Commercial Warehouses: Different Ducts, Different Tools

Recently, Easy Breezy was contracted to clean the duct-work of a medical manufacturing warehouse. This is quite different from your average duct-work. The ducts in this commercial warehouse are big enough for Bruce Willis to climb through them. Some were as wide as 5 feet for their air supply of a 30K square foot building. That’s considerably bigger than the average office or home, which is usually less than 3 feet, for 2500 square feet of space usually found in Logan, Utah.

When it comes to cleaning out ducts like this, the standard tools don’t cut it. So, what is  needed for this?

1. Proper Scheduling

The last thing you want is for a cleaning company to disrupt your business. Our team and our equipment will take up space and working around that can be annoying. That’s why we arrange for our team to come out on a Friday evening and work into Saturday, when the least amount of staff are there. That way, we create as few disruptions to regular business as possible.

2. A Bigger Vacuum

A typical truck mounted vacuum can get 6000 CFM, and portable mounts get even less. The further the hose runs, the more you reduce this power. This may work for a house or small office, but for the kind of ducts in a commercial warehouse, you need something bigger. We use an 8000 CPM vacuum for jobs like this. To make sure we don’t lose power running a hose across a parking lot, we connect this machine directly to the vents, maximizing the power of the vacuum. Along with a specialty air compressor, this allows us to make sure we get all the dust and dirt out of the vents, no matter how big they are.

3. Special Prep-Work

Every warehouse has a different duct layout and this means we have to plan around workstations, shelves, and other things in the warehouse. This includes covering sensitive items and tools. This requires some prep-work.

We also take some extra steps to reduce the dust build-up, making sure the ducts stay cleaned as long as possible. This includes using special cleaners, power washing, and replacing the foam gaskets on vents and furnaces to ensure they’re properly sealed. This creates a more effective airflow in the ducts, improving their performance.

4. Different Clean Up

Big ducts are difficult to completely seal up. This means that as we’re cleaning out the ducts, some dust may come out in unexpected places. This is why we had to put covers over certain areas. Considering this was a medical manufacturing warehouse, the materials stored there need to be kept clean. Even other types of warehouses probably don’t want that dust spread around the storage space. So, once we finish with the main job, we spend extra time cleaning up around the warehouse so that the dust we pulled out of the ducts is fully removed.

The Value of Cleaning Ducts for Commercial Warehouses

There are many benefits to our services, and although there are no official case studies proving the benefits wherever we’re called for, we hear many reports from many customers on how it’s helping them. For businesses they notice the benefits can give them a greater return on their investment.

1. Increased Production

A lot of companies are concerned about hiring people to maintain production goals. Clean air makes for a better work environment. You’ll have less problems with allergies and less sick days for workers. They’ll be in a better mood when they can breathe easy, and happy people work better.

2. HVAC Efficiency

Many of our customers report feeling cooler in the warm season and warmer in the fall/winter without having to increase the temperature settings. It can also improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems, meaning you may be able to save a little money on the power bill.

3.  Less To Clean Up

Your air ducts carry the air all around the building.  If there is less dust in the ductwork there’s less to be blown around workstations and less to clean up.

Give Us A Call Today!

Generally, if you want to get these effects, you should have your warehouse air ducts cleaned at least once every five years. This will provide you with the best results for the investment. So, if you run a commercial warehouse and it’s been a while since you’ve had the air ducts cleaned, consider giving Easy Breezy a call to come out and take a look at the ductwork with you.