There are a two ways a qualified air duct cleaning contractor can use when cleaning your duct system. They are:
1) Rotary Brush with Vacuum
2) Negative Air Vacuum
Our technicians do a thorough inspection of your home prior to starting the job and will determine at that time which technique is best for your system.
Dislodging Debris
Properly cleaning HVAC systems requires removing the sources of contamination from the walls of the air ducts. Just as there are different types and sizes of air ducts, they are different air duct cleaning tools used to loosen debris from the walls of the air ducts.
- Mechanical Agitation: Mechanical air duct cleaning tools are typically brushes powered through an electric motor, and are generally used for sheet metal air ducts. Mechanical air duct cleaning tools are a more aggressive cleaning technique.
- Pneumatic Agitation: Pneumatic air duct cleaning tools use compressed air to agitate debris from the walls of the air ducts. There are many different pneumatic air duct cleaning tools that can be used such as air whips, compressed air nozzles, or skipper balls. Pneumatic air duct cleaning tools are excellent in cleaning sensitive materials such as internally lined fiberglass air ducts, fiberglass duct board, and flex line air ducts.
- Hand-brush & Contact Vacuuming: When accessible, hand brushing and contact vacuuming with a HEPA filtered portable vacuum is an effective method of cleaning.
Collection and Removal of Debris
The most important consideration for air duct cleaning project is the prevention of cross contamination. During ventilation cleaning, the entire HVAC system may be placed under negative pressure to collect loosened debris and prevent the spread of contaminants. There are two main types of collection devices:
- Truck Mounted Vacuums: Truck Mounted Vacuums are gas powered vacuums that are powered through the PTO of an operating vehicle. The amount of vacuum typically ranges from 10,000 – 15,000 cfm. Because of the high volume of air the Truck Mounted Vacuum draws, they have a high propensity for drawing vehicle exhaust and contaminants within the workspace.
- Portable HEPA filtered Vacuums: In most instances, portable HEPA filtered vacuums are the most effective vacuum collection device. HEPA filtered vacuums have a high velocity of vacuum draw allowing for greater lift of the debris and can often be brought to the contaminant source. HEPA filters prevent contaminants from being dispersed from the vacuum exhaust and prevent the potential of cross contamination.
