VENTILATION & HVAC AIR DUCT CLEANING/ DISINFECTION

The ventilation systems in general
It has been found, that 40 % of the contaminants in indoor air come along with the incoming ambient air, via ventilation systems. The distances between filters in these incoming air ducts are often too long, and impure air may flow past them. Thus, regardless of the filters in the ventilation system, some particulate contaminants from the outdoor air will enter the system and accumulate on the inner surfaces of the ventilation equipment or flow with the incoming air into the ventilated spaces themselves. And that's not all. Contaminants may accumulate during the manufacture, transport, storage and installation of the ventilation equipment, and thus lower the quality of the incoming air. The contaminants originating from equipment manufacture include oil residues in the ducts. Equipment which is transported and stored in unprotected form may collect contaminants from the outdoor air and the ground. During installation, particulate contaminants such as cement dust and metal powder may also accumulate. The dirt that collects in ventilation equipment and on duct walls and in various heat recovery, refrigerating, humidifying and air distribution equipment may act, in humid conditions, as a fertile soil for microbes.

Almost anything can be found in ventilation ducts that have not been cleaned - ranging from building waste to bird carcasses and excrement. Air inlets polluted by organic waste may become colonies of microbiological compounds which spread with the ventilation system throughout the whole building.

The Solution
Since recently, inspections of the cleanliness of ventilation ducts have normally been done by taking samples and making sensory inspections via the inspection hatches and at the incoming or outgoing air valves only. The ducts have not normally been inspected throughout their whole length, and post-cleaning quality assurance inspections have normally been done insufficiently, from the inspection hatches only.

MONIMAX, with the aid of Lifa Air innovative equipment ensures that cleanliness inspections of the ventilation systems are done thoroughly and well. Remote-controlled video camera robots and systems that have been specially developed, makes it possible to survey cleaning needs, and check the quality of cleaning afterwards.

The cleaning principle/ methodology followed, is clearly defined in Lifa’s Cleaning Concept.

In practice, duct cleaning is achieved with the aid of a hydraulically operated flexible shaft rotating at high speed, equipped with a brush adaptor at one end, suitable to accept a variety of brushes, in different sizes and construction materials. The high speed rotation enables the brush to adequately scratch the duct surfaces and remove the debris attached to it. The accumulated debris is then curried away via a powerful vacuum collection unit, equipped with a series of filters, including a HEPA filter, to ensure that no dust particles will escape to the atmosphere. Cleaning equipment

Similarly, the disinfection is achieved with the use of different spraying nozzles, specially designed for this purpose, attached to the same rotating shaft. A pressurized tank is also used, to convey the disinfection liquid through a hose to the spraying nozzle.
Disinfection equipment

View video during inspection & cleaning

Regulations on cleaning ventilation ducts in Cyprus and other EU Countries

Since 2011, a comprehensive European standard (EN15780:2011) was published regarding the cleanliness of ventilation systems, to clear out the confused picture which existed all over Europe in the previous years, prevailing all national standards.

Cyprus was harmonized with the above mentioned standard in 2013.