Most people aren't very aware of how dirty the ducts of their heating and air conditioning systems can actually get, let alone what to look for in a company that will come in and perform the cleaning service for them. Cleaning the air duct system of your home is not something that you have to worry about every six months or even every year, some families go much beyond this before having a service come out and take care of the cleaning for them.

Dust, dirt, dead bugs and lord knows what else build up in your duct work over time and along with the changes in climate and levels of humidity; this can cause mold and mildew to form in the ducts of your system. This is important to take care of, but what should you look for in an air duct cleaning service to know that you are getting the best company for the job.

Firstly - you'll want a company that's licensed, bonded and insured. This way you'll be assured that the servicemen have been properly trained to perform the work that you need done and that, in the unlikely event that something should go wrong, that the business has the insurance to protect whatever property of yours happens to have been damaged. An un-licensed contractor may very well quote you a lower price when it comes to servicing your heating and air conditioning system, but you'll end up paying many times over when the job turns into disaster and there is no coverage for whatever happens to your home.

Secondly - you'll want a company that uses the proper equipment. A good company will likely have the absolute state of the art air duct cleaning equipment on every service truck that they put on the road. It requires a lot more than just a shop-vac to properly clean a heating and air conditioning system, you don't want someone with shoddy ineffective equipment charging you money to simply go though the motions of the cleaning without really removing any of the dirt and filth that is clogging up your ducts.

Thirdly - you'll want to see references and testimonials of performance. A lot of people ask a contractor for references, but then never check them - this is a very important step when it comes to hiring a contractor to do any type of work on your home. A reference is the only way you can hear if the servicemen of the company that you are considering hiring do a good job, if they are professional and charge what their estimates say that they are going to charge. Representatives of the company will tell you whatever you want to hear to get your money, if a company can't provide at least five verifiable references of their work, than your should seriously think twice about hiring them.

Last but not least, a certification. If a service company is certified with the NADCA, or National Air Duct Cleaners Association, then you can rest assured that they are licensed and trained properly to perform the work on your heating and air conditioning system. If you can't find anyone that seems to be qualified or capable of doing the work that you want done in your home, then you can contact the NADCA and they will certainly recommend a licensed and insured contractor in your area that can handle the job.

You should never hire an air duct cleaning service, or any other contractor for that matter, to do work in your house based solely on the fact that they have the best price. There are many things that you need to consider before making your final decision - virtually all reputable service companies will give you a free estimate so you can get the best price, but just make sure that you settle for the best price from an air duct cleaning service that you can trust to do the work properly.