Hello AT,
I've been a renter for a long time and am used to the Maintenance guys coming in and cleaning the air filters and the kitchen exhaust etc.
Now that we own - where can i go for this? Is there a maintenance service that I could call as an individual. Frankly I'm scared of even opening the kitchen exhaust, God know what will fall out of it! How does one clean the ceiling filters or the pipes beyond the filters?
Help! Peacelamp
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granted, i live in a well maintained apartment building, but i do mine myself. you get some dust and dirt, but nothing disgusting. just climb up on a chair or ladder, unscrew the vents, and go to town. i just do what i can reach, but i'm sure you could go in there with one of those long-handled duster things if you wanted. you might want to put down newspaper or a dropcloth if you anticipate a LOT of dust and are worried about floors, rug, etc.
you can wash the detatched vent out in the sink as if it were a particularly dirty dish.
try iesnyc.com
Just get up on the counter and vacuum the thing. Then wipe it down.
If it's a standard size, switch to disposable air filters. Our HVAC guy swears that they are more efficient than the reusable ones. (Sorry can't help with the kitchen one....)
I just had the ducts cleaned in our house...granted, it's a ranch house in Iowa, but there must be duct cleaning services in the city, right? They hooked up a giant vacuum hose to the furnace plenum, and blew compressed air into the vents to dislodge 40 years of dust which then got sucked away to a truck in the drivevway. Pretty cool. Look in the Yellow Pages, or call a furnace repairman. Click my name for info.
You can put the metal ones in the dishwasher.