For several months, we have had to collectively endure international bickering regarding whether COVID-19 is or is not an airborne virus.
Now we know that it IS IN FACT airborne.
We also understand how the large droplets that contain active viruses become airborne and travel to infect people even when we are practicing proper social distancing guidelines.
We even know that there are two basic strategies that can help reduce the threat of infection:
1. Add more fresh air.
2. Remove the active virus from the existing air.
The former is easier to achieve than the latter. The reason removing active viruses from the air is so difficult is because there are so many places the droplets can hide.
One of the most overlooked places that coronavirus droplets can hide is inside air ducts. This makes air ducts a potential conduit to spread COVID-19. In this post, our Clean Air Solutions specialists will tell you how to stop that from happening inside your space.
PSSST. Be sure to read through to the end for a special limited time offer!
The Problem With Ventilation
Ventilation – the process of adding more fresh, oxygenated air to a space – is always a good idea. At least in theory…
Since the onset of COVID-19, we have one big problem though: how does all that fresh air get into your home or workplace?
In most cases, it isn’t because you opened a window or left the door ajar. You are using your HVAC fan and blower to pull fresh air in from outside and push it into your space.
If you have a central (ducted) HVAC system, what this means is all that fresh air has to pass through your duct system to get to you.
This was fine when we still thought that COVID-19 could be stopped by simply social distancing from the virus. The moment we discovered it was an airborne virus, all that changed.
Now, guess what the fresh incoming air is likely to pick up along the way? If you guessed “coronavirus droplets” you now understand why indoor air duct cleaning is suddenly on everybody’s radar.
True, the increase in fresh incoming air can have a diffusing impact on the density of active virus particles, but it is still moving them in the wrong direction – sending them into your space rather than out of your space.
The threat is especially severe in spaces where the minimum recommended ventilation rate is not being met. (The current recommendation is for six complete air changes every hour for a room sized 100 square meters, or 10 x 10, that contains three to four people.)
Unfortunately, the vast majority of homes, workplaces and now schools do not meet this minimum requirement.
How Indoor Air Duct Cleaning Helps to Stop the Spread Of COVID-19
The average air duct has never been cleaned since its original installation. Here at Clean Air Solutions Hamilton, we can personally attest to this as fact.
Most of our customers have inherited their air duct system along with their home or commercial building. They have no record of past maintenance from the prior owner. This means that the majority of our clients who schedule an indoor duct cleaning service with us have never done so before.
Even if we didn’t know that though, it is easy to tell as soon as we hook up our tiny camera and take a look inside the air ducts themselves.
(Curious to see what we see inside the average air duct before we clean it? Watch this short video and find out.)
We now know that the reason COVID-19 is airborne has to do with evaporation and air quality, or rather a lack thereof. At first, the droplets are large and heavy, but as evaporation goes to work, the droplets get smaller and lighter.
If the air is filled with floating micro-particulate solids like dust, pollen, dander, mould spores and ash, the smaller droplets can hitch a ride on top of them and travel greater distances.
They can enter air ducts and travel from room to room and floor to floor. This is how COVID-19 has spread in some multi-unit dwellings, infecting people who are using common areas like elevators and laundry facilities.
Once COVID-19 has entered the air duct system, there are only a handful of options to remove it.
Adding a HEPA filter can trap some of the circulating droplets as they re-enter the duct system.
Adding an ultraviolet air purifier can de-activate some of the droplets as they pass over the HVAC coils.
As for the rest of the harmful droplets? They will have to be manually removed from the ducts. They must be removed in such a way that none of the particles can escape during the removal process, thus re-entering the air supply.
How Indoor Air Duct Cleaning Works to Remove Droplets
Air duct cleaning can:
- Reduce the levels of dirt and debris.
- Reduce the levels of mold.
- Reduce the levels of pollen.
- Reduce the levels of dust mites.
- Improve the efficiency of your HVAC system.
- Reduce asthma and allergy symptoms.
- Improve your home’s indoor air quality.
There are many different types of indoor air duct cleaning technologies. Our qualified HVAC technicians at Clean Air Solutions Hamilton use a negative-pressure, commercial grade, RotoBrush hose and brush system with a built-in HEPA filter-equipped vacuum.
The whole duct cleaning process takes about half a day for our HVAC technicians to complete. Trapped matter is dislodged and extracted securely so that there is zero discharge back into the indoor air.
At the end of the process, many of our Clean Air Solutions customers remark that they suffer much less from seasonal allergies, cold and flu. It is also possible to safely add extra ventilation after duct cleaning.
Take 10 Percent Off Any Duct Cleaning Package!
Our commercial-grade indoor air duct cleaning, deodorizing and sanitizing service at Clean Air Solutions Hamilton features the unstoppable RotoBrush System.
Right now, take 10% OFF any of our three popular duct cleaning packages.
When you book now, we will also give you a $50 credit towards any whole-home humidifier purchase and installation.
Contact Our Qualified HVAC Technicians At Clean Air Solutions Hamilton
Here at Clean Air Solutions in Hamilton, we are considered an essential business and remain open to serve our customers safely with contact-less options during this difficult time.
Ready to amp up your indoor air quality? Give our friendly, knowledgeable experts at Clean Air Solutions a call at 1-905-549-2470 or visit us online.
