Regular Ductwork Cleaning Helps Banish Circulating Workplace Odours

Having your ductwork cleaning done regularly is a legal requirement for health and safety reasons, but regular ductwork cleaning is also important to minimise unpleasant odours in your kitchen, school, care home or office.

Due to the construction and location of ductwork - usually in dark, sometime damp and confined spaces - all manner of bad odours can emanate from them, including dust, mould, drains and dead animals.

How Inadequate Ductwork Cleaning Can Cause Bad Odours

So what sort of odours can make our ductwork unpleasant and how can we tell what they are? Here are a few examples of the causes of odours, how they may smell and what you can do about them.

Dead animal smells - in the unfortunate event that an animal finds its way into your ductwork and dies, it can cause an unpleasant odour that could range from a vaguely offensive stench through to a sickly sweet smell. It may even smell similar to the reek of a sewer. If there is a dead animal in your ducts, an extra clean to your ductwork cleaning schedule will be needed. At the same time, a thorough inspection of your ductwork will help to identify where an animal may have entered the ductwork system and any corrective action that may be needed.

Other animal smells - if there is, or has been, an animal resident in your premises, hair or dander (dead skin cells) could be building up in your ductwork. This can give rise to smells, especially if damp and/or warm air flows through the ducts. Regular ductwork cleaning will help to prevent animal hair or dander building up to a level where odours can occur.

Mould smells - with the build up of dust and debris in your ductwork, mould can start to settle and grow - especially in warm damp conditions. Regular ductwork cleaning should help to keep this issue to a minimum.

Burning smells - these may indicate an issue with the mechanics of your heating, ventilation or air conditioning system. A heating technician should be consulted immediately in this case. Alternatively it can indicate that debris within the ductwork is being exposed to high temperatures and potentially poses a fire risk - an eventuality which is unlikely to arise if ductwork cleaning is carried out regularly. An immediate inspection of the ductwork and, if necessary, ductwork cleaning should be carried out.

Other smells - if you smell drains, oil, paint or other odours with sources from other systems in your premises, you may need to have your ductwork system inspected to ensure that return air vents are not situated too close to these sources.

More Than Just a Bad Smell

It’s not just the fact that the air that is being pumped around your workplace is tainted with a nasty smell, many of these odours, even the less scary sounding ones, have health and safety implications. Mould and bacteria left to multiply in ductwork can cause serious diseases. And when it comes to Carbon Monoxide, or even a burning smell that is ignored, the consequences could be deadly.

It is for these reasons that you are legally obliged to have your ductwork cleaning carried out regularly. It is also a legal requirement that it should be done by a fully qualified company, recognised by the HVCA. Even if the odour that you can smell comes and goes, it is important to have your ductwork cleaning done, to deal with the underlying problem.

Why Choose Ingot Services for Your Ductwork Cleaning

When you choose Ingot Services for your ductwork cleaning you can rest assured that your ductwork will be cleaned thoroughly and that all sources of smell will be wiped away.

Fully HVCA registered, we are also a member of the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme and a Safe Contractor Registered firm, giving you the assurance that our ductwork cleaning work meets your legal obligations. And with over 25 years’ experience we have an enviable reputation for high quality work and exemplary customer service from each of our fully qualified, insured engineers.

Clients throughout the UK and from a full range of industries enjoy working with Ingot Services, so whether you are a local authority, a school or care home, an office, a Michelin Star restaurant or a pub or café we are the experts to carry out your ductwork cleaning quickly, efficiently and legally.

Ductwork Cleaning - Find out more about eradicating smells with ductwork cleaning from Ingot Services or call to book a no obligation consultation today on 0800 731 7892.