Greater London · Air handling unit cleaning
Air handling unit cleaning in Lee, Greater London
One call covers cleaning of air handling units, including filters, coils, drain trays, fans and internal surfaces in Lee: survey, fixed quote, work and sign-off. CHAS and SafeContractor accredited, ISO 9001 and fully insured.
- Plant that has been serviced but not cleaned
- Stale or musty smells from the ventilation
- Fan sections that haven’t been cleaned in years
What affects the cost of AHU cleaning
The diagnosis comes before the price. The main factors are:
- The scale of the work
- Whether we need access equipment or extra panels
- Whether it’s a one-off visit or part of a schedule
- Site rules, permits and inductions
Leaving it longer rarely makes the work cheaper. Build-up, wear and faults tend to get worse, not better, which can make the next visit longer. If you are unsure, ring 0345 646 2711 or drop us a line for straight advice and a fixed quote.
What to send for a quote
A few details help us quote accurately. When you get in touch, it helps to send:
- When the site is open and when it’s quiet
- Close-ups of filters, grilles, hatches or access panels
- How we’d reach plant on a roof or in a plant room
- Where the site is and what kind of site it is
Photos are enough for some jobs, while others need a look on site. Big or complicated sites, and systems that are hard to see in photos, get a survey first. Either way, you get a fixed price before work begins.
AHU cleaning in Lee, done properly
Every supply and extract system relies on the air handling unit at its centre: it draws air in, filters it, heats or cools it and pushes it round the ductwork. Anything that collects inside the unit can end up in the rooms it serves, so cleaning the unit matters as much as cleaning the ducts. The work covers heating and cooling coils, internal panels and drain trays, and people most often call us about dust built up on fan impellers and blocked condensate drains and slimy trays.
In London, plant rooms are often in basements or on roofs reached through occupied floors, so ventilation cleaning in Lee is typically planned out of hours. Loading and parking are planned with the building first.
Duct Doctor has been trading since 2009, as a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. We also hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and we carry full insurance.
- Where
- Lee (SE12, SE13, SE3)
- Region
- Greater London
- Paperwork
- Written report with pictures
- Quote
- A fixed quote up front
- When we work
- Evenings, overnight and weekends; 24/7 emergencies
- Call
- 0345 646 2711
- Reviewed
- 30 October 2026
Staff cleaning versus specialist work
A few tasks are always specialist work: entering ducts, working on fans, testing dampers and taking grease readings call for the right kit, training and safe access. That’s our job.
Keep a record of what your team does. A dated log of in-house cleaning and checks shows an inspector that the system is looked after between visits, alongside our reports.
What AHU cleaning looks like in Lee
Food Standards Agency data includes about 26 schools, colleges and universities, about 84 caring premises (care homes, nurseries and hospitals) and about 4 hotels, B&Bs and guest houses within about 1.5 miles of central Lee. Many buildings of this kind have supply and extract ductwork that gathers dust and needs inspecting. London plant rooms are often on roofs or in basements reached through occupied floors. Lee’s nearest hospital, University Hospital Lewisham, is about 1.1 miles west. Healthcare buildings depend on clean supply and extract ventilation, and the same applies to surgeries, clinics and care homes.
Healthcare ventilation, from large hospitals like University Hospital Lewisham (about 1.1 miles west) to small clinics, depends on clean filters, coils and ducts. If you manage offices or shops near Lee station, their ventilation can be inspected and cleaned out of hours.
Lee is about 2 miles south of Greenwich, in Greater London. We provide AHU cleaning for commercial premises of every kind in Lee and the rest of Greater London. Lee is one of 764 towns, villages and districts in Greater London we cover for commercial clients. Our London page covers sites nearby, about 6 miles away.
Every address in SE12, SE13 and SE3 is within our area for AHU cleaning, from busy streets to back roads. Local streets include Old Road, Manor Lane and Mallet Road, all of which we cover for AHU cleaning. If your site is just outside Lee, we cover Hither Green (1 mile west), Horn Park (1 mile south-east), Lewisham (1 mile north-west), Ladywell (1 mile west) and Blackheath (1 mile north). Further out, we also cover London (6 miles north-west), City of Westminster (8 miles north-west), Marylebone (8 miles north-west), Kensington (10 miles west), St Pancras (7 miles north-west) and Shoreditch (6 miles north-west).
