Essex · Air handling unit cleaning
Harlow AHU cleaning
Our technicians work in Harlow on AHU cleaning. Fixed quotes, work around your opening hours and photo reports as standard.
- Air handling units due a clean after building work
- Units that have only ever had filter changes
- Odours coming through the supply air
Staff cleaning versus specialist work
If your staff spot something between visits, such as dripping grease, a noisy fan, a smell or a filter that won’t come clean, it’s best reported rather than tackled in-house. We’ll take a look and give you a fixed quote.
For ventilation and air handling systems, in-house care is mostly about checks: keeping grilles clear, noting unusual noise or smells and logging filter changes. Cleaning inside ducts and units is specialist work.
About our AHU cleaning in Harlow
Our AHU cleaning covers sites in Harlow and the rest of Essex, in buildings such as offices, schools, healthcare sites and shops. Units are cleaned when the site can spare them, often evenings, overnight or weekends. The work covers heating and cooling coils, supply and extract fans and internal panels, and the jobs we see most are dirty fans and fan housings and debris and leaves in the fresh air intake.
Many schools and offices in a town like Harlow have a mix of older and newer ventilation. An inspection shows which parts need cleaning.
The paperwork matters as much as the work. Each visit is written up with pictures, listing what was done, anything we couldn’t reach and when the next visit is due. Keep it with your fire safety records so it’s to hand when an insurer or inspector asks.
The process
Each visit runs to the same pattern: sheeting and protection first, isolate whatever needs isolating, do the work, tidy up and hand over the paperwork. On site, the work takes half a day to a full day per unit, with large plant planned over several shifts. In Harlow, the visit is planned around your opening hours, parking and access to the system.
- We start with a survey of the unit and a fixed quote for the work.
- With your site team, the unit is switched off and isolated, then the area around it protected.
- We clean or change the filters as agreed, then clean the coils, fan and internal panels.
- Drain trays are cleared and cleaned and the outlet checked.
- We close up the unit and send the certificate and before and after pictures.
Getting ready for the visit
- Name a contact who can let us in at the agreed time
- Have your last certificate or report to hand
- Tell us where we can park and unload
Get a fixed quote
Every quote begins with a look at the system, either from photos and details you send or from a site visit. Then we send a fixed price, before any work starts.
Advice
Different parts, different methods
Filters
Every AHU relies on its filters to catch dust before it reaches the coils. As part of the clean, filters are checked and cleaned or replaced as agreed, and the housing around them is cleaned too.
Fans and fan sections
Every bit of air passes the fan, so a dirty fan sends dirt downstream. We clean the impeller, housing and surrounding section.
Why it’s worth doing now in Harlow
Dirty coils and fans make the unit strain to move the same air. That means more wear on the motor and rooms that feel less fresh, and a planned clean is far less disruptive than a breakdown. The sooner the work is done, the simpler the job for a site in Harlow.
Several systems or sites on one quote can make for a more efficient booking. Mention every system or site you need covered and we will price it together.
Why choose Duct Doctor in Harlow
- We diagnose before we treat
- Accredited under CHAS and SafeContractor, with ISO 9001
- A single point of contact for sites across the South East and London
- Member of BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease
See our cost guide or our accreditations.
What AHU cleaning can’t fix
It’s worth knowing the limits before booking:
- Coils that are corroded or leaking and need replacing
- Controls and BMS settings that run the unit
- Airflow problems caused by the system’s design
If in doubt, call us on 0345 646 2711 or email us and we’ll say what we think before booking.
Parts of the system we cover
- Supply and extract fans
- Drain trays
- Heating and cooling coils
- Internal panels
- Filter sections
- Dampers and louvres
FAQs for Harlow
Can you work in Harlow outside opening hours?
Yes, we can come after you close and finish before you open. It means the site in Harlow keeps running as normal. Tell us your opening hours when you ask for a quote.
Do you do school ventilation cleaning in Harlow in the summer holidays?
Yes. The holidays are the usual time for school work. With about 30 schools and colleges on the FSA’s register within roughly a mile and a half of Harlow, it pays to plan holiday dates ahead. Tell us your holiday dates and we will book the visit for when the site is empty.
