Healthy Indoors Magazine
Issue link: https://hi.iaq.net/i/793014
COVER STORY— February 2017 12 tors, prior to commencement. For additional information and videos about air duct cleaning & HVAC hygiene, check out the cover story in the March 2015 issue of Healthy Indoors Magazine: http://hi.healthyindoors.com/ i/475354-hi-march-2015/37, and visit the Nation- al Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) website at: https://nadca.com/ Bob Krell is president of IAQ Technologies, Inc., a Syracuse, NY-based indoor environmen- tal firm offering consulting, mitigation and training services. He has been a nationally recognized in- door environmental consultant and trainer in the IAQ industry for over 27 years, having designed and managed successful indoor environmental projects for residential, commercial, education- al, and healthcare facilities throughout the U.S. and abroad, and has conducted hundreds of investigations since 1990. He can be contacted at bkrell@IAQ.net Connect with him at https:// www.linkedin.com/in/bobkrell/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/IAQMAN cure to an existing IAQ problem. For successful remediation, it is essential to address the source of the IAQ problem that is causing the contamination in the AHS. Otherwise, even the most thorough HVAC cleaning procedures will only provide short- term benefits to a building's indoor air quality. Project Considerations Once the IAQ problem source is identified and cor- rected, HVAC hygiene measures can be implement- ed more effectively. There are at least several key considerations to be made when designing an AHS cleaning project at any facility. They include: • The Building Population—The demographic's susceptibility to potential indoor environmental pol- lutants, odors, noise, etc. • The Facility & Its Activities—Building use (office, patient care, laboratories, classrooms, residences, etc.), hours of occupancy, custodial/maintenance practices, renovations, and building age. • The AHS Contamination—The nature of the contamination (microbial contamination, general nuisance dust, construction debris, hazardous ma- terials, etc.), the degree of contamination within the system, and the necessary indoor environmental controls/containment measures for safely imple- menting the project. • HVAC System Design & Accessibility— AHS configuration (rooftop units, mechanical rooms, ceiling plenums, underground duct sys- tems, ductwork covered plaster/gypsum board, non-removable ceiling components, etc.), types of components (internally-lined ductwork or ductboard, flex duct, transite pipe, control devic- es, reheat coils, diffusers, etc.). Properly managed AHS cleaning projects, in conjunction with corrective measures to any IAQ problem sources, provide a more comprehen- sive approach to improving indoor environmental quality. To maximize project results and minimize hassles it is essential for the aforementioned con- sideration points to be thoroughly discussed and understood by the cleaning contractor, the client, and any other third-party consultants or contrac-