What is NADCA in Air Duct Cleaning Industry?

What is NADCA in Air Duct cleaning and Certification and why it is important to ask for one? In our blogs we mostly talk about the significance of air duct cleaning, why you should get professional air duct cleaning, how mold growth affects your health, etc., but today we are going to elaborate on the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA), what it is and what it does in the air duct cleaning industry.

What is NADCA in Air Duct Cleaning?

NADCA stands for National Air Duct Cleaners Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to HVAC inspection, cleaning, and restoration. With more than 1,200 members from more than 20 countries, NADCA is the industry’s focal point.

What Does NADCA Certification Mean?

To provide industry-wide guidelines, this association takes a proactive approach and studies the HVAC hygiene sector. These requirements have been established to safeguard consumers.

If a business intends to qualify as a certified member of the NADCA, then it must take on board at least one Air Systems Cleaning Specialist and must follow NADCA guidelines.

Passing an exam is required to obtain the Air Systems Cleaning Specialist designation. The certified person must acquire 12 Continuing Education Credits (CECs) over two years to maintain their ASCS status. As a result, they are up to date on the latest cleaning techniques, technology, and equipment.

When consumers hire a NADCA-certified company, it means the consumers prioritize quality and have selected the respective company that focuses on quality. Selection of a NADCA-certified company means that the consumer is ensuring that the company has invested the necessary time and resources in education and training and has taken certified air duct cleaners on board.

NADCA holds a big responsibility, as when the name NADCA comes, consumers naturally believe in the credibility of the air duct cleaning company. This is why NADCA, invests time and effort into training its members so that the certified air duct cleaners can provide tremendous service to their customers.

 NADCA Certification

Air Duct Cleaners Certifications

1. Air Systems Cleaning Specialist (ASCS)

This historic accreditation advances one’s professional development and is recognized all over the world as a credential that acknowledges one’s expertise in HVAC system hygiene. Air duct cleaning professionals can progress in their careers in numerous ways by earning an ASCS certification, including:

• Better recognition from employers, clients, and industry experts
• Greater career mobility and commercial viability
• High remuneration

2. CVI (Certified Ventilation Inspector)

This NADCA’s CVI certification was essentially made to accredit professionals working in the HVAC system inspection industry. People who have earned the Certified Ventilation Inspector (CVI) certification are authorized to inspect commercial HVAC systems.

The CVI certification helps in improving career growth while also serving as a globally recognized credential that attests to an individual’s expertise in HVAC system hygiene and inspection. CVI certification offers professional advantages, including:

• Greater career mobility and commercial viability
• Better recognition from employers, clients, and industry experts
• High remuneration

Inspection of HVAC systems is becoming more and more popular. Air duct cleaning services can take advantage of having a CVI-certified technician, such as the air duct cleaning company can increase its customer base and capacity to provide inspection services.

Why Is Selecting a NADCA Member for Duct Cleaning Vital?

There is a significant difference between reputable air duct cleaning services and unreliable businesses that tend to make promises that are not meant to be fulfilled. For this reason, it’s crucial to work with trustworthy HVAC cleaning firms that have years of experience and are certified. 

When it comes to looking for reliable air duct cleaning services, NADCA is one of the most effective platforms that helps a great deal. It ensures that the listed members fulfill the criteria for HVAC system hygiene and inspection established by NADCA.

6 Things to Consider Before Hiring a Duct Cleaning Company

Considering that many fly-by-night businesses deceive their consumers by making fake promises. Before finalizing any duct cleaning company, you should look at the following aspects:

1. Go through Google Reviews

Google reviews are one of the best ways to understand the direct experience of the product/service. Before doing anything, first go through the reviews and see what people say about the duct cleaning company. 

What are the aspects highlighted by customers? Pros and Cons? This will help you better analyze the credibility and services of the company under consideration.

2. Check The Company’s Years of Existence

The lifetime of a business tells you a lot about its quality. While there are undoubtedly new air duct cleaning firms that are capable of performing a quality job, it helps to go with a group that has been in the industry for some time. Make sure the air duct cleaning company adheres to the NADCA standards, EPA, and the state where you live.

The fact that the company has been in the market for a few years indicates that it has been providing premium-quality services to its consumers, which is why it continues to run to date. This is why it’s important to check the period for which the company has been operating.

3. Inquire about Technician’s Training

You should understand that the technician who performs air duct cleaning should have sufficient training. Both classroom lessons and practical instruction, as well as ongoing education, should have been part of their training. You should request to examine the service technicians’ training certificates.

