Air Hygiene Cleaning
A nationwide supplier of specialist commercial air hygiene cleaning services
Air hygiene cleaning – not your cup of tea, but our bread and butter.
The Gold Standard for
Air Hygiene Cleaning
With hygiene regulation evolving more quickly than ever before, it is essential that commercial properties and public buildings alike work to maintain the cleanliness and functionality of their ventilation systems in order to ensure their legal operation and the safety of all building users. Ingot Services’ air hygiene cleaning services offer a comprehensive solution to the rising challenges surrounding changing legal requirements and increased ventilation system upkeep: professional, certified cleaning conducted on a fully tailored basis.
Working to fulfil all guidelines outlined in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1973, Ingot’s air hygiene cleaning services are undertaken by Vent Hygiene Elite qualified professionals – ensuring our consistent delivery of gold standard, certified service to businesses across all sectors.
Fully Tailored Service
As long-established industry experts, the Ingot Services team understand that scheduling ventilation and ductwork cleaning can prove challenging for operating businesses. That’s why we’ve worked to develop a highly flexible air hygiene cleaning format, available on both a one-off, and regular service, and both within, and outside of working hours, causing minimal disruption.
Regular Air Hygiene Cleaning
Our regular hygiene cleaning service is highly suited to spaces or systems subject to frequent use. This service ensures all aspects of ductwork and ventilation equipment are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, creating a safer environment for all building users.
Ingot Services’ qualified experts are happy to assist in establishing a suitable hygiene cleaning frequency for your ventilation system via consultation call.
One-Off Air Hygiene Cleaning
Whilst regular hygiene cleaning offers a convenient way to stay on top of both cleaning and regulation, one-off cleans can be arranged at any time, and may be especially appropriate for ventilation systems under strenuous or constant use – or buildings exposed to potentially harmful air particles.
Air Hygiene Cleaning
Legislation and Requirements
Air hygiene standards have evolved significantly in recent years – with businesses and public spaces now required to adhere to both regulations outlined in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1973, alongside those developed in sight of COVID-19.
The vast majority of non-domestic spaces in the UK, from hospitals to hotels, must actively adhere to stringent regulation surrounding air quality, ductwork cleanliness, and disinfection order to operate safely, and without legal consequence.
Ingot Services’ specialist hygiene cleaning services work to cover all current requirements surrounding air cleanliness. From regularly scheduled air hygiene cleaning to one-off COVID-19 disinfection services, our offerings are built to satisfy all obligations. In addition to this, correctly implemented air hygiene cleaning can bring a number of benefits to businesses, and building users, including;
Reduced risk of enforcement, closure or prosecution
Ingot Services’ commercial air hygiene cleaning service is designed to help ensure utmost compliance with all relevant health and safety and hygiene requirements. Completed to a national standard by industry experts, and certified upon completion, this service works to keep commercial spaces of size and scope in line with legal obligations.
Insurance compliance
The vast majority of insurers offering policies covering commercial spaces put forward stringent conditions surrounding regular cleaning of ductwork and ventilation systems. Our industry-focused services offer all necessary paperwork and documentation upon their completion.
Improved conditions for building users
Satisfactory and safe conditions are essential to the successful operation of a commercial space. With ductwork and ventilation systems able to harbour and spread a number of harmful particles, pathogens, and bacteria, specialist cleaning is essential to the creation of satisfactory conditions for all building users – helping avoid ‘sick building syndrome’, and the spread of illness.
Improved system performance
For many ventilation and ductwork systems, cleanliness levels can have a significant impact on performance. Dirty ductwork inevitably contaminates and blocks HEPA filters, significantly reducing life expectancy, and increasing system resistance, putting significant strain on fans and motors. With this considered, regular air hygiene cleaning can prove valuable, saving potentially thousands of pounds in replacement and repair costs, and maximising efficiency.
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Ingot's Gold Standard Service Process
Step 1
Consultation
During a consultation call, our specialists will work to determine your exact requirements – for example, the size and positioning of ductwork requiring cleaning. We use this information to create a quote, which will be provided over the phone and sent via email following our conversation. In more unusual cases, we will provide a no-obligation site visit.
Step 2
Cleaning
Ingot Services aim to commence work within two weeks of receiving instruction. Often working outside of working hours, or at night to best suit client requirements, our team will tailor our services to your precise needs, conducting commercial deep cleaning to a national standard.
Step 3
Certification and Paperwork
As much of our work completed with the intent of ensuring buildings and businesses meet stringent health and safety, environmental health, hygiene, and fire safety regulations, Ingot Services include post-cleaning paperwork and certification in all service pricing, formatted to meet all insurance and regulatory requirements.
