Equipment for cleaning ventilation systems, ventilation ducts and air ducts

Are you in doubt about the need to clean the exhaust ventilation? The speed of air movement in the ventilation ducts of an apartment building before cleaning is less than 0.3 meters per second. After it - 1.5 meters per second. A simple procedure increases air exchange in the apartment 5 times!

During operation, particles of fat and dust are deposited on the walls of the ventilation ducts. Over time, the thickness of the dust layer can reach several centimeters.

Dirt can be blown into the apartment during reverse draft! The need to clean the ventilation is brewing. Next, you will learn: how ventilation ducts are cleaned at various facilities, what equipment is needed, what disinfection is and when it is needed.

The need to clean the ventilation

A dusty network of ventilation ducts is an excellent conductor of fire during a fire. Dry, greasy dust ignites instantly, suffocating poisonous smoke spreads through the air ducts into the apartments.

Allergens, microbes, fungal spores are removed from the premises through ventilation ducts. They settle on a dusty "fur coat" inside and from there can spread to neighboring apartments, making the air inhaled by people dangerous.

At the same time, good ventilation provides residents with clean air, regulates humidity, and prevents mold growth.

The following signs indicate that ventilation ducts need cleaning in an apartment building:

• dust, cobwebs collect around the ventilation grill;
• dust accumulates on the floor a day after cleaning;
• the rooms become stuffy, especially in the hot season, which was not previously observed.

Cleaning of ventilation systems in an apartment is required much more often than city dwellers think. But this procedure can only be carried out by specialists. Residents are only allowed to clean the ventilation in the apartment, it is strictly forbidden to climb into the common house networks!

Cleaning ventilation in the apartment

You can independently clean the ventilation duct area adjacent to the apartment. You will need the simplest equipment to clean the ventilation:

• long wire with a metal "hedgehog" at the end;
• broom or brush with a long handle;
• a vacuum cleaner;
• respirator, rubber gloves.

Work progress:

• Remove the ventilation grill and mesh (if any), wash;
• Carefully sweep away dust from the walls of the ventilation duct with a broom;
• "Hedgehog" on a wire walk up the channel as far as you can, rotate it around the axis, scraping dirt from the walls;
• Vacuum the dust from the canal.

When taking on this dirty job, be prepared to find disgusting build-ups of dust and sometimes even insects in the ventilation!

Self-cleaning does not always bring results. Then you need to contact a specialized company.

Professional ventilation cleaning

Companies engaged in professional cleaning of ventilation ducts are equipped with modern equipment for diagnostics and work. All procedures are carried out without the disturbance of people working or living in the building.

Ventilation diagnostics

A video camera attached to a ventilation cleaning robot examines every meter of air ducts, detects congestions, blockages and the most dusty places. A ventilation cleaning robot, equipped with a spotlight, travels through the duct and transmits information to a computer monitor. The degree of contamination is determined and the ventilation system is cleaned.

Before cleaning the ventilation, the robot takes samples from the surfaces of the ventilation ducts. The washings are tested in the laboratory, where the causative agents of tuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus and mold spores are often found. Staphylococcus aureus is very dangerous for restaurants and cafes, where, if ingested, it can cause massive poisoning. Therefore, in addition to cleaning the ventilation system, disinfection will also be necessary.

Complex cleaning of large ventilation systems includes:

• cleaning of ventilation shafts and chambers;
• cleaning the blades of the supply and exhaust fans;
• cleaning of air ducts of especially large diameters;
• removal of dirt from the walls of small-diameter ventilation ducts;
• replacement of filters.

There are two ways to professionally clean the ventilation system:

• mechanical;
• chemical.

Industrial methods allow you to clean even dense fat deposits from the walls of air ducts and disinfect surfaces.

Preventive cleaning is essential to keep mechanical exhaust ventilation systems in working order. In some cases, it is necessary to disassemble the air ducts for better cleaning of certain areas or install hatches.

If the ventilation is equipped with inspection windows and openings, CIP cleaning is possible.

Types of ventilation cleaning equipment:

• electromechanical installations;
• high pressure vacuum installations;
• industrial vacuum cleaners;
• installations with turbines and pneumatic drive for brushes;
• equipment for processing ventilation ducts with chemical reagents;
• filtration installations.

In the mechanical method of cleaning ventilation ducts, industrial vacuum cleaners, compressed air installations, and cleaning mechanisms are used.

The ventilation network is divided into sections, from one end of the section a filtration unit works, from the other there is a cleaning mechanism. It consists of rigid brushes mounted on a flexible shaft. The shaft length can be up to 30 m.

