For over 30 years, Apex Air Duct Cleaning has been the top choice for New Jersey air duct cleaning and considered the indoor air quality experts. Apex proudly serves New Jersey both residentially and commercially and offers quality workmanship backed by a National Air Duct Cleaning Association certification (NADCA). If your home or business has dirty air ducts and HVAC systems, Apex is the team to call.
Why is it important to have your air ducts cleaned in your home or business?
The HVAC system in your home is the heart and lungs of your home. The air duct system constantly circulates the air in your home as it filters and replenishes. This cycle is constant, so keeping it cleaned is especially important. Here is why.
The HVAC system in your home and office is made up of some key components that clean and deliver the air you breathe. The first component is the fan motor in your furnace or air handler. This is basically like a heart pumping air constantly through the coil, into the supply ducts, out the wall registers, back through the return ducts and through the filter and repeated over and over. This cycle continues all day, filtering the air through the system while filtering out the debris in the air. The debris in the air consists of many different contaminants such as dust, mold pet dander, and human skin. This air duct cleaning process is controlled by the filter in your system, this is why you should change your air filter on a regular basis, so the system can the continue to clean the air ducts in your New Jersey home automatically.
Why is it important to clean your air ducts in New Jersey?
New Jersey is known as the garden State, it has lush, dense woods, sprawling farms and change of seasons. How does all this effect your air ducts in your home? Two words: Seasonal Allergies. The changing of seasons produces excess amounts of pollen in the spring when plants, flowers and trees are coming back to life after a long winter and other dander and molds are prevalent in the fall when most plant life is shedding leaves and going dormant for winter. This is all being expelled into the air you breathe both outside and especially inside of your home. Without a properly cleaned and maintained air duct system your allergies could be triggered or become much worse by inhaling and breathing dirty, pollenated air.
The air duct system in your New Jersey home and business, if properly maintained, can filter these contaminants that contribute to allergies; however, it cannot do it alone. Most allergens are exceedingly small and bypass the filter. Once they are in the duct system of your home, just like snowflakes, they accumulate. All duct systems overtime will accumulate debris such as dust, dirt and debris. Once this debris is in the system, it attracts all other contaminates to it and starts to pile up. Once this debris is built up, it now can hold moisture, just like a dirty sponge. It now becomes a perfect breading ground for growth of harmful bacteria and/or mold spores.
Why is Mold so bad for you?
We all have been exposed to mold at some point in our lives, for some people it is not a concern, but for some, especially people with underlying conditions, such as allergies, asthma or any other respiratory issues, it can be a major health concern. Mold is a living organism that needs all the essentials of life, water, air and food. Mold feeds off the debris supplied the dirt accumulated in the ducts system of your home or business.
How do you know mold is in your air duct system?
Mold can usually be found upon regular inspections of your HVAC system. In more advanced stages of mold growth, you can smell the mildew odor radiating out of your system when you turn on the thermostat. In New Jersey, it is recommended that air ducts are inspected and cleaned in early Spring or early Fall; which marks the beginning of the system’s usage.
How do we get rid of it?
First, the air duct cleaning technician will treat the mold with a chemical to kill the active spores and remove the dead mold growth with air duct cleaning tools. The next step is the most important, which prevents mold from coming back. The technician will find and eliminate the source of the moisture; without water mold cannot grow. In addition, keeping the air ducts cleaned with routine maintenance will help keep mold at bay. If there is not dirt or debris buildup present, it is difficult for mold to grow. Lastly, inst
alling a UV light in the system will ensure a dry and disinfected surface within the air duct to prevent new growth from forming.
UV lights
How does UV lights work?
When UV light is used for sanitizing purposes, it “deactivates” or kills microorganisms, including viruses, bacteria, molds and other fungi by disrupting their DNA. Some deactivate after microseconds of exposure while others require much longer exposure. However, the effectiveness of UV depends on several factors, including:
1. Intensity of lamp(s).
2. Length of time of exposure.
3. A virus, bacteria or mold’s ability to withstand UV Light.
4. The presence of particulate that may protect the organism from exposure by providing shadows or a shielding effect.
5. Increased humidity which may protect the organism.
6. Location of the UVC lamp(s).
7. Ambient temperature.
8. Number of lamps.
9. Reflectivity of surrounding surfaces.
How long does it take to kill a virus, bacteria or microbial growth?