4. Ensure All HVAC Parts Are Checked

It’s critical to realize that your air ducts don’t function on their own. All of the components should function properly together because they are all related to your home’s bigger HVAC system. 

However, if only one component of the system is dirty, cleaning the air ducts might not be enough to address the whole problem. The furnace, air exchanger, and A-coil will all be inspected by a reliable professional along with the rest of the system.

The specialist needs to suggest services to fix the issue if any of those parts are broken. Many companies will give customers a discount on further HVAC repairs if they are done at the same time as the cleaning.

5. Ensure They’ll Do It Right

It can be unsettling to hire an air duct cleaning company to clean your furnace and air ducts. This is mostly because it may be challenging for you to discern what they actually accomplished. Make sure they use tools that will let you see precisely what they removed from the system. Check that everything they show you was cleaned entirely from your home and not from any other tasks.

6. Ensure the Company Has Liability Insurance

You shouldn’t be responsible for paying the fee if an air duct cleaning technician gets hurt on your property or if your house is harmed in any way during the service.

Verify if the business is covered by liability insurance and request documentation.

The Advantages of NADCA Membership

NADCA membership comes with many benefits, including education, training, and referrals, marketing, and public relations expertise. If an air duct cleaning company takes membership for the first time or renews it, they enjoy the following benefits offered by NADCA.

1. Training

One of the best things that a company can do is to spend money and effort on developing its workforce. The substantial discounts offered to NADCA members on all types of training and education enable you and your technicians to deliver high-quality service in compliance with NADCA standards. 

Both offline and online training options are provided by NADCA. Other than that, you may easily and economically acquire useful knowledge, such as how to interpret blueprints and estimate, clean internally lined ductwork, restore coils, and contract for the performance of homes and buildings, by using NADCA’s on-demand webinars and online training.

2. A Growing Market for Your Services

As a result of NADCA membership dues, a full-time, committed marketing manager promotes the value of NADCA membership and air duct cleaners certification as criteria for submitting commercial project bids. This directly means more business for NDCA members.

3. New Client Recommendations

Do you know that each year, thousands of consumers check NADCA to find a professional directory to look for a credible professional air duct cleaning company? This alone speaks to the high chances of air duct cleaning services by registering as a NADCA member. The directory gives details such as contact information for the business, how long the business has been in the industry, company profile, etc. 

4. Consumer Education through Targeted Marketing

Scams involving air duct cleaning and “blow-and-go” businesses that damage the reputation of our sector are all too common. NADCA frequently runs marketing campaigns that aim to inform customers about the value of hiring a member of NADCA and how to spot a scammer.

What If a Business Ignores Air Duct Cleaning?

Many factors can make your HVAC system function improperly. It is quite obvious that malfunctioning of your HVAC system happens when it has not been timely cleaned, inspected, and overall maintained. If right now you don’t remember when your HVAC system was inspected by HVAC professionals or professionally cleaned, then most probably your HVAC system is failing to work efficiently for this reason.

There is a significant possibility that your difficulties began with a dirty system, even though it is possible that your fan burned out or your heat exchanger was clogged. You can have blocked evaporator coils, filthy condenser coils, dust buildups, or mold growth in ducting if you don’t change filters frequently. 

If the problem is not addressed, your HVAC system will face unnecessary stress in functioning properly. Most likely, something will eventually overheat and malfunction.

Regular vent and duct cleaning is crucial for preserving efficiency as well as preventing illness in your staff and clients. Lack of sufficient cleaning will probably increase the spread of numerous biological contaminants, including bacteria, viruses, pollen, and mold. 

These impurities are discharged from the system and released into the atmosphere. As a result, the contaminated air can spread many illnesses throughout your workplace. Symptoms like coughing, muscle pain, and allergic reactions start to appear.

A workplace where employers, employees, and clients upon visit get sick due to inadequate ventilation and dirty indoor air, doesn’t add to the popularity of an organization. Instead, it adds to the tarnishing image of the business.

Why Should I Care About Ducts?

The pipe that goes through your home and allows for the pressured movement of air is known as a duct. This airflow may originate from your home’s heater or air conditioner, or it may draw in outside air or exhaust inside air. 

Ducts are generally composed of metal, flexible polymers, or fiberglass. While ducts are normally spherical, there are a variety of shapes that may be created for them depending on how the ducts should be routed around the house to effectively distribute and return conditioned air.

