Duct cleaning as an add-on service?

**Richard Baldwin** · 08-12-2010, 12:01 AM

Supposing I decided to take the leap into duct cleaning as an add on service.
Should I purchase the "kit" that attaches to your existing truckmount system?
Or should I get the portable unit such as a rotobrush and do the jobs separately from the truckmount?

Will the kit harm the truckmount in any way using it to clean air ducts?

**owenscott** · 08-12-2010, 12:58 PM

With rotobrush you are basically buying a portable along with the brushes. Extra money goes to pay for those full pages ads too.

**Scott W** · 08-12-2010, 01:09 PM

First decide on the market. Either RotoBrush or the Ram Air kit is meant for light residential use, not for heavy soot or large commercial ductwork. To service the commercial area, you will need much larger and more expensive equipment.

If you buy the Roto Brush package and marketing materials and training materials you will be getting close to $10,000. To add Ram Air to your exisitng truckmount, you will spend aroun $1500 and get training nad marketing materials included.

Talked to a guy yesterday who got a job to clean several hundred dryer vents in an apartment complex (at $50+ each). The Rotovac could not do it without damage the plastic 4" duct. He added the Ram Air and wished he had bought that first.

I had the rotary brush system in my business. It did a good job most of the time. But it could get kinked up very easily on tight bends or narrow ducts. That was a pain. The brushes could also catch on the pointy end of sheet metal screws. Something had to give, usually it was the duct work. So, then a repair had to be made. Wish I had Ram Air abck then.

**Priceless** · 08-12-2010, 02:07 PM

Both are worthless to clean ducts with.I answered a post about this that you were in,if you want to half ass clean then by all means buy either one of these,obviously Scott"s ethics come into play here because those truckmount add on ones are such a scam.You have to question why he would explain why using better chems for carpet cleaning is essential, but willing to sell you the infierior duct system.You need the cfm for duct cleaning and 300 out of a 2" hose is no where near effective.As a dryer vent cleaner if it is using only air, then it is not your best choice for that either.

**Will Reed** · 08-12-2010, 03:23 PM

Kevin, do you know what is better then? Sounds like you do. I think the question being asked here is what I'd like to know as well. If a carpet cleaner is looking to add air duct cleaning what are the good choices out there for us. Most of us only know of Ram Air or Rotobrush. The preferable choice would be a system that would let us utilize the money we already have spent on TMs. I'm sure that some duct cleaning equipment out there costs just as much as an entire TM system and would require a separate truck just to run, not very attractive for someone looking for an add on service. If you have to invest just as much to add air duct cleaning as you did to start carpet cleaning then it no longer becomes an add on service but almost a separate business in of itself.

**shane deubell** · 08-12-2010, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by Will Reed

Kevin, do you know what is better then? Sounds like you do. I think the question being asked here is what I'd like to know as well. If a carpet cleaner is looking to add air duct cleaning what are the good choices out there for us. Most of us only know of Ram Air or Rotobrush. The preferable choice would be a system that would let us utilize the money we already have spent on TMs. I'm sure that some duct cleaning equipment out there costs just as much as an entire TM system and would require a separate truck just to run, not very attractive for someone looking for an add on service. If you have to invest just as much to add air duct cleaning as you did to start carpet cleaning then it no longer becomes an add on service but almost a separate business in of itself.

Sorry Kevin is right on here.

You cant apply carpet cleaning principals to every single service, using either of those "tools" is like emptying your pool with a spoon.

**Will Reed** · 08-12-2010, 04:59 PM

So to do commercial level air duct cleaning you would need TM level of equipment it sounds like. Ok. However for residential use can a Ram Air system use your TM to do a decent level of work making it a good add on service?

**Priceless** · 08-12-2010, 07:39 PM

Actually Will,commercial just like with carpet cleaning sometimes require closed door policies(security ect.)and their ducts are usually more accessible(drop ceiling ect.).So a portable(Abatement,Air Care ect.)will work.You make access holes and clean a certain lenth of duct at a time.In a residential setting you do not have this luxury,so your best access is to hook up vac at the plenum(this is where all the ducts meet)so more cfm(or at least enough)is critical.Then you brush and air sweep from the furthest duct foward.What the Ram Air and others have you do is hook the box(with your truckmount hose connected)to each vent,then run your air line through that box and reverse air sweep back.I dont know how they are having you clean the return vent.

PS-This is not a bash of Scott W. or even the systems,I am just giving advice in an area that I was, and are familiar with.Scott gives very good advice on floor care,fiber identification and chemistry,I just dont think he has enough expertise in this area.Just like in the carpet cleaning area,it is nice to get some feedback on equipment before you waste money.

**Richard Baldwin** · 08-12-2010, 08:12 PM

It is sounding like the Ram Air would be a better choice if this was going to happen.

-I would be utilizing far more CFM with a truckmount than with the rotovac porty.
-It costs far less than Rotovac with all the marketing stuff that I dont really wish to buy.

The drawback is I was hoping to be out there cleaning some ducts while my tech has the truckmount out there
cleaning carpets elsewhere at the same time. But I dont want to invest 10 grand into that idea.

**Priceless** · 08-12-2010, 08:19 PM

Hey Richard,you can look for equipment that is used and save a ton of money as well as having a self contained unit that can run seperate from the truckmount.I spent 10 grand for a new setup,you could easily get something for half that,then you can justify 300-400 for an average sized house and sleep better knowing you did the better job.

**Richard Baldwin** · 08-12-2010, 08:23 PM

This is what I think of when I think of professional air duct cleaning. But it also looks like I would need a whole truck and system to do it. Big difference from the rotovac porty.

**Priceless** · 08-12-2010, 08:34 PM

They are a little misleading with the claim (40 times more powerful than a portable)but they are talking about an electric.I had a 5000 cfm Meyers vac w/a 20hp kohler that worked great and was the size of one of those Prowler's.That is a good example of doing it right though,and unfortuneatly,to do it right you really do need some decent eqipment.