Historical buildings – unique cleaning challenges

The UK has a wealth of beautiful historical buildings that people love to visit, but this challenges the Property Manager responsible for keeping visitors to their building safe.

Did you know…. There are approximately half a million listed buildings and structures in the UK, which is estimated to be up to two percent of all buildings.

Facilities Managers tasked with keeping Grade 1 or Grade 2 listed buildings (these are buildings and structures defined by the Secretary of State as being of “special architectural or historic interest”) compliant with twenty-first-century regulations have their challenges, for example:

• Ductwork in unusual spaces!
• Extra time required for the job/extra planning time
• Working with more than one stakeholder/contractor
• Important/priceless artifacts to work around
• Specialist access equipment required

During our 40-plus years of ductwork cleaning, we have encountered all sorts of challenges (particularly access issues) when working in these heritage buildings. Due to the design of the buildings and the materials used, and having to retrofit ductwork, sometimes this necessitates the ventilation taking a more complex route, not a natural route as would be the case in most new buildings. Ductwork that has been retrofitted could be installed beneath the floor or inside a false wall. This can make cleaning it a challenge, but one that our specialist ventilation team is not afraid to shy away from!

A more detailed plan of action with clients is often required to protect certain features of an old building and preserve them for posterity. This usually means a more extensive induction for our ventilation teams – their specialist might have to remove fixtures before we can start, adding extra time to the job.

Traditionally, ductwork is cleaned in one direction i.e. in the direction of the air flow – from the supply air intake via the AHU to the furthest grille and from the extract grille back to the fan and the exhaust.
But sometimes we must figure out alternative solutions to cleaning the ductwork which has led to changes over the years in the way that ductwork has been cleaned. We are always trialling new methods. For example, the use of different chemicals and different cleaning tools such as different sized brushing systems which can be both manual and rotary.

Working in partnership with the client, the M&E contractor, and often other specialised teams can bring challenges. Each group has its non-negotiables which can cause issues for others. One example is when we could not cut in access doors to clean some ductwork in a historic building