Air ducts are typically only visible in open ceilings or walls, most likely in your home’s basement or attic. In other words, out of sight, out of mind. But clogged ducts can be problematic.

Airborne particles can accumulate in ductwork if HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems aren’t properly maintained over time. An average six-room home produces 40 pounds of dust per year. Dirty air ducts put stress on your HVAC system to function properly, which means it consumes more energy.

Any of the following factors could exacerbate this issue:

• Lack of periodic maintenance.
• Home improvement projects that render the house’s ducting insufficient.
• Damage caused by rodent nests and other animals or insects.

If animal infestation, pet dander, dust, dirt, or mold growth appears in your HVAC system ducts or any other parts of the system, the first thing you should do is to call certified air duct cleaners to inspect your HVAC system and guide you through the remediation process.

What Not to Do When Cleaning Ducts

• Avoid using a shop vac to clean up your vent system because it will simply exacerbate the problem by sucking debris into the filter, which then needs to be changed once or twice a year.
• Don’t attempt to clean your own ducts. A layman cannot do it properly. Moreover, they risk damaging the ducting if they try.
• Use only leaf blowers designed exclusively for cleaning vents; other types could eventually damage your motor if used improperly by an inexperienced user.
• Avoid using a vacuum, broom, or brush for duct cleaning. Walls and floors are cleaned with these tools, not ductwork.

Cleaning air ducts is a task best left to the pros and certified air duct cleaners. You should essentially keep in mind that air ducts are fragile and they need to be treated with care. 

Thus, you need professionals who know the ins and outs of air duct cleaning. Otherwise, you run the danger of suffering major harm or even losing your life. And as we have mentioned earlier in most of our blogs, it’s indispensable that you choose a reputable air duct cleaning company for the duct cleaning of your HVAC system since the certified air duct cleaners have adequate knowledge, expertise, and experience to inspect, clean, or repair your system. 

Make sure that the complete air duct cleaning process is performed by an HVAC professional so that there is no unnecessary damage done to your system since this could cause significant issues in the future.

Frequent Errors Duct Cleaning Businesses Commit

When we say that customers should choose a NADCA-certified air duct cleaning company, we mean it because other unreliable companies make some mistakes that can harm your system.

1. Supervision and Project Management

Many business owners don’t go to the work area to see and check how technicians are doing their job. This leaves technicians in the dark and sometimes they don’t even know what mistakes they are making while doing the task.

2. Service Openings

Ductwork access points are frequently positioned incorrectly. Working in dangerously cut apertures can result in numerous hand and arm abrasions, as well as equipment damage. 

Some companies continue to use 1-inch holes that are too small, plugging them with plastic. These service openings are frequently shut down incorrectly as well. Frequently, the plates have less than a 1-inch overlap and are the incorrect gauge and dimension. There will be air leakage if you use only four screws and duct tape to secure them.

Access points may occasionally not even be blocked. Every time a duct is opened, secure a piece of yellow caution tape to it to solve this issue. Hang it low enough to be seen from a distance or long enough to be seen from ceiling grids.

3. Equipment

Many companies lack a rigorous approach to cleaning and reconditioning equipment. Often, contaminated equipment from one task is transferred to another. Equipment cleaning is not a priority, although equipment must be in order to perform air duct cleaning.

Many businesses carry out cleaning tasks using tools that should never be permitted for use inside a building or home. The biggest problem is electrical equipment with frayed cords.

Many businesses do not equip their technicians with all the tools and equipment needed to facilitate and maximize productivity. In fact, many businesses only supply the bare minimum of tools and equipment and rely on their personnel to complete the task.

4. Training

Business owners frequently fail to adequately train their supervisors and technicians. Many business owners lack adequate industry knowledge. Often, they go to conferences relating to their field but do not communicate the learning to their employees. 

They may perceive that illustrating examples to technicians is enough for them to perform air duct cleaning. However, it doesn’t happen that way.

5. Productivity

Rather than focusing on ways to provide quality service to their clients, too many contractors are so preoccupied with the bottom line and competing on price that they fail to detect poor quality work. Low cost cannot and will not prevail over high-quality work.

Final Thoughts

NADCA does great service for air duct cleaning services as well as for clients. It provides air duct cleaners certification and ample opportunities for HVAC professionals to train. On the other hand, it gives customers a list of reputable and certified air duct cleaning services that can rightly perform HVAC duct cleaning.