Providing Specialist Commercial Cleaning to
Medical Facilities
Ingot Services are proud to offer comprehensive air hygiene service solutions, tailored to the precise requirements of medical facilities. Conducted by certified professionals to TR-19 standards, our air hygiene services work to ensure all aspects of ventilation systems are properly cleaned, tested and maintained in accordance with the Workplace, Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations approved Code of Practice 1992 and the Health Technical Memorandum 03-01 (2007).
Offices
Highly suited to offices fitted with ventilation or ductwork systems, Ingot’s air hygiene cleaning services are conducted in line with all regulations outlined in Specification CIBSE TM26, helping ensure both optimal cleanliness and air quality levels – essential for the maintenance of a safe working environment.
Pharmaceuticals
Ingot’s highly trained air hygiene technicians have extensive experience of cleaning hazardous materials found in pharmaceutical manufacturing and laboratories. Conducted in line with all current regulation, our hygiene cleaning services work to manage and remove hazardous dust and particles.
Duct Cleaning
Our duct cleaning service provides a professional solution to the continued maintenance required by many commercial extract systems. Conducted to TR-19 standards by accredited technicians, all duct cleaning completed by Ingot is fully tailored to the precise needs of our clients, and includes the provision of paperwork and certification to meet insurance requirements.
Extract Cleaning
Regular extract or ‘extractor hood’ cleaning is essential to the safety of commercial kitchens and ovens. Our specialist extract cleaning service works to minimise the risk of fire and bacteria spread through efficient and comprehensive removal of all grease and debris build-up within oven extracts, helping ensure businesses across the UK meet health and safety, TR-19 and EFO regulations, and creating a clean, safe internal environment.
Canopy Cleaning
Ingot Services' canopy cleaning service uses highly specialised equipment to effectively remove potentially dangerous build-up within and surrounding canopies, and from attached ducts and ventilation systems – helping minimise otherwise significant fire risk, limit contamination, and prevent infestation in line with both TR-19, and health and safety obligations.
Deep Cleaning
Ingot Services’ commercial deep cleaning service offers businesses required to complete high levels of cleaning on a consistent basis. Throughout this process, floors, walls, ceilings, preparation surfaces, equipment, and commonly overlooked spaces such as fridge seals will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, helping ensure the safety of kitchen users, and that the space meets all health and safety requirements and regulations.
Oven Cleaning
Regular oven cleaning and maintenance is key to the safe functioning of all commercial kitchens. Ingot Services’ highly trained specialists work to deliver an unrivalled level of cleanliness - helping ensure the safety of commercial kitchens. Our commercial oven cleaning service uses a combination of extensive industry knowledge and gold-standard equipment to deliver cleaning in line with all health and safety and insurance obligations.
COVID-19
Disinfection Cleaning
Ingot are proud to offer a range of highly adaptable COVID-19 decontamination and cleaning services, highly suited to a number of commercial and public operations, including medical facilities, office buildings, and pharmaceutical spaces. Completed by accredited decontamination technicians, this tailored service can include the chemical treatment of HVAC systems, fogging, surface wipe-downs, and more.
Air Hygiene Cleaning FAQs
What is air hygiene cleaning?
Air hygiene cleaning works to bring ventilation systems of all kinds in line with health and safety regulations requiring a supply of clean air to non-domestic buildings.
Ingot Services’ air hygiene cleaning services offer a comprehensive solution to the rising challenges surrounding changing legal requirements and increased ventilation system upkeep: professional, certified cleaning conducted on a fully tailored basis.
Working to fulfil all guidelines outlined in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1973, Ingot’s air hygiene cleaning services are undertaken by Vent Hygiene Elite qualified professionals, and works to ensure the removal of all potentially harmful particles, dust, and bacteria harboured by both ductwork, and filters.
What is HTM 03-01?
HTM 03-01 is a section of the Health Technical Memorandum, applying specifically to ventilation systems present in healthcare facilities. It has been proven that poor operational theatre air quality can lead to surgical site infection. Consequently, in line with HTM-01, plants serving hospital operating departments are required to make sure that areas are kept separate within the suite by providing a specific direction of airflow between rooms. Additionally, they must maintain the operating departments’ environmental conditions constant irrespective of changes in outside air conditions or activities within the designated area.
All ventilation, ductork, and air hygiene must be completed in line with HTM 03-01's unique requirements for maintaining a specific direction of airflow between rooms.
What is a HEPA filter?
