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Make informed choices on air duct cleaning.

Duct Cleaning Methods

You might be comparing apples to oranges when it comes to hiring a duct cleaning company.

Negative Air vs Rotary Brush Duct Cleaning is like comparing Apples to Oranges

When searching for a professional duct cleaning company, we are your right choice providing affordable yet high-quality services. Read on to learn more about the types of duct cleaning!

The Two Major Methods of Duct Cleaning

There are two types of duct cleaning. Negative Air method (what we do) and Rotary brush method. While both remove dust and other debris from your system, they differ in the results they achieve. The National Air Duct Cleaning Association (NADCA) recognizes the Negative Air as the most comprehensive method. Companies throughout the industry, however, practice both methods. Below are the differences between the two:

Vacuum strength

A Negative Air machine typically vacuums at 2000cfm whereas a Rotary brush system (Rotobrush, Ram Air, Goodway, Ductmaster, Rotovac) vacuums at 300cfm on the high end. The more powerful Negative Air system removes far more dust, dander, pollen, mold, mildew.

Debris size

Negative Air systems remove not only dust, but also larger pieces of construction debris, plaster, rodents, and even toys! Rotary brush systems cannot collect larger pieces of debris due to small nozzle size. Large objects block their vacuum system.

HVAC dampers

Some homes have dampers which are moveable plates inside the ductwork which direct airflow to specific areas of the home. These dampers are often in zone control systems. Negative Air machines are well equipt to work with dampers and they do not pose any issues. A Rotary Brush system cannot pass through dampers.

Smaller ductwork

A Negative Air system handles sharp turns and smaller ductwork with ease because the air sweep and brush are smaller than an inch in diameter. The 3 inch brushes of the Rotary Brush get caught in small ductwork.

Trunklines and plenums

A trunkline is a line of ducting that serves as the distribution source for your HVAC system. The plenums are the pieces that join your HVAC equipment and ductwork, allowing circulation between the two. A Negative Air system cleans the trunklines and plenums whereas a Rotary brush system does not create any negative pressure and is unable to clean these areas.

How it works

NEGATIVE AIR

At 4 Seasons we use the Negative Air. We connect the negative air machine to the ductwork or plenum which puts it under negative pressure. We then use a camera and agitation tools to dislodge the contaminates found inside. The Negative air machine sucks the light particles into the attached containers. The heavy particles fall to the bottom of the ductwork and air scrubbing tools force them toward the vacuum. Negative air cleans the entire HVAC system. And, in addition to all of this, we even clean the vent covers for you!

ROTARY BRUSH

Rotary Brush machines are equipt with a vacuum in the center of the brush. The spinning motion of the brush throws debris in every direction. The suction of the rotary brush vacuum picks up smaller particles, but is not strong enough to vacuum heavier objects. The larger particles may remain at the bottom of the vent after duct cleaning. Since the Rotary Brush uses no negative air pressure in the ventilation system, the dirt thrown can also escape into the home through seams in the ductwork. The Rotary Brush method misses the goal of cleaning all the dust, debris and other contaminants from the home.

Negative Air is the Winner!

In our opinion Negative Air is the winner. Now that you know how to compare air duct cleaning, which would you choose?