Approximately ten seconds depending on the strength and placement of the UV light.
Can I have this installed in my home? Office? School?
Yes, all the above. These UV lights are ideal for any home, office, school or other facility looking to add an extra layer of protection and cleanliness to their HVAC systems and to ensure they have the healthiest air quality possible. There are instances of UV lights being used in other ways and situations.
For example, the MTA in New York City is currently using a series of UV light devices each night to clean and sanitize the subway cars. Just a few minutes of UV light exposure in every subway car helps to eliminate any potential bacteria or viruses (COVID-19) on the frequently touched surfaces. This could be an especially important factor in reopening schools and other shared spaces in a post-COVID19 world. In addition to having this light installed, it is just important that routine inspections and cleanings are scheduled and performed.
NADCA Certification is the foundation of our New Jersey air duct cleaning business. NADCA, National Air Duct Cleaning Association is the only Nationally recognized educational association. The guidelines and techniques they teach is the foundation of our success. Having a NADCA certification in NJ means we are following the absolute best procedures and using the highest quality tools and equipment in the industry. To learn more about the National Air Duct Cleaning Association – click here.
How do air duct cleaning techniques work?
The 2 key tools are the vacuum and the air compressor. There are 2 different style of vacuums: portable and truck mounted. In the early days of air duct cleaning, only truck mounted units were available. Just like everything else, advanceme
nts in technology made it so a portable version was designed. They both have their pros and cons, but both work very well.
Vacuum collection devices are used to create negative pressure within the HVAC system, in order to control the spread of contaminants during the cleaning process. There are two main types of vacuum collection devices: (1) Those mounted on trucks or trailers, and (2) portable units. Truck/trailer mounted equipment is generally more powerful than portable equipment. However, portable equipment can often be brought directly into a facility, allowing the vacuum source to be located closer to the ductwork. This makes up for the less power as it is directly under the area of the cleaning.
Apex uses a truck mounted 175 psi air compressor to run our air duct cleaning tools. The system we use is called the Viper. The Viper is the most advanced air cleaning system available! Unique skipper ball/whip combination, 5-different multi-action nozzle heads, medium and flexible rods, works in round or square duct, able to clean in one pass, cleans 100 feet of duct through a 1 inch hole and cleans vertical and horizontal ducts at the same time.
To watch The Viper in action click here.
These tools allow us to professionally clean the entire system, including the evaporator coils on your AC unit. The evaporator coils, also known as an “A coil ” is the component the all of the air flows through, and allows for the heat transfer to take place, which cools the air and removes the moisture, making the air in your NJ home comfortable. If this coil becomes clogged with dust or debris, it blocks the air flow and the cooling process, making your system work harder and longer using more energy. Which results in costing you more money. By keeping your system thoroughly cleaned it will pay for itself over time.
In addition to keeping your coil cleaned to save energy, sealing your
duct work can help. Think of your duct work as a leaking tire, the more air that leaks out of it, the harder it is to spin. If the air is leaking out of your duct work, then trying cool or heat the air is that much harder. Therefore, the air escaping needs to be made up through the system, this uses much more time on the system to try to make up for it, so sealing up the leaks will keep the system running efficiently.
In conclusion, keeping your air ducts cleaned through regularly scheduled maintenance can have lasting positive effects on your home or office. These air duct cleanings keep your system running efficiently and keep your family and coworkers healthy.
If you are concerned about the air quality in your home and require a routine cleaning or cannot remember the last time your air ducts were professionally cleaned – it is time to give Apex a call to schedule your New Jersey air duct cleaning. Call us at 732.257.4590 or visit our Property Managers Resource Page
