Potomac Services

The service was excellent. The inspector called to let me know he was running a little late; 15 minutes. I appreciated that. He and his partner took care not to tread dirt on my light carpets. They even vacuumed my fireplace screen. I was impressed with the depth of their professionalism.

I purchased my house about 3 years ago and have actually never used the fireplace which is in the basement, I wanted to get it inspected before using to make sure it is safe. I purchased the Angie's List deal which was $125.00 for a camera inspection of chimney and a chimney sweep, I called the first day of the deal and was able to schedule an appointment within a week. The company called the day before to remind me of the appointment, the day of the appointment they showed up on time. The technician, Casey, looked in the fireplace with a flashlight and said it looked clean so no need for a chimney sweep. He explained to me that my fireplace was just an insert and the panels looked to be in good shape. He showed me where the damper was and explained how it worked, he also explained the various parts, I appreciated that he took the time to educate me. I asked about the camera inspection of the chimney and he said I didn't need one, he said my chimney was a 8" pipe and not a brick and mortar chimney so there was nothing to go wrong. I said that I really would like an inspection, I wanted to ensure there were no issues, and it was what I had paid for. He responded that their camera wouldn't even fit down the pipe, it was meant for a brick and mortar chimney. I persisted by asking what if there are holes in the pipe or the pipe has a leak in a seem... his response was that the pipe was all one piece there were no seems in it (not sure how he knew that) and he again assured me there was nothing that could be wrong with it since it was all one run of pipe. Next we went out back and he looked up at the chimney cap on the roof and said it looked good. I asked wasn't he going to get a ladder and climb up to inspect it and he said no there was no need it looked fine. I feel the Angie's List deal was a misrepresentation, if their inspection camera has limitations on the type or size of chimney it can inspect that should have been made clear in the "fine print" of the deal. In the end I paid $125.00 for 10-15 minutes and am not sure I got a proper inspection and am unsure if I should use my fireplace or not.

We signed up for the special deal, which was the chimney inspection, with high definition video. The man visually inspected our chimney at the bottom and at the top, but he did not use a high definition video to look at the entire chimney. When asked, the company said it was not needed. Felt like a bait and switch. They should perform as advertised.

I called them to clean my air ducts ahead of my son's birth. I had cleaned the intake a couple of years ago and put an air filter on the intake, so it was still very clean but I needed the rest of the system cleaned. I have 3 cats and a dog and the previous owner had 2 dogs. They were reputed to have the most powerful vacuum truck available I our area and the representative said they have agitators and brushes, but that must just be for the intake cleaning because they weren't used at my home. The technician arrived slightly ahead of schedule, explained the process to me and answered my questions. He was very nice and professional. He told me my vents didn't look bad, and later confirmed this when he looked at what was removed. The process is to clean the return duct with the vacuum and then cut a hole in the supply duct and insert the vacuum, which is huge and really powerful. But there is no attempt at creating a seal (how could they?) soo they have to go to each register and blast compressed air in to suspend particles that are then vacuumed out. My house was built in 1969. The HVAC system is not anywhere near tight, so the vacuum likely had less pull than in a normal house. I explained this over the phone ahead of time and that's when I was told about the brushes and agitators that they use. Great! I thought, that should help. What else could I do? But they didn't use agitators or brushes. They didn't even take off the registers to look at my ducts or clean them. The compressed air was blown through the register vents, so their complete assessment of my system was based on the appearance of the supply duct just above the furnace. If you change your filters, of course it looks clean. When was the work was done I was dubious. My husband was upset about the cost and asked me if it was worth it? I assured him it was and then secretly took a screw driver to the registers around my house. I started with the one 3 feet off of the furnace, the one that has in the past left a fine layer of dust on the wall near where it blows: still very dusty and there were little fluffy hairballs inside! The vacuum and blast of compressed air couldn't even pick up hairballs!? The back of the register vent had very black mildew on it. I guess the mildewcide I got at an additional cost wasn't a help. My heart sank further as I pulled off more registers. The ones near the floor all had hairballs and little desiccated brown shield bugs. The only registers that were clean were the ones in the floors upstairs that simply lift off. Now I know that having a system that isn't as air tight won't vacuum as well. But I get very good air flow in my house and the vacuum is supposed to be at least 6 times more powerful than my unit itself in moving air, so you would think it at least gets hairballs from the duct right beside where the vacuum was inserted. Sigh. I just feel duped. I spent $440 for a service that was not effective. There was no reduction in dust in the house following the service. No noticeable change in the air quality of the house. No noticeable difference at all. And my walls by the registers? They still get coated with dust. Though the people were professional and very nice to deal with I just don't think this service works. I haven't contacted the company because I'm loathe to admit to my husband my stupidity, and I'm a little stubborn I guess. Just don't make mistake. Unless you have a bad intake, skip the HVAC cleaning.