What’s near Lee
In Lee, that means kitchens and buildings near Manor House Gardens, Trinity Church of England School and International Academy of Greenwich, among other places. There’s a railway station in Lee itself: Lee station. Nearby you will also find Lewisham Shopping Centre (1.1 miles north-west) and Prefab Museum (1.3 miles south). Green spaces nearby include Summer Hill and Birdbrook Road Nature Reserve.
FAQs for Lee
Does London parking affect a job in Lee?
London parking can be tight, so details of loading bays and permits help. Night visits tend to make loading easier on London streets.
Can a school’s ventilation in Lee be done out of term time?
Yes. The holidays are the usual time for school work. There are about 26 schools, colleges and universities on the FSA’s food hygiene register within about 1.5 miles of Lee. Just ring 0345 646 2711 or use the quote form with your term dates and we will plan around them.
Do you work in Lee?
Yes. We work in Lee and across Greater London, as part of our work across South East England and London. For a fixed quote, phone us on 0345 646 2711, or email photos.
How much does AHU cleaning cost in Lee?
We do not publish prices, because the cost depends on the job: how big it is, what state it’s in, how we reach it and the working hours. We fix the price before we start.
Do you work with multi-site operators?
Yes. Our area covers London and the South East, so sites at different addresses can be planned together on one programme. Every site has its own report.
What do you clean inside the unit?
The main parts are the filters, coils, drain tray, fan and inside of the casing. The survey confirms what’s in your unit before we quote.
Can you clean the AHU out of hours?
Yes. We work evenings, overnight and weekends, so offices, schools and shops can carry on.
Where does the waste go?
We take it away when we go. During the work, it’s contained to keep the area clean.
How the job changes from site to site
Fans and fan sections
The fan moves all of the unit’s air, so dirt on it gets spread around. The impeller, its housing and the fan chamber are cleaned.
Filters
Filters are the first line of defence in the unit. We check them, and clean or change them as agreed in the quote, and clean the filter housing.
Do you need AHU cleaning in Lee?
Wherever there’s a cooling coil, there’s condensate. If the drain tray outlet blocks or the tray doesn’t fall properly, water stands in it, and that’s where slime and odours start.
Common reasons sites call us include:
- Debris and leaves in the fresh air intake
- Dirty fans and fan housings
- Condensate trays that won’t empty
- Filters that are clogged or overdue
For schools like Brindishe Lee School, the holidays are the usual time to inspect and clean ventilation.
Before booking anyone
- What happens if part of the system cannot be accessed
- When they can work, and whether that’s outside your opening hours
- Which accreditations they hold, and whether you can check them
- Whether the whole system is included, or only the parts that are easy to reach
Why deal with it now?
Dirt left in an air handling unit does not stay in the unit. It’s carried through the ductwork and out of the grilles, which is why the unit and the ducts are best cleaned together. In Lee, a planned overnight visit is much easier than closing unexpectedly.
The price reflects the work, not guesswork. That is why every job is surveyed first, and why the quote is fixed before work begins.
Why book with us
- Each visit written up, with photos
- In business since 2009
- One number for every site across the South East and London
- Every job surveyed first
See how cleaning jobs are priced and how to check a contractor.
What happens on the day
Your staff do not need to do much on the day. Someone lets us in at the agreed time and shows us where everything is, and the rest is down to us. Afterwards, the area is left tidy and the written report follows. In Lee, as across London, we typically work overnight or at weekends and hand the site back ready to open.
- We survey the unit from pictures or on site and agree what’s included.
- 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.
- Standing water and slime come out of the tray and the drain is checked.
- We close up the unit and send the certificate and before and after pictures.
How to prepare
- Make sure someone can let us in and lock up afterwards
- Clear the space around the work
- Find the previous report, if there is one
Ask for a quote
For AHU cleaning in Lee, call 0345 646 2711, or email photos. Let us know the site type and the opening hours, plus pictures or the previous report if they’re to hand. We usually send a fixed quote within one working day.
Related advice
Between visits
Good habits slow the build-up between visits. Our tips:
- Report musty smells from the vents straight away
- Keep inspection doors on the unit in good order
- Make sure condensate is draining away
- Diary the inspection date recommended in the report
The report suggests a date for the next inspection or clean, taking into account how dirty it was. TR19® Air is risk-based, so the interval depends on the unit and how the building is used.
Regular filter changes are the best protection an AHU has. Overloaded filters let more dirt through to the coils and fan.