Archive for February, 2014

3 Ways Commercial Duct Cleaning Improves Your Bottom Line

Wednesday, February 19th, 2014 by Lisa Pixley

When you examine the expenses for your business to determine areas where you can reduce spending and improve the bottom line, “duct cleaning” might not be an additional expense you want to add. We understand why you might think this: ducts are usually an “out of sight, out of mind” part of a workplace, and people rarely give them much consideration.

However, your bottom line can improve with the addition of regular duct cleaning. We’ll show you three ways that investing in cleaning from commercial duct cleaning specialists can save you money.

And who can you call for quality commercial duct cleaning in Minneapolis, MN? We humbly suggest Alpha Air Corporation. We specialize in commercial ductwork and have NADCA-certified technicians on staff to make sure you receive the most thorough cleaning available and receive the benefits below.

Ways duct cleaning will save money

  • Less strain on your HVAC system: Minneapolis has extremely cold winters and warm summers; your HVAC system will probably stay on most of the year, and you’ll see it as a major expense on your budget. If the ducts are dirty, it will impair the flow of air through the ducts with a heavy coast of dust, and this will put strain on the system to make it work harder. And that means… higher bills. Duct cleaning will give your HVAC system the easiest airflow possible.
  • Fewer repairs for your HVAC system: Since commercial HVAC systems see heavy use, they often require repairs to restore them. Many of these repairs are avoidable with duct cleaning. A dirt contamination in the ducts will quickly lead to dirt infiltrating the cabinets of your heater/air conditioner, and this significantly increases the chance of damage that will lead to repairs.
  • Happier employees and customers: A cleaner workplace means more productive employees. A better business environment means happier customers. You can encounter problems with this if you have dirty ducts, because it will make work environment dirtier, plus it can create health problems: asthma, skin and eye irritation, coughing, dizziness… all of which will seriously impair attention and lower worker effectiveness. Duct cleaning will help give you the productive and profitable ideal workspace you need.

When should you schedule duct cleaning?

If more than a year has passed since you last had duct cleaning for your business, that’s more than enough time for dust and other contamination to build-up and create problems. Businesses should have yearly duct cleaning for the best results. Schedule your duct cleaning today and make it part of your calendar each year.

Call Alpha Air Corporation and talk to our Minneapolis, MN duct cleaning specialists. You can learn more about how your bottom line will benefit from our commercial duct cleaning services.

The Benefits of Furnace Duct Cleaning

Sunday, February 16th, 2014 by Lisa Pixley

Your furnace depends on a network of sealed ducts to carry the heated air from its cabinet all the way to the vents while losing as little air pressure as possible. Because of the tight sealing along ductwork, it’s hard for the dust that starts to gather inside to escape; eventually, you’ll end up with contaminated ducts causing you numerous problems. To combat this problem, schedule regular cleaning for your furnace’s ducts. This is a job that requires professionals and special equipment to properly access the ductwork interior.

For expert furnace duct cleaning in the Twin Cities, MN, you should contact Alpha Air Corporation. We have NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaners Association) certified technicians and 30 years in the duct cleaning business.

How furnace duct cleaning benefits you:

  • Improved indoor air quality: The hidden places in your ducts will start to develop dust and dirt, as well as dander and hair that can trigger allergies. Other contaminants can start in ducts that will enter the air you breathe inside your home and cause an increase in health risks. Cleaner ducts mean higher quality air and improved health for you and your family.
  • Improved furnace performance: The forced air from a furnace’s blower needs to have as little resistance as possible to move efficiently along the ducts all the way to the vents. Dirt and dust layers will create more friction, which will in turn put more stress on the furnace. This will lead to your energy bills increasing as the furnace struggles to reach its normal performance level, and it will also cause the system to prematurely age.
  • Improved home cleanliness: The dust that gets blown out from a dirty system of ducts will not only damage the quality of the air you breathe, it will also spread throughout your home’s carpets and furnishings. With dirty ductwork, you can sweep and clean continuously and still have a dusty house.

When you call Alpha Air Corporation for furnace duct cleaning in the Twin Cities, MN, you receive comprehensive cleanings that goes beyond just cleaning your ductwork: we will also inspect blowers and air filtering equipment, and apply our safe decontaminating and sanitizing agent that will present no health hazards to you or your family. We can also tackle more serious ductwork contamination such as mold and microbacteria. Call us today for better health, energy savings, and a cleaner home.

Other Anniversaries of Valentine’s Day

Friday, February 14th, 2014 by Lisa Pixley

For more than a hundred years, people in countries around the world have marked the 14th day of February as a time for lovers to give each other gifts and for children to write cards to each other and eat heart-shaped candy. But Valentine’s Day isn’t the only important event to occur on February 14th. There are many other anniversaries to mark on this day. Here are a few:

1400 – The death of King Richard II: The same English king whose engagement resulted in the first love poem mentioning Valentine’s Day (from court poet Geoffrey Chaucer) dies in prison in Pontefract Castle after his cousin Henry overthrows him. He probably starved to death, although another famous author, William Shakespeare, would portray his death as murder.

1859 – Hello, Oregon: The Oregon Country is admitted to the United States of America as the 33rd state.

1876 – Who invented the telephone? Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for his new invention, the telephone. Another inventor, Elisha Gray, applies the same day for a similar device, sparking a long controversy over who invented what first.

1912 – Hello, Arizona: Continuing the statehood tradition that Oregon established, the Territory of Arizona is admitted to the U.S. as the 48th state. Women are granted the right to vote in Arizona the same year, eight years before the rest of the nation.

1929 – The world’s most infamous mob hit: Unknown assailants shoot down seven people in Chicago, IL. Six of the dead are gangsters in the mob of Bugs Moran, an enemy of Al Capone in the business of selling Prohibition bootleg liquor. No one is ever arrested or charged for the crime—but there isn’t much doubt who masterminded it.

1931 – “I am… Dracula”: The most influential vampire movie ever made, and the start of Universal Studio’s famous monsters series, Dracula starring Bela Lugosi, premieres in theaters. Universal cannily uses Valentine’s Day to promote the film as “The Story of the Strangest Passion the World Has Ever Known!”

1961 – The Periodic Table becomes larger: The 103rd chemical element, Lawrencium, is discovered at the University of California. The name comes from the laboratory where it is synthesized, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

2005 – Now it’s easy to watch funny animal videos: A group of college students launch a video sharing website call YouTube.

Even if Valentine’s Day itself isn’t a major holiday for you, February 14th has many reasons to celebrate—unless you are a member of Bugs Moran’s gang or a supporter of Richard II. All of us at Alpha Air Corporation would like to wish you a happy Valentine’s Day, however you observe it.