NADCA stands for the National Air Duct Cleaners Association which is a trade association based in Washington, DC. NADCA offers a certification program for air duct cleaning technicians called the ASCS. To become an ASCS a candidate must pass a exam to prove their knowledge of the Air Duct Cleaning Industry.
Unfortunately for the consumer, that is very misleading. The reason why is that in most cases a company will only have one certified person on staff and that person is most of the time the owner of the company and not the technicians in the field that are performing the work.
Monster Vac spends the time and money to train our technicians so that all of our technicians that are in the field are NADCA certified.
When you have a Monster Vac clean your air ducts you will have certified technicians on site at all times. Check the NADCA web site and look for Colorado members, you will see next to the members name how many certified techs the company has.
So it would be a mistake to assume that because a company claims they are a NADCA certified company means they are going to do a good job for you.
Even if you do have certified techs perform the work for you that doesn’t mean the work is being performed properly and professionally. NADCA has developed a Standard for air duct cleaning titled ACR 2006. This is the international standard for air duct cleaning. This document will describe to you how air duct cleaning should be performed.
The important thing you should know as a consumer is whether a company cleans according to the NADCA Standard ACR 2006 and can they prove it to you. . This is much more important than any claim of certification.
Some of the highlights of ACR 2006 that you should be aware of are;
- All tools and equipment need to be cleaned and sanitized before they are brought into your home.
- Air conditioning evaporator coils must be thoroughly cleaned on both side of the coil on every job
- Sufficient suction pressure must be applied to each duct systems so that dust doesn’t escape during the cleaning process
- An agitation device such as a brush or air whip must make contact with the full length of every air duct to dislodge any adhered particulate
- All blowers or vacuum collection equipment used on a project must either exhaust outside or they must have certified HEPA air filtration on the equipment
- All surfaces need to be visually inspected (the full length) to insure they are clean upon completion of the project
The ACR 2006 standard specifically describes how to deal with mold and other hazardous substances. The Standard describes how to verify cleanliness. The Standard describes how to create and seal access openings in the air ducts. The Standard tells about all facets of an air duct cleaning project. The Standard was written as a “instruction manual” for contractors as well as a consumer protection guideline.
The difference between hiring a contractor who cleans according to the Standard and one who doesn’t is the same as the difference between hiring an electrician who will wire your home according to the electrical code and one who doesn’t conform to codes.
Cleaning an air duct systems in compliance with ACR 2006 requires, time, experience and the right equipment. Monster Vac cleans all air duct systems in compliance with ACR 2006 and we can prove it to you.
Remember, if a company claims certification, find out if the technician who will be performing the work is certified. Also find out if the technician will clean in compliance with ACR 2006 and can they prove it.
Monster Vac not only has more NADCA and ASCS certified technicians than anyone in the country, we also hold the following certifications:
VSMR: This is a certification for dealing with mold. it stands for the Ventilation System Mold Remediation
CVI: This stands for Certified Ventilation Inspector. This is a certification that qualifies us to inspect HVAC systems in both residential and commercial applications
CVC: This is the highest level of certification available by NADCA. It stands for Certified Ventilation Consultant. Bill Lundquist, President of Monster Vac Inc. is one of only 4 people in the country that has achieved this level of certification and the only one in Colorado.
Please visit the NADCA web site at http://www.nadca.com/ to verify all the above.
