not, we do free in-person estimates, too.
For more information, visit candsairductcleaning.com, call their Merrimac location at 978-228-0001 or their Newmarket location at 603-292-5887, or check them out on Facebook.