DuctCleaningOttawa.com - Truck Mount or Portable Vacuum?
Should I hire a company that uses a truck mounted or a portable vacuum ?
We are often asked whether we use a portable vacuum or a truck mounted vacuum, while 90% of the time the customer really has no idea why they are even asking this question, except for the fact that another duct cleaning company likely told them that a truck mounted vacuum is better.
Of course any Air Duct Cleaning company that you talk to will inevitably tell you that their vacuum is better than the other guys…They are after all trying to get your business.
Let me set the record straight right now, the BIGGEST FALLACY regarding the cleaning of air ducts is that a truck mounted vacuum will clean better than a portable Vacuum, There is simply NO TRUTH to that statement..... None.... Zero... Zip... Nada!
Let me put this into perspective...Think of the fan in your furnace - it's small but moves the air and dust around quite easily, does it not?
Doesn't it make sense that if your furnace fan can expel the dust from your vents, then a vacuum of equal or greater power will be able to extract that same dust... makes perfect sense, does it not?
Portable vacuums generally produce at least 5 times the power that your furnace fan produces, therefore they are very capable of extracting the dust from your air duct system.
Duct Cleaning companies that use truck mounted vacuums will tell you that their vacuum produces more suction than a portable, what they fail to tell you is, after they run 100 feet of hose from their truck to your furnace, they will lose up to 75% of that suction and will be left with an amount of suction that is equivalent to a portable. (our vacuum)
The portable Air Duct Cleaning vacuum that we use is by no means a "shop Vac" - In fact it is a very powerful HEPA-FILTERED System that can be taken apart then brought down stairs into your furnace room where it will be set up in front of your furnace, therefore not losing any suction due to lengthy hoses.
All portable Air Duct Cleaning vacuums should be equipped with HEPA FILTERS which means the air that is exhausted back into your home is considered to be Medical-Pharmaceutical grade Clean Air. This is something that truck mount owners will fail to tell you, in fact they will probably tell you that a "portable vacuum will exhaust the dusty air back into your home" That statement COULD NOT be further from the truth!!!
Another advantage to having the air exhausted back into your home is when you are having your Ducts cleaned during cold weather, the exhausted air is your warm household air, therefore the home will not cool down so quickly.
When your Air Ducts are being cleaned with the use of a truck mounted vacuum, the WARM indoor air is being expelled from the home, and COLD outdoor air is being brought back into the home as what is known as MAKE UP AIR, this Cold MAKE UP AIR will make the temperature in your home drop very rapidly, making it very uncomfortable for the occupants.
Truth is, according to the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) and the Canadian Air Duct Cleaning Operators (CADCO) "Both types of equipment will clean to Industry standards"
I can appreciate that from a consumers point of view it would seem that the vacuum would be the most important piece of equipment in an Air Duct Cleaners arsenal, however, the vacuum really is last on the list.
The importance in equipment is as follows: First would be the Technician and the knowledge and skills he or she possesses, Secondly would be the Air Compressor that is used (this is where bigger is better) Third would be the host of agitation and contact tools used to dislodge the debris and move it toward the vacuum, and Last is the vacuum itself.
So next time a Duct Cleaning company tries to sell you their service strictly on the type of the vacuum they use, I suggest you think twice before hiring them.
Direct Line: (613) 762-2210