I have hired Potomac Services to perform 2 dryer vent cleanings for me in the past. This last service seemed to go fine, but the unit was empty so I was not present when the work was performed. Three weeks later my tenant submitted a service request that the dryer was not drying correctly. The service resulted in a significant amount of lint being removed from the dryer. While i'm not sure the removal of lint from the dryer would be covered by the vent service, I wonder about the attention to detail on the service since I wasn't there given the timeline between the two services. Generally, I was and have been pleased with Potomac Services in all other aspects.

Overall good service however they could not honor their video coupon because of the type of chimney I have in my town home but they did give me a monitary discount on the job. I think it would be very helpful for them to state on their coupon that the video can only be done on a certain type of chimney to avoid disappointing their customers.

I had a great experience with Potomac Services. The gentleman who returned my inital call was very pleasant and professional. He also called the day before the scheduled service appointment with a reminder. I didn't have to give a several hour window of time for the appointment; they made it for a specific time -- AND, the repairman showed up a few minutes ahead of schedule! While at my house, the repairman went out of his way to show me several different "tricks" to clean/maintain the dryer vent that would obviate the need for me to pay for his services in the future and would save me a lot of money (assuming I could do these things myself). The repairman was professional, knowledgeable and helpful.

Potomac was great. Initially I had requested a sweep and inspection, which would cost $175, however when they came out the inspection found that the chimney was in good shape and they said there wasn't any reason to charge for a sweep (it would be waste of money). The technician was very courteous and spoke very good english. He told me about some minor issues that I should keep an eye on and that would eventually need to be addressed, but be a waste of money to address now as it wasn't a big enough problem to address now. For instance, 1/4" gap whereas code only allows for 1/10" gap. Said that as long as I have smoke detector and CO detector I should be OK, as my fireplace was constructed such that the gap had brick behind it and it shouldn't allow gasses/smoke into my home, but it would needed to be kept an eye on. Would definitely use again.

It was very simple to obtain a quote and schedule Potomac Services to come out to perform the air duct cleaning, chimney sweeping and dryer vent cleaning. Potomac Service showed up to execute the work right on schedule. Each of the jobs were executed professionally and to my satisfaction. They were very courteous and respected of the house. They even answered my questions regarding installing a wood burning stove and how I might replace my current dryer vent. I was very pleased with Potomac Services and will absolutely use them again. Job well done.

He was very nice and polite. He showed up 15 minutes early and was done quicker than the 1 1/2 hours that the job was estimated to take. Gave us some good pointers on maintaining our fire place. We will use them again.

The technicians called at around 8 to let me know they were running about 15 minutes behind, which I was very impressed with because normally they don't call. They cleaned the airducts and after they were done they let us know what was done and what was found and if there was anything else they could do, just give them a call. One of the technicians, Casey, gave us his direct number. We found out the next morning that the heating system had stopped working. We contacted Casey and he came out to look at it the very next day - he had to wait several hours for us to get home to let him in to look at it - which was very nice of him! Potomac Services contacted a HVAC company who came out a few days later to fix it. I would highly recommend this company and will use them in the future if we need to.

Got the companies name from Angie's List and called. They scheduled an appointment convenient for us and showed up exactly when they were supposed. The work was performed professionally and the area cleaned up. We are very pleased with the services of this company. We have a wood stove insert in our brick fireplace and the gentleman knew exactly what do do in cleaning our chimney. I expect to call upon them before long for duct cleaning. Recommend them highly.

We are pleased with their work. They were on time and did what we expected. They provided a lot of good information on ongoing maintenance as well as answered my questions about other services they provided.

