Be wary of dirty air duct cleaners

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - They paid big bucks to clean the ducts, but local consumers say the contractor left them in a cloud of dust, and so they called Call 4 Action.

Dave and Jeanne Humbert saw a duct cleaning special for a $59.95, but that's not what it ended up costing them: nearly $500. And it didn't take long for the Humbert's to discover that the company left a lot of dust behind.

Jeanne said, "I had four hours of cleaning to do. There was grit all over the floors, around the vents and the returns."

But Jeanne told News 4 that trying to get the company, Home Air Solutions, to come back and do it over, or give them a refund, wasn't working. So they called News 4, and Indoor Air Professionals, which uses the Collom Duct Cleaning System.

Peter Gordon of Indoor Air Professionals explained, "And we run this air knife up through each vent and it scrapes every square inch of the duct work. And it forces it with a high volume of air back to where the vacuum is hooked up."

That nozzle concentrates the air pressure of a jackhammer into the air knife, cutting through crusted on dirt and dust, which ends up in a collector. Indoor Air Professionals charged the Humberts about the same price as Home Air Solutions, and they were only half done when they showed us a large volume of debris removed from the home's ducts.

Home Air Solutions in Clifton Park emailed us a statement about the Humberts' complaint that said, in part, they believe their service and integrity are top notch. They are also members of the Better Business Bureau, but that is now under review.

Kathy Winter of the Better Business Bureau explained, "It will go to our board of directors to review, and if they are not meeting BBB standards at that time, their accreditation will be formally suspended and possibly revoked if they do not come into compliance with BBB standards."

A spokesman for Home Air Solutions of Clifton Park told News 4 that they will now try to reconnect with the Humberts to resolve their complaint. If you have a consumer problem, you can Call 4 Action at 879-4900.