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Neglect proper duct cleaning and upkeep at your peril

At look at how a better understanding of cleaning and maintaining ductwork can improve the design of ventilation systems and reduce fire risk.

Jonathan Brennan, Chair of the National Association of Air Duct Specialists UK (NAADUK), and part-owner of Specialist Hygiene Services, and Peter Reid, the Association’s President, who founded dedicated ventilation and air hygiene services company, Overclean, in 1981, explain how a better understanding of cleaning and maintaining ductwork can improve the design of ventilation systems and reduce fire risk.

How can we all work together to make buildings safer, and how can a better understanding of cleaning and maintaining ductwork improve the design of ventilation systems and reduce fire risk? Ductwork ventilation systems can present a considerable fire hazard in kitchens, as they accumulate grease and other contaminants. Good design, that enables regular cleaning and maintenance, can reduce these risks. The National Association of Air Duct Specialists UK (NAADUK) recognises that there is a need to have joined-up thinking on how to prevent fire risks – from design to maintenance. NAADUK’s aim is simple: to talk to, and work with, surveyors, manufacturers, designers, installers, maintainers, fabricators, fire prevention associations, fire brigades, and environmental health authorities, to solve such problems together.

Ductwork contaminated by grease and other substances can contribute to kitchen fires if poorly cleaned and maintained. These put at risk the lives not only of staff and the public, but also the fire crews who must tackle them. Although at the time of writing there has yet to be a loss of human life through such fires, damage to, or destruction of, property has become a considerable expense for the courts and the insurance profession. The aim of this article is thus to consider how we make ductwork accessible for cleaning and maintenance, and hence make it firesafe for all. This article includes information on regulatory requirements for inspecting and cleaning ductwork

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Upcoming Events

The Fire Safety Event 2024

National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham
30th April - 2 May 2024

Wales regional conference, exhibition and awards dinner 2024

International Conference Centre (ICC) Newport
28th - 29th May 2024

NAHFO National Conference 2024

Crowne Plaza Newcastle Upon Tyne
3rd - 5th June 2024

Design in Mental Health 2024

Manchester Central
4th - 5th June 2024

InstallerSHOW 2024

National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham
25th - 27th June

Healthcare Estates 2024

Manchester Central
8th-9th October 2024

Access the latest issue of Health Estate Journal on your mobile device together with an archive of back issues.

Download the FREE Health Estate Journal app from your device's App store

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