How much notice should we give?
The more notice, the better, particularly for night and weekend visits. We usually quote within one working day, and emergencies are covered by our 24/7 line.
Does the AHU have to be shut down for cleaning?
Yes. The fan must be stopped and the unit isolated, and we time the work to suit the site.
What should I send you?
Just the basics: where it is, what kind of site, when it’s open and the access. Photos and any previous paperwork make it quicker. After that, simply ring 0345 646 2711, or email photos.
Which sectors do you work in?
All kinds of commercial and public premises: kitchens, offices, schools, healthcare, retail, leisure and food production. We fit the work around how the site operates.
What accreditations do you have?
CHAS, SafeContractor, ISO 9001 and BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite membership, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. We are fully insured and have been trading since 2009.
Is a quote from pictures possible?
Usually, yes. Send a few wide photos plus close-ups of panels, filters or grilles, and a fixed quote typically follows within one working day. Some sites still need a visit, and we’ll say so.
Places near Harlow
Other services in Harlow
Managing agents and facilities teams in Harlow
Running several sites is easier with one contractor. We cover South East England and London, so visits at different addresses can be planned together and kept to a regular schedule.
Managing agents often deal with us directly. Send the address, what’s needed and how access works, and we will send a fixed quote.
Harlow buildings and their air
Going by the FSA’s register, there are about 30 schools, colleges and universities, about 39 caring premises (care homes, nurseries and hospitals) and about 5 hotels, B&Bs and guest houses serving food across Harlow and its immediate surroundings (about a mile and a half). Classrooms, bedrooms and care spaces are often served by ducted air, and that ductwork collects dust over time. Harlow’s nearest hospital, Princess Alexandra Hospital, is about 1.2 miles west. Healthcare ventilation is a good example of why supply ducts need inspecting: the air goes straight to patients. At about 21 miles from central London, Harlow sits well inside the area we cover. We work evenings, overnight and at weekends, so the visit fits around the site.
Classrooms and halls at schools such as Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery are easiest to work in when pupils are away.
Harlow is about 21 miles north-east of London, in Essex. Across the CM17 area, we cover AHU cleaning for commercial sites. Harlow is one of 644 towns, villages and districts in Essex we cover for commercial clients. We also work in Chelmsford, around 16 miles away.
Work in CM17, CM20, CM18 and CM19 is surveyed, quoted and booked the same way as anywhere else. Whether your site is on London Road, Soper Square and Square Street or a nearby road, our technicians can take on the work. Harlow is on the A414 and A1019, so it’s easy for us to get to for out-of-hours visits. Other places close to Harlow include Mark Hall South (1 mile north-east), Netteswell (1 mile west), Latton (1 mile south-east), Mark Hall North (1 mile north) and Bush Fair (1 mile south). Larger places within reach include Brentwood (13 miles south-east), Loughton (9 miles south), Waltham Abbey (7 miles south-west), Great Dunmow (13 miles north-east), Epping (5 miles south) and Stansted Mountfitchet (10 miles north). As one of the bigger places in Essex, Harlow has a wide mix of commercial premises, and we cover all of them for AHU cleaning.
Around Harlow
Typical jobs here are in premises near Harlow Marsh, Purple Emperor pub and BMAT STEM Academy, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Harlow Town station, about 1.2 miles north-west of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Princess Alexandra Hospital (1.2 miles west) and Mark Hall Cycle Museum (0.7 miles north-east). For a walk, there’s Hunsdon Mead.
What we are called out for in Harlow
Mechanical servicing keeps a unit running, but it does not always include cleaning the inside. So a unit can be well maintained and still dirty.
Clients usually contact us after spotting one of these:
- Odours coming through the supply air
- Dirty fans and fan housings
- Condensate trays that won’t empty
- Dust-coated heating and cooling coils
Healthcare ventilation, from large hospitals like Princess Alexandra Hospital (about 1.2 miles west) to small clinics, depends on clean filters, coils and ducts.
Before booking anyone
- Exactly which parts of the system are covered
- What paperwork you get at the end
- How VAT is shown on the quote
- Whether the figure could change on the day