Air duct cleaning in Delaware County, PA: older homes and what to check
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What should Delaware County homeowners know about air duct cleaning?
Delaware County's homes are the oldest in Philadelphia's suburbs, and that is the fact that matters most. In an older house the first questions are whether there are air ducts at all and what the heating system is insulated with. Cleaning comes after those. For the Delaware County houses that do have ducts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends cleaning only as needed, not on a schedule.
How old are Delaware County's homes?
The Census Bureau estimates that 22.1 percent of the county's 229,715 housing units were first built in 1939 or earlier. Among the four suburban counties that is the highest share by some distance: Montgomery is at 16.0 percent, Chester at 12.6 and Bucks at 9.9. At the other end, only 3.5 percent of Delaware County's housing has been built since 2010, the lowest share of the five counties, Philadelphia included.
The county's own history explains the pattern. It records considerable residential development after the First World War in Upper Darby, Drexel Hill, Havertown and Springfield, which continued after the Second World War in places such as Westbrook Park, Upper Darby Township and Marple Township. The county describes itself as the fourth most populous in Pennsylvania on the third smallest land area: over 184 square miles, divided among forty-nine municipalities.
Does an older Delaware County home have ducts?
It may not, and the fuel will not tell you. By the Census Bureau's estimates, 62.6 percent of occupied homes in Delaware County heat mainly with gas, 22.9 percent with electricity and 13.2 percent with fuel oil or kerosene. Gas and oil can each fire two different kinds of system. The U.S. Energy Information Administration defines a steam or hot-water system as a boiler supplying radiators, baseboard units or pipes, with no ducts involved, and a warm-air furnace as one that provides warm air through ducts. It also notes that ductless heat pumps are popular in older homes because they need no ductwork. The Census does not record which system a home has.
A house built in Drexel Hill between the wars and a post-war one in Marple Township can both be gas-heated and have entirely different systems. So check your own Delaware County house before you call anyone. Supply registers and a return grille mean ducts. Radiators and no registers mean an offer to clean the air ducts has nothing to work on.
What precautions apply in a Delaware County house of this age?
Asbestos. The EPA's asbestos guidance says you generally cannot tell by looking whether a material contains asbestos, that material in good condition is usually best left alone, and that sampling should be left to a trained and accredited professional. Its duct guidance tells cleaners to inspect the heating and cooling system for asbestos-containing materials before they start. In a county where more than a fifth of the housing pre-dates 1940, ask every company how it carries out that inspection.
Lead. The EPA says a home built before 1978 may have lead-based paint, and the older the home, the more likely. All of the 22.1 percent of Delaware County homes built in 1939 or earlier fall into that period.
What about renovation work on Delaware County's older houses?
With so little new building, only 3.5 percent of the county's housing dating from 2010 or later, work on Delaware County homes is mostly work on old ones. For any job that makes dust, the EPA says to seal the supply and return registers and keep the heating and cooling system off until the dust has been cleaned up. Where the job disturbs old paint, its lead-safe guidance gives the same step: turn off forced-air heating and cooling and cover the vents with plastic. Done properly, that leaves little reason to clean the ducts of a Delaware County house after a renovation.
Where can you take a complaint in Delaware County?
To the county itself. The Delaware County Office of Consumer Affairs, in the Government Center at 201 West Front Street, Media, offers voluntary mediation and takes complaints about home repair and remodeling, among other things. Suspected criminal or fraudulent conduct is referred to the District Attorney or the Pennsylvania Attorney General. The office's number is 610-891-4865.
The EPA suggests checking with a county consumer affairs office for complaints against a company before you hire, and Delaware County residents have one to ask. The Attorney General's contractor search covers registration and can be filtered to Delaware County. What Pennsylvania requires explains its limits, and how to choose an air duct cleaning company covers the comparison. Businesses serving the county are on the Delaware County air duct cleaning page.
Sources
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Chester County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Your County at a Glance: History, Delaware County
- Consumer Affairs/Weights & Measures, Delaware County
- Should You Have the Air Ducts in Your Home Cleaned?, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Protect Your Family from Exposures to Asbestos, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Lead-Safe Renovations for DIYers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- RECS Terminology, U.S. Energy Information Administration
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General