Our dryer vent was completely blocked--it seemed like it went from OK to blocked overnight! I called on a Sunday morning and left a voice message. They returned my call within 2 hours and we were able to schedule a service call for the next day (Monday, May 16th). The technician ran some air flow tests and then cleared out the vent. To keep birds from entering the vent from the outside, he installed a cover/screen. Overall, we were very happy to have our dryer back so quickly!

I had an appointment for 8am. After no one showed up, I called the number and left a message. Jeff called at 9am, was very apologetic, rescheduled for later in the day. He said that he missed seeing the appointment on his schedule. He was 5 minutes early for the second appointment. He was very friendly, and very apologetic. Jeff went right to work. He did a great job, said a lot of lint came out of the vent. Our house is 13 years old and I don't think the vent was ever cleaned. Jeff cleaned up very nicely inside and out, gave me some great advice about how often the vent needs to be cleaned based on my usage. He also gave me a $10 discount for missing the earlier appointment. Overall, I was very pleased. My laundry is drying much more quickly. I will hire him back in a month to clean our air vents.

Good company, pointless visit. I used this company to clean and fix my chimney in the fall of 2010 and they did a good job, so I called to have them come back for a chimney sweep from this winter's fires. When the chimney sweeper arrived, he was very polite, he checked the chimney, and notified me that I didn't need a sweep. He said I could wait until next year, that on average chimneys can go two years without a sweep (unless we do above average chimney fires). I still had to pay a service fee for him coming out, even though I decided not to have the chimney swept. I wish the receptionist had advised me over the phone when I made the appointment that I only needed to have the chimney swept every two years, that would have saved me the $45 service fee for a pointless visit. Company still very professional and polite though! And they did good work on the chimney last fall, so the chimney worked great over the winter.

The individual who came to the house was on time, pleasant, and very personable. I personally appreciated that there was no language barrier. He clearly explained what the process would be, where he would be working, and what would take place during his visit. Additionally, our home showed little trace that he was even there. He also told me what was being pulled from the air ducts (a lot of drywall dust from during construction) and information on our chimney. We were extremely pleased with the work.

I don't remember the specific price but it is very reasonable. They had to come back a second time because the drier vent didn't work, they were able to fix it the second time and were very apologetic. Overall, they are very customer service oriented and would use them again.

Punctuality: Two people arrived 45 minutes late for the appointment with no explanation why they were late. Professionalism: They said with two people it will take approx. 4 hours to clean. One person (claiming to be the manager) was on phone for most of the time and not working most of the time. He stated this should not affect his work and then told me later that they have to hurry the job as the single guy who was working was taking too long. Utterly unprofessional. I had two separate duct systems with air handlers in crawlspace and in attic. I requested the one in attic to be serviced first so they don't track dirt from crawl space - they said they will do the harder job (crawlspace) first and they have full body suits. However they did not wear them when they went into crawlspace so they were all over my house (with only booties) wearing the same attire (sheer disregard - as I have a 14 month old that licks everything). Crawlspace System: They cleaned the ground floor vents properly however did not clean the 2nd floor vents properly as they said they ceiling vent do not come off. They could have used flexible wand but the tech said I have to use tools which are most convenient for me. They just dusted the openings. I told them that they have access to all these vents from the attic - they ignored even though I cleared the way to attic from my closet (requires removing all the clothes). Result Incomplete cleaing of the 2nd floor vents. Although the two returns (one on each floor) appear to be clean I doubt all the dust is out of the system as I could barely feel the pressure from truck mounted suction duct sucking air into vents. I asked how they know the ducts are clean - here's the kicker - they said they don't know and would charge per $36/15 min to check if they are clean. So what am I paying them for??? Attic System: Attic system air handler lies horizontal and all the flexible ducts are in the attic. The tech attached high pressure suction duct to the supply side which is brought in from one of the windows. He tried to bring them over the azalea hedge (in full bloom - sheer disregard for property and knocking planters off). I protested - then they corrected it. Then they pulled the duct over the window pane and only afterward install the guard to protect the window pane (sheer disregard again!). In the attic I am not sure if this is standard practice - they punctured individual flex ducts and ran flexible wand and then sealed the them with tape. I hope I am not leaking air all over attic as I feel reduced air pressure when Air handler comes on. Also for some reason my outdoor A/C unit has not come on since they left - I have to investigate that further before attributing problem to them. They did move the air handler slightly in the process of making holes on the return and supply side and sitting over it to make holes in the flex duct. Overall I was not impressed and in fact would not recommend this company even though they did complementary cleaning of fireplace chimney in professional manner.

