Finished Basement Problems (aka Buried Drop Cold)

What is a “buried drop cold”?

In an unfinished basement or basement with removable ceiling tiles, access to the main supply and return lines of your ductwork is very easy, which assists us in making appropriate access points to ensure a thorough cleaning of your system.

Unfortunately, drywalled basement ceilings can prohibit us from fully accessing your system to ensure that thorough cleaning. Of particular concern is a situation that we call the “buried drop cold”. This is a situation in which your main cold (return air) duct has a bend or drop in it, and the ducting on the lower side of this drop is encased in drywall.

Why is this a problem?

In the course of our cleaning, we use our high pressure RotoWhip and airline through each vent, to blow dust and debris down to the main ductwork in the basement, where our large vacuum hose is attached, and it can be sucked out. If the dust and debris gets trapped in the lower ductwork and the vacuum is attached in the higher section, there may be a significant amount of dust and debris that we are unable to remove from the system. Because we fully guarantee our work, we are unable to clean in this situation.

What can be done about this?

In order to complete the thorough cleaning of your furnace & ducts, you will need to either cut a hole for us, or have a contractor cut a hole and install a grate so that we can access the ductwork on the lower portion of the main duct run.

Why can’t Alberta Furnace Cleaning cut a hole in my ceiling or wall?

We are really good at cleaning furnaces and ducts, but we’re not very good at cutting holes in houses. You wouldn’t want your dentist to perform open heart surgery on you, right?