The National Air Duct Cleaning Association has developed an anti-fraud task force and an initiative called Breathing Clean to combat scams and fraudulent companies from targeting unsuspecting homeowners in the air duct-cleaning industry.

The Federal Trade Commission estimates Americans lost more than $4 billion to fraud and scams in the last five years. With the Breathing Clean initiative, NADCA hopes to educate homeowners on the benefits of air duct-cleaning and the importance of hiring a NADCA member company to perform the services. The association is also positioning itself as a resource to homeowners, so they know whether the job was done right.

“Cheaper isn’t always better, and if deals seem too good to be true, they probably are,” said Mark Zarzeczny, a certified air systems cleaning specialist and chairman of NADCA’s anti-fraud task force. “NADCA members follow a higher standard and, when done correctly, HVAC cleaning can be very beneficial.”

To get started, homeowners and duct-cleaning professionals can visit www.breathingclean.com for videos, helpful tools and more.

  “By hiring a NADCA member to perform air duct-cleaning and HVAC system cleaning services, you know you’re hiring someone who pledges to follow the ACR (assessment, cleaning and restoration standard) and NADCA’s code of ethics,” Zarzeczny said.