Cleaning ventilation ducts

Ventilation systems of large enterprises usually consist of large-diameter air ducts located at a height, so cleaning work presents certain difficulties. In some cases, cleaning is carried out with conventional brush mechanisms with enlarged brushes. Sometimes people in protective suits and masks with special vacuum cleaners descend directly into the canal. In some cases, scaffolding is built to penetrate the air ducts, and hatches are made in their walls.

The chemical method is based on the effect of substances on dust and mud deposits in the walls of air ducts. Reagents dissolve fat, soot, soot. In this case, professional cleaning agents are used, which are not available in retail.

Cleaning ventilation from fat in a restaurant

Restaurant ventilation is an accumulator of grease and dust, more than others requiring periodic cleaning. The procedure is carried out by specialized firms. The ventilation in restaurants is cleaned of grease during off hours.

Oil droplets and dust particles accumulate on the inner walls of ventilation ducts, exhaust hoods, reducing the lumen of the pipes. The operation of the exhaust system deteriorates, the load on the fans increases. The air removed from the restaurant kitchen is most often of high temperature, so the mud and grease quickly solidifies, creating a hard layer of hard-to-remove "glaze" on the walls. An environment is formed for the development of harmful microbes, mold and mildew, which are unacceptable in public catering facilities.

Cleaning the ventilation in the restaurant from the accumulated fat is carried out only with professional cleaning solutions.They are applied to the inner walls of the ventilation ducts with a spray gun and washed off under pressure. Hoods and hoods are cleaned with steam generators. Sometimes this is not enough and the hoods are treated with cleaning agents. Thick deposits of hardened fat are cleaned off with stiff brushes, metal channels are pre-frozen.

The whole process of cleaning the ventilation of the catering unit in the video:

The frequency of cleaning the ventilation ducts depends on the intensity of the hot shop. With a normal load, once every 3 months is enough, with an increased load - once every 30 days. Scheduled inspections of the sanitary condition of ventilation are carried out every 6 months. Grease traps are installed so that less fat penetrates into the ventilation. They do not completely solve the problem, but they reduce the area of ​​contamination and allow you to clean the ventilation ducts less often.

Ventilation disinfection

During cleaning of the ventilation system, fan blades, grilles, hatches are disinfected. Disinfection is necessary if laboratory tests carried out before cleaning the ventilation reveal harmful microorganisms in the system. System disinfection is not required for routine ventilation cleanings.

For antimicrobial treatments, a single agent or complex can be used. The choice depends on the characteristics of the ventilation. The disinfectant is sprayed with a soft tube device. A suitable nozzle is put on the end of the tube, which ensures the penetration of the disinfectant into the farthest cracks. In some cases, it is necessary to wipe the treated surface.

After disinfection, an act is drawn up, the quality of work is checked visually, a laboratory analysis of washes from surfaces is done.

Ventilation cleaning equipment

Ventilation cleaning equipment consists of three main components:

• ventilation brushing machine;
• filtering installation;
• vacuum unit.

When choosing equipment, it is very important to decide which objects ventilation needs to be cleaned:

• ventilation ducts of apartment buildings (including garbage chute shafts) and private country houses;
• catering enterprises (restaurants, bars, bakeries, cafes);
• large public buildings (shopping centers, healthcare facilities, office buildings);
• industrial enterprises.

Depending on this, the power and equipment configuration are selected.

Ventilation brushing machines are usually equipped with shafts of 25 - 40 meters. Pneumatic machines clean ventilation with air ducts with diameters of 100 - 1200 mm. Some varieties can be supplemented with disinfection attachments.

Flexible shafts will help you get to hard-to-reach places: valves, grids, branches of the main channels, branch pipes. They are necessary for cleaning ventilation ducts in apartment buildings.

Vacuum installations - the quality of exhaust ventilation cleaning depends on their power. When working with large air ducts, the most powerful units are needed.

In addition to the above equipment from China for cleaning ventilation, it is necessary to purchase another set of brushes. There are 4 degrees of hardness of ventilation brushes: abrasive, hard, extra and standard. You will need inserts, access doors, disinfection kits, and a centering device.

The best equipment is presented by European manufacturers. But it is quite expensive. The electrical part is sensitive to voltage surges in the network. Therefore, many people opt for ventilation cleaning equipment from China. It is cheaper, although the quality of the technology is often unsatisfactory. When buying Chinese ventilation cleaning equipment, you should stop at large manufacturers offering world-class equipment.