Cheap Air Duct Cleaning Often Isn't As Appealing As It Sounds

"You get what you pay for." It’s a truism as old as business itself and it can be applied to everything from dining out to clothes and even air duct cleaning. There are a lot of individuals and companies posing as professional air duct cleaners who are anything but. In order to distract attention from their lack of experience or references, they will often offer to clean your ducts for a rock bottom price. These days with inflation raging it may be tempting to take advantage of what seems like a great deal. But should you? Below we'll look at some of the reasons you should take a pass on cheap duct cleaning.

Why Cheap Duct Cleaning in Arvada May Not be Such a Great Deal

Everybody is looking for ways to get the most from their hard-earned money. They want maximum value for the money they spend and by most definitions that means great service at a low price. But sometimes a low price, instead of representing a great value, actually is a sign that you’re about to be ripped off. Here are five ways opting for the lowest price can come back to haunt you.

1: Lack of insurance

Whenever you are dealing with a price that seems a little too good to be true you have to ask yourself how anyone can afford to offer such a deal. In most cases, the answer is because they are uninsured. Insurance is an absolute necessity for contractors. It not only protects the contractor in the event of an accident or injury, it also protects the homeowner. So keep this fact in mind: If the people doing your HVAC cleaning are uninsured YOU will be the one who foots the bill if they damage anything. And if one of their workers gets hurt on your property YOU may be responsible for their medical bills.

2: A poor job

Anytime someone offers to perform work for an unusually low price they are going to have to make up the difference somehow. With many freelance duct cleaners, they do so by not carrying insurance. Others, however, make up the difference by simply doing a poor job. They're in a hurry from the moment they arrive, don't have all the necessary equipment (that stuff costs money), and they rip everything down and hightail it out at a certain time whether the work is finished or not. In the end, your ducts are still dirty and you're out the money you paid them for the shoddy work.

3: Phantom charges

A favorite tactic of shady contractors is to offer a rock bottom price for their service and then slam the customer with phantom charges on the final bill. When the customer complains, the swindler will point to the fine print in the contract that gave them the right to charge extra for certain services or materials if they deemed them necessary. To avoid this particular HVAC scam always make sure you take a good look at the fine print before signing on the dotted line. If the contractor tries to hurry you it's usually a sign that there's something they don't want you to see in that fine print.

4: Theft

You need to be careful who you let into your home whether it’s to make a delivery or a contractor who’s supposed to be providing air vent cleaning. Some scammers drift from town to town offering rock bottom prices for this service or that, when what they really want is access to your home so they can rip you off. When you work with Steve’s you can be certain your property will be safe at all times. But if you are contemplating allowing an unknown entity into the house, you need to insist on references and proof of insurance first. If they can’t provide both you should take a pass on their “deal".

5: The upfront scam

Sometimes a person claiming to be an air vent cleaner will offer what seems like a fairly competitive price. It’s close enough to what reputable companies are asking that the price in itself doesn’t send up any red flags. But then they ask for a usually large amount upfront. In almost all cases a reputable contractor will ask for 10% - 25% upfront to cover material costs and to protect them in case the customer backs out at the last minute. If someone is asking for 50% or more upfront, and they want it in cash, beware. There is a good chance you will pay the money and never see them again.

The Final Word

We at Steve’s are homeowners ourselves. We understand the need to keep home maintenance expenses under control. That means being diligent in seeking out the best value regardless of the type of service. But beware: the lowest price almost never equals the best value.

Get in Touch With Our Arvada Air Duct Cleaners

At Steve's, we have been providing high-quality home maintenance services to the Arvada community for more than 45 years. In that time we have earned the trust of local home and business owners who appreciate our transparent business practices, the respect we show their property, the professional manner in which our field technicians go about their business and our friendly and helpful customer service. When the time comes to clean your ductwork there's no need to search for "duct cleaning near me". Just call Steve’s at (720) 419-7792.