For landlords and owners or managers of large buildings such as offices and residential homes or apartment blocks with a centralised heating supply distributed through duct work regular maintenance and cleaning of the system is crucia
Health and Safety regulations and the need to maintain clean, breathable air and adequate heat mean there is a duty of care on those responsible for such buildings towards users, occupants and residents.
The Associated Code of Practice from the Health and Safety Commission states that all mechanical ventilation systems should be regularly and properly tested, cleaned and maintained to ensure that they are kept clean and free from anything which may contaminate the air. Regular air duct cleaning is clearly essential.
At the same time, however, as energy prices continue to rise it makes sense to keep costs as low as possible by having a regular schedule in place for checking the system and ensuring it is well maintained with no build-up of dust and other debris, which inevitably occurs in duct systems over time.
If the heating is powered by a gas supply, all pipework, appliances and flues appliances also have to be maintained and gas safety checks carried out and certified safe at least once a year by a registered gas engineer.
Some commercial cleaning companies will carry out a free survey of ductwork to identify any problems that need to be dealt with and provide a report on any recommendations for addressing anything they have found.
The company may need to familiarise itself with a particular system and any plans and installation documents that can be supplied will help it to do its job properly. With an older system it may advise installing more access points to enable more effective duct cleaning.
When selecting a cleaning company, it is helpful to find out whether it is familiar with and applies the recommended best practice from HVAC, the professional association for the heating and ventilation industry.
The HVAC guide to best practice is called TR/19 and you may find that it is referred to or available on the company's website and literature.
It is also possible to find out about the equipment that the company uses for ductwork cleaning, whether it uses specialised extraction devices, air jets and brushes designed for the purpose. Some also recommend that the ventilation system is sanitised after cleaning to give long term protection.
The best commercial cleaning companies ensure that all their equipment is safe, tested and efficient, their operatives fully trained and will try to ensure that any work that has to be carried out is done in a way that causes as little disruption to the building's users as possible.
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For owners and managers of large buildings there are cost benefits in addition to the requirements of safety regulations in regular maintenance and ductwork cleaning of air systems for heating. By Ali Withers. http://www.pro-ductclean.com/air-duct-cleaning.asp
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