What Tools Are Needed for Air Duct Cleaning?
As an HVAC system is essential for a comfortable environment, clean air ducts are vital for pure indoor air quality. As you spent most of your time indoors, breathing in fresh air is necessary to maintain good health. When you hire an expert, you should have some knowledge about ductwork cleaning. Hence, this article will illustrate what tools are needed for air duct cleaning.
What are the Benefits of Ductwork Cleaning?
The primary role of ductworks is to circulate the air from your heating and cooling system across the indoor space. Therefore, it provides a comfortable environment. Our environment consists of dust, dirt, pollutants, and allergens. It is crucial to invest in duct cleaning tools, as it is beneficial for the following reasons:
- It helps decrease irritants and allergens.
- You can breathe clean air.
- It eliminates foul odors.
- Enhance airflow
- Ensures a clean environment
What Is the Ductwork Cleaning Process?
The Air Duct Cleaning in Norcross, GA, is highlighted below:
- Generate access points by drilling holes in the main trunk pipe. It is necessary to insert tools.
- Position a vacuum close to the return plenum as it helps generate a negative pressure to force out the dirt and debris.
- Using several air-filled tools within the ductwork to push around and push debris towards the vacuum.
Hence, there are many practical tools available in the market for this.
What Tools are Needed for Ductwork Cleaning?
Access Tools
Before starting the Air Duct Sanitizing in Norcross, GA, you will have to access the truck canals. After that your technician may have to form holes to insert air balls, air whips, and brush heads. For these access points, you may need an electric-powered drill or air-filled cutters. At the same time, tin snips are required to clear the edges.
After cleaning, you may have to seal the minor access holes using a rubber duct plug, while the big holes are covered with sheet metal patches using foil tape, duct tape, or gasket tape (for commercial setups).
Cleaning Tools
There are a lot of ductwork wiping tools available in the market for cleaning purposes. The tools help:
- Push
- Blow
- Spin
- Whip
Hence, it helps toss debris and push into the airstream and in the direction of the vacuum. Also, you can connect the tools and nozzles to the rods and cables and then insert them into the ducts.
Revolving Brushes
The revolving brushes that have firm but flexible nylon bristles are perfect for cleaning the sides of the ducts. Therefore, you can use a gentler brush with soft bristles to wipe clean the flex ducts or insulated ducts. Also, you can use high-powered blow jets and air rods to “air-wash” the vents and registers.
Air Whips
Air whips with plastic limbs smack violently against the sides of the ducts to release any debris. Hence, the air blast technique pushes the filth towards the containment system.
Viper Clean Sweep System and Octopus Predator Whip are some examples of multiple-tentacled whips. Thus, it helps thoroughly clean the internal ductwork surface.
Vacuum
Vacuum is the primary tool when you clean your ducts. As it helps create a negative pressure according to the air pressure generated by the compressors. If you are in search of more powerful tools, then truck-mounted vacuum or compressor-fed whips are much better options. Hence, it is an ideal replacement for leaf blower and hand vacuum.
Many HVAC cleaning service providers use gas-powered and truck-mounted vacuums to use the drag power up to 12000 CFMs. And if you do not wish to use truck-mounted systems, you can use portable electric-powered duct-cleaning vacuums. It has a wheeled housing feature that makes it suitable for use in varied spaces. The portable vacuums can rise to 5000 CFMs and can be used in areas where truck-mounted vacuums are not helpful (like on upper floors).
You can also use hand vacuums for several tasks when involved in a cleaning project. The most common examples include hand-held HEPA vacuums and wet vacuums. HEPA filtration is effective for vacuum cleaning when you need to extract water or dry debris blockage from the ductwork.
Compressors
Experts suggest that pneumatically powered tools and equipment are a preferred option for your HVAC cleaning. The reason is that these tools allow you to apply a significant amount of pressure. And the most common method is to supply pressure through an air compressor.
You should know that vacuums work parallel to the compressors. Compressors provide the required air pressure to power the air-filled cleaning tools, including air whips, air wands, and air snakes. These truck-mounted devices can create a pressure of at least 175 psi or more. You can either choose an electric-powered or gas-powered compressor. If you search in the market, there are many portable options available that you can use in high buildings or commercial setups.
Examination Tools
You can use visual examination tools to check the accumulation of dirt, debris, and pollutants in your HVAC system. Moreover, you can monitor the cleaning procedure and analyze the effectiveness of cleaning methods.
Some commonly used tools include:
Hand-held Mirror
If you want a direct view, you can choose a periscope. It is a hand-held mirror with an eyepiece that allows right-angle viewing, usually with an attached light source.
Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
It is a camera system with a 35 mm SLR.
Hand Cleaning Equipment
The hand cleaning set of equipment comprises brushes and air-filled cleaning devices. Hence, you can clean the build-up debris from the ductwork and other HVAC unit components through power brushing and manual brushing.
You can use air-filled devices like blowguns, air skippers, and air whips to force out rigid dust into the collection device.
Conclusion
State-of-the-art duct-cleaning equipment is varied and powerful. It enables effective ductwork cleaning in all kinds of residential and commercial setups. If you have hired a qualified technician or know the skill to use this equipment, you can undoubtedly show remarkable cleaning results.
