Ventilation Cleaning – it’s all in the process
By Matthew Saunders, National Sales Manager for Air Services
So, you’ve established that your ventilation system requires a clean, and now you have a team coming to the site to clean your system; what should you expect to be happening?
Well, the process can be quite different depending on the size of the system, its use and accessibility and the type of contamination. Our method of cleaning will always be written in an approved method statement and risk assessment, to ensure safety and best practice on site.
Setting Up
Getting kit onto site is the next step. Our team will arrive and follow any site stipulated procedures. This may include, inductions, health & safety briefing, signing in procedures, obtaining permits etc.
We may use different forms of access equipment, such as podium steps, mobile towers or powered access equipment depending on the access requirements. In order to access the internal ductwork surface, we may also need to install access doors, or require a client to organise builders hatches to be fitted before this process.
Read more about installing access doors on our blog here: The importance of the right access door – Swiftclean (UK) Limited
Equipment
Mechanical brushing can be an effective method to clean ventilation systems, but its suitability depends on the specific circumstances of each job. That’s why we conduct a thorough survey of every job that we quote for. We carefully examine the finer details of the task at hand and consider both practicality and efficiency to ensure the best possible outcome, which is a clean and compliant ventilation system.
The process
A mechanical brushing system will agitate all internal surfaces of the ductwork by rotating cleaning brushes at variable speeds all of which rotate clockwise and anticlockwise.
Flexible brushes of varying length, diameter and bristle grade are chosen to suit the duct to be cleaned. Following mechanical agitation, an air lance is used to guide dislodged debris towards an external extract fan for its removal from the system. The extract fan keeps the ventilation system under negative pressure during this process.
Any heavier or more stubborn debris