HEPA (High efficiency paritculate air) filters are a commonly used filter across a number of applications, including ventilation systems. Commonly used in medical settings, factories, or any space in which aesptic conditions are required, HEPA filters are able to filter out approximately 99.997% of particles 0.3 micrometres in size. HEPA filters are typically used as the terminal filter in an air filtration or ventilation system.
Though HEPA filters are robust and long-lasting, however, when left without maintenance to gather dirt and dust form unclean ducts, they are noted to become less effective, transferring unwanted particles into the clean side of the system, and contaminating air. Hygiene cleaning can assist greatly with this issue, ensuring the removal of all potential contaminants from ductwork, and that all filters are working to their full potential.
How long do HEPA filters last in ventilation systems?
It is important to consider that most HEPA filters are protected by a number of preliminary fine particulate filters put in place to prevent the main filter from clogging. These filters must be replaced more often.
There are no GMP guidelines regarding HEPA filter use time. As a result of this, organisations typically establish internal guidelines on the frequency at which HEPA filters should be changed, created in line with their usage levels, and air hygiene requirements (with many being changed annually). In order for HEPA filters to operate properly, they should be free from leaks (and regularly tested for them), as per ISO 14644-3. When operating in high-risk areas where more sterile conditions are required, the filter should be checked every six months. In situations where maintaining aseptic conditions is less critical, the filters should be checked every 12 months. If leaks are found, they can be repaired given that the leaks take up only 0.5% of the filter surface per filter. Otherwise, they should be changed.
In addition to this, in ventilation systems in which the pressure drop is too high, HEPA filters may have to be changed.
How often should you have your air ducts cleaned?
The frequency at which commercial operations should clean air their ductwork systems depends on the amount of usage experienced by the system, and the specific hygiene requirements of the individual business.
Whilst commercial kitchen ductwork must remain free of mould and potential contaminants - its primary concern is the buildup of grease, which should be removed by accredited professionals every three to six months according to usage.
Ventilation systems present in factories and healthcare facilities in which sterile conditions are a concern, ductwork should be cleaned between every three and five years, though filters may need to be replaced more often.
What is sick building syndrome?
‘Sick building syndrome’, a common issue for the occupants or users of school or office buildings, affects individuals in the form of repeated minor illnesses such as colds, flu and allergies. Whilst the causes of Sick Building Syndrome were unknown for a long period of time, it has now been shown to be a direct effect of poorly maintained ventilation systems. Ventilation systems left to harbour dirt and dust can become the home to potentially harmful particulates, meaning that when they are used, they have significant potential to spread dust and airborne microorganisms through a building. The Environmental Protection Agency has published studies showing that the air inside buildings can be as much as 70 times more polluted than the air outside where ventilation is not correctly maintained.
How long does air hygiene cleaning take?
The amount of time taken to complete a commercial kitchen extract clean can depend on a number of factors, including the scale and accessibility of the extract system, the method most suitable for cleaning, and the provider selected to perform the service.
How much does air hygiene cleaning cost?
The cost of air hygiene cleaning is highly dependent on a number of factors, including the format and accessibility of the ventilation system in its entirety (including ductwork and filters), whether your cleaning service is offered on a contractual or one-off basis, and your selected provider. As air hygiene cleaning requirements can vary so significantly, the vast majority of service providers will charge within a set price range according to individual circumstance.
Ingot services are proud to offer our clients a free, no-obligation consultation, during which we’ll evaluate your ductwork cleaning requirements, and establish a price, which can be later sent over email.
Can mould grow in ductwork?
Though ductwork can be hugely beneficial to maintaining a healthy environment within a building, when left without correct maintenance or exposed to poor conditions, it may become dangerous. When left without cleaning for significant periods of time, particularly where moisture and warm temperatures are present, ductwork is vulnerable to the growth of mould and potentially harmful bacteria. This may be spread throughout the ventilation system, compromising the health of building users, and potentially leading to 'sick building syndrome'.
It is essential to ensure ventilation systems and ductwork are correctly maintained and cleaned in order to avoid this.
How do you get rid of mould in ductwork?
The presence of mould in ductwork has the potential to negatively impact businesses and buildings operating across all sectors, from commercial kitchens to office buildings. With ductwork and ventilation systems able to spread spores and potentially harmful particulates through a building - impacting its users' health in the process, the presence of mould within them must be dealt with effectively.
The most effective line of defence against the growth of mould within commercial ductwork is regular air hygiene cleaning. Ideally conducted by accredited professionals in line with industry standards and legislation, air hygiene cleaning works to ensure the optimal cleanliness of both ductwork, and the filters present within it, removing all potential contaminants, and maintaining the health of both the building, and its users.