I will use Potomac again in the furure and recomment them to my neighbors.

On March 1, 2011 I had an appointment for my dryer vent to be cleaned. Jason called to say he was running an hour early. Fortunately I was home and the work began. I showed him up to my condo unit, which is located on the second floor. He said he did not need to see the dryer and only needed to figure out which outside vent was mine. Once located, he set up the ladder. The ground was uneven, so he placed a rock under one of the legs and asked me to hold the ladder for him. My dyer vent has not been cleaned in most likely 20 years (I just bought the condo). The amount of lint was incredible and falling on my head because I am holding the ladder. After one pass of the brush, he deemed the job complete. He placed a bird basket as I had requested, put his gear back in the truck and cleaned up the larger clumps of lint. The day was breezy, and some of the lint has blown into the landscaping and around the front of the property. I cleaned that up after he left. A few days later, I tried out the dryer for the first time and was surprised it was now taking 20 minutes longer to dry a load. All I can figure is that the ductwork is likely 2-3X longer than Jason?s brush adapter and the lint was compressed into the duct where his brushed stopped. I called back a spoke with Joe. He asked me if an airflow reading was done. I do not know how an airflow reading is performed, but I did not see anything that would look like Jason had done one, nor was anything documented on the receipt. I schedule an appointment for them to come out again on 3/16 at noon. Joe called me to confirm the appointment the day before. The day of the appointment, he called again to say his guys were running 2 hours behind and that I would need to reschedule. I rescheduled for 3/21 at 8 am. On 3/21 at 8:02am Casey called to say that ?he doesn?t have the keys to the truck and nobody was there to get him the keys?. He said he would be willing to come out the following morning, 3/22, on his day off to get the job done. I agreed to a 9 am appointment time. On 3/22 at 9:40 am I called to ask where the technician was. Joe answered the phone and said ?I was suppose to call you and tell you he wasn?t going to be able to make it?. I rescheduled for 3/26 at 9 am. On 3/26 Casey arrived on time and completed the job. He cleaned from the inside and again from the outside as the new bird basket was now full of lint. He did not have an airflow meter with him to confirm the airflow. The dryer is working well and the ducts appear to be unclogged.

This was the second year I used Potomac Services to clean the chimney. I also had never had my dryer vent professionally cleaned and had Jason do that as well. Last year he had suggested that I treat the chimney with Creaway powder to break down the hardened creosote. This year he was able to remove the creosote and leave the chimney clean again. He did a good job cleaning the driver vent from outside the house. He also recommended that I make a slight modification in the way the duct was routed to the vent. I completed that work today to eliminate a fire hazard. I have been completely satisfied with Jason's work and the advice he has given me during the past two seasons.

Potomac Services came earlier than the appointment time while I was at work, so we had to reschedule. Their scheduling and communication with customers could be better. Even thought my chimney did not cleaned, I was still charged. Although this was my fault, it would have been nice if they had explained what exactly I was charged for.

We needed our dryer vent cleaned and had a coupon from Angie's List for Potomac Services. We scheduled the service for Nov. 11 at 9:00am, and they called to verify the appointment 48 hours before for another service that we had not scheduled. However, they were able to continue with our appointment at 9:00am. The technician called at 8:30am to say that he was running late due to traffic, and arrived at 10:00am. He was very apologetic, as well as professional and thorough. While there were a couple of hiccups leading up to the actual appointment, Potomac Services was always professional throughout the process and explained what they were doing as they performed the work and provided pointers for keeping the vent clean. He even cleaned up everything after he was done. All in all, a great experience for an even better value because of the Angie's List coupon ($90 coupon/$150 regular price)!!

They did a great job. The person was polite and informative. They didn?t just come in and clean the chimney, they also did some teaching while they were working, informing me on the proper care and use for the fireplace. The overall experience was very good.