Monday, January 21, 2008
Expanding Your Services
Pat Hyland, VP, Rotobrush
"Over 97% of 97,000 homes tested were found to have lower than acceptable levels of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)."AirAdvice Inc. 2007
In today’s air-tight homes, indoor air quality (IAQ) is a growing concern for many homeowners. That is why more and more carpet cleaning professionals choose to add air duct cleaning to the list of services they provide. You are already your customers’ authority on cleaning carpet and upholstery; why not be their indoor air quality specialist as well? With the proper tools, you can provide your customers a valuable service and generate incremental revenues for your business.
Why Duct Cleaning?
Homeowners have their air ducts cleaned for several reasons:
* Over the years, air duct systems can accumulate dirt and debris, pet dander, pollen, mold and dust mites.
* Many of these contaminants are the same found in dirty carpet, rugs and upholstery that you clean every day.
* Most homeowners are uneasy knowing that the air they breathe is circulated through these contaminants, not to mention they can aggravate the symptoms of asthma and allergies.
* Other customers view interior dust as a symptom of dirty air ducts, and want the ducts cleaned for that reason alone.
Selling the Job with Video Inspection
There are three reasons why you should always use a video inspection system:
2) To assist you in proper duct cleaning; and
3) To confirm to yourself and your customer that the ducts were properly cleaned.
Rotovision Video Duct Inspection System
When you are in a home cleaning the carpet, pull out your video inspection system to show the homeowners how dirty their air ducts really are. Most people are shocked when they see that the air they breathe travels through dirty air ducts. Once customers see the accumulated dirt and dust hiding in their ducts, they usually schedule a cleaning appointment. The fast and easy video inspection sells the duct cleaning job for you.The Cleaning Process
Air duct cleaning is actually a very simple process when using the proper tools. After the homeowner agrees to the duct cleaning, the first step would be to remove all of the registers for cleaning. A good degreaser applied to the registers and then rinsed with water does the trick.
Always return each register to its previous location.
Next, clean the entire duct system using professional air duct cleaning equipment.
Rotobrush BENEG Duct Cleaning Cabinet
Start by cleaning the supply runs, beginning with the furthest air duct away from the airhandler/furnace. Work your way back towards the air handler/furnace, cleaning the remaining air ducts. This will allow you to overlap air ducts to ensure complete cleaning.
Insertion of brush attachment with vacuum hose into HVAC opening
Closeup of brush attachment
Brush inside flex ductwork
Side view demonstration of brush in ductwork
Cutaway view demonstration of optional whip agitation system with BENEG cabinet
After you clean the supply duct runs, you are ready to clean the cold air return. Typically, because the return draws air to circulate through the system, it has more dirt and debris than the supply (depending on the location of the filter, or even if a filter was used at all. Because the cold air return ducts are dirtier than the supply ducts, it is a great spot to initially show the homeowner. This is where having an active video inspection system is handy.
More Than Cleaning
Air duct cleaning involves more than cleaning the ductwork. The entire air conveyance system needs to be cleaned, so the next step would be to clean the air handling /furnace unit. Some states require an HVAC license for accessing the ductwork, so always check with your local authorities.
The final step is to once again use your video inspection system to show the customer the results. Video inspection is an important tool in air duct cleaning because it lets the customer know the job was done right, increasing referrals and decreasing callbacks.
Add-on Sales
IAQ services are a natural extension of the HVAC, carpet, floor care, chimney cleaning, janitorial and restoration services that are currently offered. Air duct cleaning is a popular choice because of the public’s growing awareness and concern over indoor air quality, which makes it an easy add-on service. Most people are shocked when they see that the air they breathe travels through dirty air ducts.
Rotobrush International LLC, based in Grapevine Texas, has over two decades of experience in the indoor air quality industry. Rotobrush provides air duct and dryer vent cleaning business start-up opportunities and training and manufactures portable air duct cleaning and dryer vent cleaning equipment, parts and accessories, electrostatic filters and video inspection systems. You can check them out on the web at http://www.rotobrush.com/.
Labels: Duct Cleaning, HVAC, IAQ, Indoor Air Quality, Marketing, Rotobrush
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