Air Duct Cleaning Equipment - Compare Choices
Many professional carpet cleaners are adding air duct cleaning to their cleaning services offering. Which air duct cleaning equipment should you choose? Here we compare air duct cleaning equipment, machines, and systems in the market to help you make a great decision on the best air duct cleaning equipment available.
There are basically two methods of air duct cleaning: Negative Air and Rotary Brush. All equipment fall into one of these two categories.
Negative Air: This is the oldest method. Negative air relies on a large vacuum with high CFM. The technician cuts a hole in the ductwork and attaches their vacuum. Basically, the technician just sucks dirt away. There are slight variants, such as: air compressors, air whips, and inflatable bladders that section off ductwork. However, the basic theory is the same: suck loose dirt away. This type of system is usually better for larger commercial & industrial type ductwork. Brushes are too small for 3-foot wide ducts that carry air for hundreds of feet. However, many professionals use Negative Air type systems in residential ductwork. The problem with this is what is air going to do to remove the stuck-on dust & dirt? The answer is nothing! Some systems incorporate "air whips" that randomly fly all over the place supposedly removing dirt. However, air whips are random and only knock some of the dirt off the ductwork.
Rotary Brush: These systems have been around for over 15 years. As homeowners started requesting air duct cleaning, the downsides of Negative Air were quickly discovered. Homeowners were angry paying hundreds of dollars for a cleaning job that didn't even remove dirt off the walls of their ductwork. So, Rotary Brush quickly became the top choice for residential & light commercial ductwork. However, there are some flaws to many rotary brush systems out there. Many systems attach a brush to the end of the vacuum hose. This type of setup restricts the brush from making its way down the duct, because it gets caught up on twists and turns of the ductwork. It can also cause blockage in the vacuum hose, because the cable runs inside the vacuum hose. However, there are a couple systems on the market that overcome the flaws by separating the brush from the vacuum hose. The SpinVax 1000XT and the SpinDuct not only overcome the flaws, but they also improve on the brushing process using their self-adjusting, angled brush technologies. This is why we recommend these two systems for those looking to clean residential & light commercial air ducts.
Our Choices:
SpinVax 1000XT Air Duct Cleaning System
SpinDuct Air Duct Cleaning System