Different Methods of Duct Cleaning

Duct cleaning has evolved through the years with each new method offering unique claims for how well they will clean your ducts. So which method is best?

Shop Vac Method
	Some duct cleaning companies invest very little in their equipment and choose to use Shop Vacs, passing these off as adequate air duct cleaners. However, the best these vacuums can clean is a few feet down each opening. Most of the duct work remains untouched and therefore not cleaned. RANK: 1/5
Vacuum & Brush Method
	These medium sized vacuum systems have longer hoses which are pushed through your ducts along with a spinning brush. This brush loosens dirt and dust where it can reach, and works much better than a shop vac. However, this method offers inadequate suction to lift and pull out heavy debris as shown below. This is especially noticeable in the 'return air' or 'cold air return' ducts which collect the most debris. RANK: 1.5/5
Hepa Vacuum Method
	Next in line is an even larger portable duct vacuum with a Hepa air filter system inside. Suction is increased to 2,000 or sometimes even 4,000 cubic foot of air per minute. This is much more impressive than the suction of the previous method. This vacuum gets connected right to the ductwork of the furnace and the service person will generally use air tools from each vent to force dust and debris down towards the Hepa vacuum. The value in using this unit is that the Hepa filters keep dust from reentering the house. RANK: 2/5
Portable Truck Unit Method
	These cube vans or box trucks have a portable truck mounted vacuum unit running on a 50 horse power motor that suction and provide forced air pressure. Some may run off of a PTO (Power Take Off) from the vehicles engine. From these trucks the service person runs a hose into the home (usually an 8” hose ) and down to the furnace room where they connect the hose to the main duct work. Now this method certainly has much more power than the others mentioned so far, they usually create a suction of up to 10,000 cubic foot of air per minute. While the truck is creating the suction the high pressure air line and air tool force the soil down the vents and out to the truck. Since the soil is being sucked out, there is no need to have a Hepa air filter system. RANK: 2.5/5
Full-Size Truck Unit Method
	Built exclusively for duct cleaning, these trucks cost up to $150,000 each and are designed with powerful vacuums running directly off the truck engine through a PTO (Power Take Off). These trucks generally have a 7.3 diesel engine powering a suction fan that draws 18,000 cubic foot of air per minute and exhausts through 12 large filter bags which pop up through the top of the truck. RANK: 5/5 Service technician’s connect an 8” suction hose to the truck and run this hose into your home and down to the furnace area where they connect to the main duct work near the furnace. While the suction is pulling the air rapidly out at high velocity, a high pressure air compressor hose is used along with a variety of air tool accessories to help dislodge soils, hair, and dust debris which is sucked down through the vents and out to the truck filters. These specially designed blowing attachments are specifically made for different types of duct setups and powered by the truck's compressor providing 200 pounds of air pressure to dislodge all sorts of dirt and debris.

Our Full-Size Truck Setup

Once you book an appointment with us, our staff will call between 8-8:30am on the morning of the appointment, to set the time we will arrive to start cleaning your ducts.

We usually park our truck in the driveway and bring the large 8” hose from the truck into your home and down to the furnace room. We then connect the suction hose to the main ducts (supply and return) coming out of the furnace.

Once the truck's suction has been turned on, the vacuum puts your home's duct work into a negative air pressure, pulling air out of the ducts and into our truck. High pressure air tools force dust and debris off the inner walls of the duct work and force it towards the vacuum hose and out to the truck. Once we have pushed the soil down all the vents that are attached to that duct work we use a different air tool called a skipper ball. This unique tool has small holes through which high pressure air is forced out, bouncing the skipper ball deep into the ducts. The position of the holes twist the hose forcing it to whip around knocking the remaining soil off the inner walls. The same procedure is repeated until the ducts are clean.

The best duct cleaning service is available in areas of Hamilton, Burlington, Brantford, and St Catharines.