About De Lint A Vent

Cleaner air is healthier air and it saves money, too! There’s something in the air...      Unfortunately, much of it isn’t very good for you. And Bruce Fischer, owner of  De Lint A Vent, knows not only what it is but also how to get rid of it. Mold spores, dust, dust mites, pollen bacteria and other harmful inhalants circulate through the air in homes where vents need to be cleaned, My wife, Edie, has asthma and allergies, so I understand what a problem that can be. In fact, Edie’s conditions led me to investigate duct cleaning as a career as I was approaching my retirement from the Navy. When I retired after serving for 21 years, I traveled to the Grapevine, TX, headquarters of the AirQC Corporation, which developed the RotoBrush®. I went through intense training there to become a certified Air Duct Cleaning Specialist. I then started De Lint A Vent. Many people don’t even begin to realize or think about what’s in their duct work and vents.  They also don’t realize that even – and sometimes especially – new homes need this important cleaning work done.
Once dust gets into an HVAC system, it can reduce the efficiency of the system by as much as thirty percent. Homeowners can unnecessarily spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on an inefficient system. Builders don’t always spend the extra time and money to close off the vents after they are installed and it takes another four to six months to finish the house. During that time, there’s work going on such as cutting and sanding dry wall with its fine dust, installing cabinets, and molding, laying and sanding the wood floors, or laying carpet. And all of that ends up in the vents. Old homes are obvious collectors of unwanted and harmful things in the air, as are homes with pets whose dander collects where you can’t see it. Any home that hasn’t had the duct system cleaned in the past five years should be taken care of.  People so often don’t realize that some of the health conditions they’re experiencing can be the result of what’s in their air.	Bruce Fischer
Bruce and his family have lived in Smithfield since 2000. He recently had the privilege of being selected by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA), a non-profit organization that restores and preserves historical sites throughout Virginia, to work on the original Isle of Wight County Courthouse in Smithfield. This 256 -year-old structure is the oldest building in Isle of Wight and a precious landmark.  This was really an honor to be chosen to help preserve this important, historical building. It takes from four to six hours to clean an average size house. It starts out by photographing the insides of vents and duct work so homeowners can see what’s lurking there. I also use a state-of-the-art video inspection system through which an LED camera is inserted into the system and the video is shown in real time right in the client’s home. “People can see what’s going on and they can see that what they’ve paid for is what’s actually happening. Next, I clean all the register covers to remove any film left from substances that collect dust. Then clean the furnace and air conditioning system, removing 99 percent of all inhalants. Then I vacuum and clean the air ducts with a highly specialized system of brushes that get into every crevice. Lastly, I use a fogger than sends a safe, sanitizing fog throughout the ducts, leaving a clean smell throughout the house. Then it’s time for the “after” pictures, where it’s crystal clear that the nasty stuff is gone and healthy air is circulating. De Lint A Vent's work goes not just toward making the air cleaner to breathe, but toward making his clients’ homes safer overall. Dryer vents, for instance, can run as long as 25 feet through a home, either under the house or in the attic, and they have several severe turns, trapping lint particles.  Dryer lint is highly combustible, and I’ve seen places that were full of it. It’s a real hazard! Another potential problem can lie in the microwave vent and bathroom fan, both of which are susceptible to birds taking up residence there and building their nests. I have pulled out a nest from an over-the-stove-vent one time. It had bird mess, feathers, and bird mites in it. In cases like that, after I’ve cleaned it, I can sanitize the vent and add a wire bird blocker vent cover to keep birds out in the future.  The trouble with bird nests is that once the birds leave, you end up with bugs. And that bathroom vent, though not a fire hazard, is an unsanitary source of fungal growth, mold spores, pollen, viruses, bacteria, and animal and insect debris. These can easily be trapped in one of the custom-made electrostatic filters I order and install for my clients.  They’re even warranted for life. Not every problem with duct and vent work needs the full range of cleaning. Sometimes, a relatively simple repair is all it takes. I had a recent client, for instance, who thought the problem in their building was from mold. It turned out that the duct work was so old that it was dry rotting, causing air to leak from the duct work. Since insufficient air was circulating, mildew was forming around the registers, and the client was essentially paying to heat a huge, unused attic. “People so often don’t realize that some of the health conditions they’re experiencing can be the result of what’s in their air.”                                                      - Bruce Fischer In fact, unclean or leaking duct work can cost homeowners a bundle, proving the point that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Once dust gets into an HVAC system, it can reduce the efficiency of the system by as much as thirty percent. And that’s continuous over the life of the system, until cleaning takes place. Homeowners can unnecessarily spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on an inefficient system. In his spare time, Bruce is involved as a volunteer with the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League and is an active member of the Smithfield Chapter of Rotary International, member of the Isle of Wight Business Development Group and the Commander, Veterans of Foreign Wars in Smithfield VA.