Air and water filtration systems protect the people in your building and the equipment that serves them, but only when they are the right type, installed properly and maintained. We inspect your air filtration, water treatment and related equipment and tell you plainly what is working, what is not and what to do about it.
These systems tend to be out of sight. Filters get swapped for whatever is cheapest, bypass gaps open up around filter racks, cooling tower water treatment drifts, and backflow devices go untested. The results show up as dusty spaces, fouled coils, odour and comfort complaints, or in the worst case a water safety problem.
What we look at
- HVAC air filtration: filter type and rating, fit in the rack, bypass around frames, pressure drop, change intervals and storage of spare filters.
- Air handling equipment that affects air quality: outdoor air intakes, dampers, coils, drain pans and humidifiers.
- Cooling towers and evaporative equipment: physical condition, drift eliminators, water treatment, and whether a water management plan exists and is being followed.
- Domestic water treatment: softeners, sediment and carbon filters, UV units and reverse osmosis systems.
- Process and equipment water: filtration serving chillers, boilers and other plant.
- Backflow prevention devices: presence, type, condition and test records.
- Records: maintenance logs, water treatment reports and test certificates.
Testing and regulated work. Backflow device testing is done by certified testers under municipal or provincial programs, and lab analysis of water for bacteria such as Legionella is done by accredited laboratories. Our inspection does not replace those. We review the results, check that tests are happening on schedule and help you act on what they show.
How it works
- We start with why. Air quality complaints, a new tenant with sensitive operations, a cooling tower you inherited, or a request from an insurer or municipality each lead to a different scope.
- Document review. We look at equipment lists, filter specifications, water treatment reports and any existing water management plan.
- Site inspection. We inspect filter banks, air handlers, cooling towers, water treatment equipment and backflow devices, and take readings where instruments are installed.
- Findings and priorities. We rank issues by health risk, equipment risk and cost.
- Report and follow-up. You receive a written report and a walkthrough, and we can coordinate contractors and testers to close out the findings.
What to have ready
- Filter specifications and the schedule your contractor follows, plus any recent invoices showing what is actually being installed.
- Water treatment service reports and log sheets for cooling towers, boilers and closed loops.
- Your cooling tower water management plan, if you have one, and any Legionella sampling results.
- Backflow test certificates and the list of devices your municipality has on file.
- Records of complaints: dust, odours, stuffy rooms, discoloured or bad-tasting water.
What you get
A written report describing each system, its condition and the gaps we found, with photos. It includes recommendations on filter selection and change practices, items to add to your maintenance plan, and where specialist testing or a licensed contractor is needed. If a cooling tower has no written water management plan, the report says so and explains what one should cover.
Because filtration problems often show up as symptoms somewhere else, such as dirty diffusers, short coil life or scale in water heaters, we connect each finding back to the equipment and spaces it affects. That makes it easier to explain the cost of a fix to whoever approves the budget, and to check later whether the fix worked.
What we commonly find
| Finding | Usual cause | What it leads to |
|---|---|---|
| Dirty coils and ducts behind new filters | Gaps around filter frames, missing filters, damaged racks | Lost capacity, higher fan energy, dust in occupied spaces |
| Filters changed on the calendar but heavily loaded | Change interval set without looking at pressure drop | Reduced airflow and comfort complaints |
| Cooling tower with scale, slime or debris | Treatment not adjusted to the water or the load, poor drift eliminators, no cleaning schedule | Higher bacterial risk, reduced heat transfer, corrosion |
| Softener or filter out of service | Salt or cartridges not replaced, bypass valve left open | Scale in water heaters and equipment |
| Backflow device overdue for testing | No one tracking the anniversary date after a staff or contractor change | Possible contamination risk and a notice from the municipality |
Many of these are cheap to fix once someone has found them. The value of the inspection is in tying each one to its cause, so the same problem does not come back after the next filter change or the next change of service contractor.
Who it's for
- Facility managers responding to indoor air quality or water quality concerns.
- Owners of buildings with cooling towers or evaporative condensers.
- Healthcare, laboratory, food and education facilities with higher expectations for air and water.
- Property managers taking over a building with unclear maintenance history.
For background, see our guides on HVAC filters and MERV ratings, Legionella and cooling towers, water filtration for buildings and backflow prevention and testing.
Common questions
Do you test water for Legionella?
Sampling and lab analysis are done by accredited laboratories. We can help you plan sampling, review results and look at the conditions in the system that the results point to.
Should we just install the highest-rated filters?
Not always. Higher-efficiency filters add resistance to airflow, and some older equipment cannot handle it without losing capacity. The right filter depends on the equipment and what the space needs, which is part of what we look at.
Can you test our backflow preventers?
Backflow testing must be done by a certified tester under your municipality's program. We check that devices are in place and tested on schedule, and we can coordinate a tester for you.
Do we need a water management plan for our cooling tower?
Requirements differ by province and municipality, and some jurisdictions require registration and a written plan. Even where it is not required, a plan that sets out who checks what, how often and what to do when results are out of range is the main control against Legionella. We can review an existing plan or help you work out what one should cover.