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Cleaning best practice
The short answer
A genuine duct clean uses rotary brushing or compressed air with the system under negative pressure and a HEPA collection unit, and it is documented with photographs.
A vacuum pushed into the first metre of a duct behind the grille is not a duct clean. The run continues well beyond where an arm reaches.
How it is done
- Put the system under negative pressure so dislodged debris travels to the collector.
- Agitate mechanically along the run, not just at the openings.
- Include the coil, the blower and the condensate tray.
- Photograph the interior before and after, at named access points.
Why it matters
Because the work happens out of sight, documentation is the only way a client can tell a full clean from a grille wipe. That is why we photograph rather than describe.
questions
Asked about this
Typically every two to three years in a family home, sooner after construction work, a leak, or if there is visible growth or a persistent smell.
Only after mechanical cleaning, and sparingly. Fogging a dirty duct coats the dirt rather than removing it.
references
Background reading
- Duct (flow) — Wikipedia
- HEPA — Wikipedia
External encyclopaedia entries for the underlying concepts. They explain the science; the practice above is how we apply it in UAE properties.