I had the dumb idea of cleaning my own ductwork. My husband got me a pole with different ends on it for my birthday. I have an end that is a poof that is meant for taking down webs. I have an end that can wash windows, dust ceiling fans and clean corners in the ceiling. I used my ceiling fan dusting end and figured it could serve as a ductwork cleaning tool. I noticed webs on my vent covers. I knew inside the ducts had to be icky. I took down all the vent covers and shoved my pole up in there. I really went to town scrubbing. I felt so accomplished when I saw the gunk that came off on my end. I really was proud of myself until a few days later. I noticed my AC just never turned off. It kept running and running but the house was hot. I called a HVAC company and the guy told me I must have messed up with my ductwork since my system was fine. I then called a ductwork company who informed me that my duct had a tear along a seam. Apparently while I was cleaning the ducts I was too harsh and popped a seam. He then performed ductwork sealing in order to patch the hole for me. While he was there the guy showed me the inside of my ducts. I was shocked to see it was filthy. My pole didn’t get really deep in the ductwork. I only cleaned an inch or two inside. I am never going to clean that myself again.