Category Archives: specialist cleaning company

Get Air Conditioning Ducts Cleaned Before It Is Needed In The Summer Posted By: Alison Withers

We all hope for a long, hot summer after the grey skies and semi-darkness of the winter, but then we decide it’s all a bit much and we want to use the air conditioning.

There is no denying that a hot, sweltering office can be difficult to work in and concentrate on the task in hand and there is Health and Safety guidance on what is called thermal comfort. It advises that the ideal workplace temperature should be between 13 AND ordm; Centigrade and 16 AND ordm; Centigrade.

It warns that if conditions are too hot and uncomfortable employee complaints may increase, productivity may fall and in some cases people may refuse to work in a particular environment.

However, it also advises that for people to feel comfortable and work productively humidity, air movement and air temperature all need to be assessed.

It is among an employer’s responsibilities to ensure that employees are able to work in an environment at a comfortable temperature. This might mean using air conditioning in hot weather and it may be that many large offices already have ducted air conditioning already installed in the building. Continue reading

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A Regular Ventilation Cleaning Programme Is Only As Good As The People Doing It Posted By: Alison Withers

Air duct systems in buildings where there are large numbers of people need to be as clean and free of potential viruses as possible, whether the people using the buildings are employees, visitors or perhaps patients, school children or frail elderly residents.

Facilities managers often use specialist cleaning services to look after their ventilation systems and ventilation hygiene but how do they know whether the job has been done properly?

If the ductwork is working hard to keep the air clear in a busy commercial, school or hospital kitchen then it is going to need more frequent cleaning using different techniques from the ductwork in an office, for example.

As Health and Safety standards on air quality in buildings become more strict it makes sense to ask about the training of employees of the specialist company that is going to carry out ventilation cleaning. Ductwork can be old and the technology may have changed. What activities are carried out in the building can also make a difference. Continue reading

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The Predicted Impacts Of Climate Change Suggest That Business Should Act To Protect Buildings Posted By: Alison Withers

As in other places changes in the weather pattern in the UK as a result of climate change are predicted to have implications for the health and wellbeing of people working and living in all kinds of buildings.

According to the UK Climate Change Impact Programme (UKCIP) the UK’s annual average temperature may rise by between 2C (based on the low emissions scenario) and 3.5 AND deg;C (high emissions scenario). High summer temperature will become more frequent.Globally, the 2000s was the warmest decade in central England since records began in 1850.

Among other predictions are that heat-related deaths could increase to around 2,800 cases per year, food poisoning cases could increase by an estimated 10,000 extra cases of salmonella infection per year and air pollution could also worsen.All this has implications for the occupants of any building inmultiple use, whether it is schools, hospitals, residential care homes or offices. Infrastructure and buildings may not be resilient to climate change.

There is, however, an Extreme Weather Plan, which includes primary care trusts and local authorities issuing advice to occupants and staff of residential and nursing homes. Continue reading

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Elderly Care Home Residents Are Vulnerable To Air-borne Infections Spread Via Duct Systems Posted By: Alison Withers

Heating, ventilation or air conditioning is usually supplied in large commercial buildings via a duct system.

Duct systems are not only found in offices and factories, they are also used in hospitals, schools and multiple occupation residential and care homes for the elderly.

Depending on their age the materials used for their components can be anything from metal channels to fibreglass to plastics, sometimes covering duct tubes constructed of coiled wire.

The typical system will include the ducting, inspection hatches, junctions and duct branches, where the ducts are directed through all parts of the building as well as air blowers for moving the air through the system and smoke or fire dampers.

There are several good reasons for ensuring that a duct system is working well and in good repair.

Perhaps the most important is that the quality of air in the system needs to be maintained for the health of the building’s occupants.

In the case of residential or care homes, where occupants are likely to be elderly, frail and less mobile this can be particularly important. Adequate heating and good air quality are plainly going to be essential to people with a higher than average vulnerability to infections. Continue reading

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It’s Not Impossible To Maintain And Clean Antiquated Duct Systems Posted By: Alison Withers

You are the new facilities manager for a large organisation operating from a number of antiquated buildings.

The records show that the duct systems were installed in some of the buildings many years ago, that access is difficult and that they will not be straightforward to maintain.

Part of your role, however, is to make sure there is a high level of hygiene and air quality in the organisation’s buildings, for the employees who work in them and for the members of the public who visit, to both of whom the organisation has a duty of care.

Also any cleaning cannot be allowed to disrupt the work in a busy environment.

Funds are in short supply and replacing antiquated systems is too expensive so is there any way you can improve the situation?

With help from an experienced, professional duct cleaning service you can do a vaiety of things. First is to have the system thoroughly appraised to find out how dirty it is and then look at affordable ways of improving access to clean them. You will then be in a better position to set up a regular schedule of inspection, maintenance and cleaning. Continue reading

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