Expand Your Services…
And Improve Indoor Air Quality for Your Customers                                           by Pat Hyland, Rotobrush^® International LLC

 “Over 97% of 97,000 homes tested were found to have lower than acceptable levels of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ).”
-AirAdvice State of Our Indoor Air Report 2007

In today’s air-tight homes and other buildings, indoor air quality (IAQ) is a growing concern for many people. That is why more and more contractors choose to add air duct cleaning to their service offerings and to become an 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 air duct cleaning services?

People 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.
  
  
• Most consumers 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 air duct video inspection

There are three reasons why you should always use a video inspection system:

1.) To verify that the ducts need to be cleaned and sell the services when a homeowner may not even realize a problem exists;
2.) To assist you in proper duct cleaning; and
3.) To confirm to yourself and your customer that the ducts were properly cleaned.


When you are already in a home or other job site, pull out your video inspection system to show the owners 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 air duct cleaning process

The first step in air duct cleaning is to remove all of the registers to clean them. 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. Start by cleaning the supply runs, beginning with the furthest air duct away from the air handler. Work your way back towards the air handler, cleaning the remaining air ducts. This will allow you to overlap air ducts to ensure complete cleaning. 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, if a filter was used at all). An active video inspection system is handy for viewing the cleaning of all of this dirt and debris.

More than air duct 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 unit. Some states require an HVAC license for accessing the ductwork; so always check with your local authorities. After you clean the air handler, you can offer your customer the option to fog the duct system with a deodorizer / bacteriostat. Fogging is a great add-on service to offer your customers, and they love the pleasant smell left in their home. 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 customer loyalty.

Add-on sales

IAQ is a natural extension of many service providers’ existing offerings, such as HVAC, carpet cleaning, chimney cleaning, janitorial services, water treatment, restoration services and more. 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.

Taking the Next Step

Rotobrush^® International LLC, based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, 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. Call Rotobrush at 1-800-535-3878 to speak to an expert business consultant today or visit http://www.rotobrush.com/.