Duct cleaning equipment for professionals

Which types of air duct cleaning tools are there?

In practice you come across four cleaning methods: rotating brushes on a flexible shaft, a robot with a camera, compressed air and manual cleaning. Whatever the method, negative pressure stops loosened dirt from spreading through the building. A Dutch cleaning company describes exactly this in its explanation of how it works.

• Rotating brush: mechanically loosening dust and deposits. The DC4 and PD4 work this way.
• Compressed air: a nozzle that pulls itself through the duct using air pressure and blows the dirt loose. That is the Intelligent Airnozzle.
• Robot with camera: a driving system that combines images and cleaning. Danduct also has an MPR robot in its range.
• Manual: only feasible for easily accessible parts, such as grilles and valves.

According to the Eurovent recommendation, dry methods are usually sufficient for supply ducts and general extract ducts, while extract ducts from commercial kitchens call for wet methods. That partly decides which duct cleaning equipment you need.

Comparison table: DC4, PD4, PD2 and Airnozzle side by side

Below are the four machines in the Lamers range, based on data from Lamers and manufacturer Danduct Clean (checked on 6 October 2026).

Want the details per machine? Then look at the electric DC4 brushing machine, at duct cleaning with a power drill, at the PD2 from Lamers and at the air nozzle with built-in camera.

Selection guide: which duct cleaner suits your situation?

Go through these five questions before you request a quote. You will then already know which direction you are heading.

1. What is the smallest diameter? Below 100 mm, a brushing machine with 100 mm brushes drops out and you end up with compressed air.
2. How long is the longest run between two openings? Longer than 7.5 metres? Then the DC4 with a shaft of up to 30 metres becomes interesting.
3. Are there vertical sections or 90 degree bends? The DC4 handles both, the Airnozzle takes tight bends.
4. What kind of dirt is inside? Dry dust calls for something different from sticky grease. With grease you look at more aggressive brushes or a wet method.
5. How often will you do it? A facilities team that cleans a few short ducts a few times a year has different needs from a cleaning contractor working every day.

Brushes and shafts: completing your duct cleaning kit

The machine is only half the story. The result comes from the brush. Danduct supplies soft, standard and more aggressive Tynex brushes from 100 to 600 mm, plus soft shafts for small ducts with bends. With the DC4, Lamers uses polypropylene brushes of 0.6 and 0.9 mm.

The EPA advises soft brushes for fibreglass duct board and for sheet metal, so that you do not damage the material. An aggressive brush is therefore not automatically better: it belongs with stubborn deposits in a sturdy steel duct.

Manufacturer Danduct offers the DC4 in packages. The Medium package contains the machine, shafts of 10 and 20 metres and a brush set of 7 pieces from 100 to 600 mm. The Large package has shafts of 10, 20 and 30 metres, a trolley, the standard and the aggressive brush set and a shaft holder. Unsure about the mix? Then see how to approach choosing the right duct brush.

Sealing, extraction and inspection around the machine

A cleaning machine without sealing and extraction only moves the dirt around. Danduct has duct balloons to seal off a duct section, foam caps to seal valves and diffusers, and resealable access doors. For extraction there are VT extraction fans with hoses and filtration.

• Keep every section you are cleaning under continuous negative pressure with an extraction unit.
• If that unit exhausts inside the building, use a HEPA filter of 99.97 percent at 0.3 µm.
• Plan access openings no more than 10 metres apart, or so that there are no more than two bends of 45 degrees or more between them (Eurovent).
• Ducts wider than 500 mm need an access door of at least 500 x 400 mm.

Everything about this side of the work is covered under sealing balloons and vent caps.

Compressed air or rotating brush: when do you use which ventilation duct cleaning tools?

Lamers says it honestly: cleaning with an air nozzle was always considered less effective than rotating brushes. The camera in the Intelligent Airnozzle changes that, because you see every spot and corner and can clean in a targeted way. Even so, the brush remains strong wherever mechanical force is needed.

There are also situations where compressed air is less practical. In bakeries, Alimento and TNO advise against compressed air for cleaning because of flour dust, and in EX zones an ATEX 114 certified vacuum cleaner is required. In such environments, always discuss with Lamers how to prevent dust from spreading.

Fictional example: the facilities team of a care location has long supply ducts of 250 mm and a series of thin extract pipes. For the supply it chooses the DC4, for the thin pipes the Airnozzle, and with the camera it records what the duct looks like before and after cleaning.

Danduct Clean and LIFA AIR: how do the ranges compare?

For orientation: other manufacturers also make brushing machines. LIFA AIR is not a Lamers product, but it helps to put the sizes in perspective.

For most ducts in offices, schools and care buildings the diameter falls within 100 to 600 mm. Very large industrial ducts call for a separate conversation about the approach.

Misconceptions when buying a duct cleaning kit

More power is always better. Not true. A brush that is too hard can damage duct board. Choose based on material and dirt.

One machine does everything. Rarely. Many buildings have both long main ducts and short, thin branches. Two machines that complement each other often work better than one that never quite fits anywhere.

Cleaning is done once the duct looks clean. In care, food and hospitality you have to demonstrate the result, for example with a surface comparison, a NADCA vacuum test or a grease layer thickness measurement. The requirements per sector are set out under sectors that need clean air ducts and under duct cleaning standards.

Which ventilation duct cleaning tools suit your cleaning business?

If you buy equipment to offer duct cleaning as a service to other businesses, do not choose the machine but the kit that fits your clients. Four profiles you often see in practice:

If you work in a yearly round with regular clients, what counts most is how quickly you set up and whether you can give the client a report with images. A machine that rotates your shaft left and right automatically, such as the DC4, then saves time per duct. How to organise inspection, cleaning, reporting and your business model around such a kit is explained under equipment for cleaning contractors.

How to ask Lamers for advice or a quote

The better your data, the faster the advice. List these points:

• Diameters and shapes (round, square, rectangular) of the ducts.
• Length of the longest run between two openings.
• Number and type of bends, and whether there are vertical sections.
• Type of contamination: dust, grease, flour or construction dust.
• Available power and compressed air on site.

You can then ask for duct cleaning advice, request a callback or ask for a quote straight away, also via WhatsApp. If you would like to read the basics first, start with professional air duct cleaning.