Talking HVAC

 

Amer Jaber, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Healthy Home, talks about the importance and methods of HVAC cleaning

 

Filed under
Specialised Cleaning
 
June 20, 2018
 
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Talking HVAC
 
In the past few years, we have seen a fast-tracked global trend in the IEQ industry (Indoor Environmental Quality) mainly addressing the need to have superior indoor environments and the need to move away from sick building syndrome. The statistics are alarming whereby indoor air pollution, the degradation of indoor air quality by harmful chemicals and other pollutants and microorganisms, can be up to 10 times worse than outdoor air pollution.
 
As a result, we have seen a real revolution in the industry driven by primarily increasing the awareness around this topic and creating the need for ‘professional’ cleaning and sanitation solutions and technologies that go beyond the ducting to cover the complete HVAC system and thus addressing the threat at core.

The process

Bringing it down to the bare minimum, we have found that the frequency of duct cleaning depends on the weather conditions in the region it is being carried out. For instance, in the Middle East, due to the extreme weather conditions in the Middle East with predominantly high temperatures, humidity and frequent sand storms, we advise on having a full HVAC cleaning & sanitation annually and a quarterly cleaning of diffusers and filters. However, this does differ from building to building.

At the Healthy Home we have established a patented treatment process under the name of Pure Air® where we commit on delivering a comprehensive and thorough quality across our residential, corporate and hospitality divisions using the latest technology in the industry. As for the frequency, it really depends on the air quality assessment, which determines the amount of air pollutants and VOCs. Our research identified that spaces with high turnover such as corporate spaces and hotels need to have their AC system fully cleaned every 6 months versus 12 months for residential homes with a minor quarterly cleaning of diffusers and filters.

Repercussions of a badly maintained duct Indoor pollutants in dust and air are often generated from sources such as environmental tobacco smoke, building materials, furniture, cleaning and hygiene products, air fresheners, computers, printers, cooking and other indoor activities, and from people themselves. Repercussions are numerous and range from affecting one’s general wellbeing and energy levels to aggravating symptoms of common respiratory illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis to name a few.

Therefore it is important to indulge in best practices; it has been established by NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaners Association) that the term “air duct cleaning” is somewhat outdated and those in the know realize the need for comprehensive “HVAC system cleaning” to deliver superior Indoor Air Quality (IAQ).

Technologies

Our patented Pure Air® includes 9 steps using state of art European technology consisting of the globally recommended “push-pull method”. We use a technologically advanced brushing robot device equipped with suitable brushes to agitate and loosen the dust, all the interior duct surfaces will be isolated one section at a time and deep cleaned from the air supply point until the exit diffusers. All dust and debris will be collected by our unique Three-Stage Filtration suction technology machine which is equipped with HEPA technology to contain 99.97% of all particles at 0.3 micron in size. Robotics had made an entry to the industry few years back but most of the fully robotic cleaning equipment still have limitations versus the hybrid cleaning methods.

Consumer awareness & challenges

Awareness about the importance of periodical full HVAC cleaning and the associated health benefits is still at its infancy in the region. Most importantly, there should be additional awareness regarding the need to move beyond ducting to include the full HVAC system following global industry standards and specifications, especially by translating benefits into better client satisfaction in the B2B2C segment.

The industry and legislators should work proactively on establishing proper & scientific “Healthy” indoor norms across the different types of indoor spaces such as hotels, educational facilities, medical facilities and even residential Other than setting a scientific legislative framework, our biggest challenge remains the unfair comparison between specialized IAQ certified industry experts and main-stream facility management & AC maintenance companies on the basis of pricing regardless of quality, process and scope.