If you work in an office complex, chances are there’s a ventilation system. You might even have HVAC installed. And this network of ducts, filters, grates and fans is all too easy to forget about. After all, ventilation is just another one of those things we take for granted – like electricity or running water, we only really notice it when it goes wrong.
Like when the office starts feeling stuffy, or a weird smell starts drifting out of the air con, or there’s more dust and pollen getting blown out the vents than actual air!
Business owners need to take notice of this, because air quality in offices is a big issue. With so many people sharing the same air, it’s a valid concern to keep on top of. If you don’t keep on top of it, vents and filters can become clogged up with allergy-triggering dust and pollen, bacteria, and viruses.
This is obviously very serious, and not just because it leads to unpleasant smells, mustiness and stuffiness – but because it leads to staff sickness, and can impact visitor health, too.
Long-term exposure to airborne particles (like dust and spores) and general office grime can lead to sick building syndrome, which is commonly attributed to poor ventilation, poorly maintained air conditioning systems, dust, and fabric fibres in the air.
Beyond anything else, clean air in your office is the law.
Under Regulation 6 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, employers have a legal duty to ensure that every enclosed workplace is ventilated by a sufficient quantity of fresh or purified air. And the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is very clear on this: good ventilation is associated with improved health, better concentration, higher satisfaction with the work environment, and lower rates of absence.
The good news is, there’s a simple solution to all of this: regular office cleaning.
The environment changed – and so has the way we work
The COVID pandemic forced us all to think about indoor air quality in a way we never had before. We wore masks, cleaned at double the rate, and had near constant ventilation, under government guidance. And with hybrid working here to stay, offices often sit empty for days, then suddenly fill up again – putting a completely different strain on the air systems.
But there’s more to this than our changing working habits. Right now, record-breaking heatwaves are sending temperatures in the UK towards 40 degrees Celsius – making ventilation the bare minimum for keeping offices even remotely bearable, and prompting air con installations to ramp up.
All this together means that cleaning your office ventilation has never mattered more. Let’s explore why it’s now a year-round concern, and what the current best practice around cleaning office ventilation actually looks like.
Winter stuffiness and summer strains
The need for ventilation changes with the seasons, and that’s a challenge many offices overlook. In the winter, we naturally shut the windows to keep the heat in, then blast the heating. This dramatically reduces natural ventilation, increases dust and fibre accumulation, and traps stale, contaminated air inside.
This makes your ventilation system absolutely critical in the winter for exchanging air. But if the ducts are dirty, you’re just drawing in polluted air day after day, which is a recipe for drowsy afternoons and an outbreak of winter colds.
When summer arrives, the challenge flips. During heatwaves, offices rely heavily on air conditioning, fans and window ventilation to keep temperatures bearable. For those lucky enough to have AC, a system clogged with dirt and dust not only has to work much harder to pump air through, it can also spread that filth all over the office – from room to room.
This also makes it less efficient, increases energy costs, and often leads to the system breaking down at the exact moment you need it most!
You need to maintain your ventilation all year-round. In winter, you need to be sure the system can provide enough fresh air without the windows open. In summer, you need to be sure it can handle the cooling load. And whenever you have days where the office is empty (like over a weekend or a bank holiday) followed by suddenly being full again, the system needs to be able to clear the stale air and bring in fresh, clean air for your team.
The other side of this is the general cleanliness of your office. Less dust and pollen on surfaces means less of it making its way into your ventilation system – which improves air quality and reduces your maintenance frequency. Regular office cleaning can dramatically improve your air quality, so don’t overlook it as part of the solution.
Current best practice for good office air quality
Professional cleaning companies use approved methods to clean air vents and ducts, and The Abbey Cleaning Service is no different – bringing your office ventilation to a new level of hygiene. But the maintenance and upkeep of your ventilation system needs to be carried out by an HVAC expert.
The frequency of maintaining your ventilation and HVAC system depends on the setting – but workplaces like offices are recommended to be inspected and maintained at least every two years. High-risk environments (like hospitals or laboratories) are recommended to be serviced every year. In reality, most HVAC industry experts recommend inspections every year no matter what – so this should be your benchmark.
As for cleaning the surfaces and vent grilles? This shouldn’t be on a fixed timetable as it will change with weather, humidity, and usage – this needs to be done as a judgement call by your cleaning company, who should carry out vent cleaning as and when it’s needed.
Professional Office Cleaning
Get professional office cleaning from The Abbey Cleaning Service – and let’s transform your workspace. Call 029 2067 9323 today for a quote.
