Post Construction Air Duct Cleaning
DO YOU WANT A NEW CLEAN HVAC SYSTEM OR DO YOU WANT A NEW DIRTY ONE?
If you don’t like the weather in Houston, wait 15 minutes. 50 weeks out of the 52 of the year, you will be running your air conditioning system. Some days, heat in the morning and cooling at night and some days cooling in the morning and heat at night.
During the construction phase of either a commercial project or a residential project, remodeling or renovation projects, the General Contractor is going to start running the HVAC systems as soon as it is possible. This is done to control moisture through out the construction process for the benefit of interior fit and finishes.
Too often we see the failure to properly filter the returns and air handlers to protect them from the construction dust during the building process, assuming the components are clean when we they are installed. Most commercial ductwork is delivered with an oily film to prevent rust and corrosion during shipping. The construction process inside a building generates dust. Even with filters in place, dust will settle inside the duct work, and as we all know, filters do not stop all the construction particulates.
On more and more new construction projects we are seeing that the engineer is specifying a “Post Construction” cleaning of the air ducts and air handlers before turning the facility over to the owners. After all, they paid for new CLEAN ductwork, why not get it?
Short of providing spot cooling and completely sealing the HVAC system during the construction process of any project, you cannot prevent dust and debris from contaminating a brand new AHU and ductwork system.
At the end of the project, the owner wants and is paying for, new and CLEAN ductwork. Again, we are seeing more new construction specifications including a post construction clean of the HVAC systems, but we are still seeing too many disputes between the owner, general contractor, and HVAC mechanical at the end of the project because the HVAC mechanical did not see or believe the post construction cleaning requirement.
Moisture in residential projects can be controlled with spot coolers and temporary cooling if needed and the HVAC systems can be kept clean with plastic over the registers and grills, but commercial applications, due to size and duration often must have the HVAC systems functioning prior to building commissioning. All of us as contractors want to provide our customers with attractive, safe, work friendly and clean structures. Both for altruistic and financial rewards. One part of this process is providing a clean and healthy air conditioned building.
Doug Long, ASCS
Power Vac America, Inc.
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