INDUSTRIAL CLEANING
KEY COMPONENTS
In industrial settings, the washrooms can take a bit of a beating, so it is important to ensure that they are kept clean and hygienic. Marc Ferguson, International Business Development Manager at Kaivac, explains the three key factors for keeping industrial washrooms clean.
Here’s the situation: a UK cleaning contractor telephoned a cleaning consultant because he needed help cleaning the washrooms in a large industrial facility. This was a new client, and he wanted to make as good a first impression as possible.
The facility was about 20 years old with several large washrooms located around a large warehouse-type work area. As the contractor described the washrooms, the cleaning consultant saw red lights flashing and heard bells going off in his head. It wasn’t due to the washroom fixtures, however.
The big problem was the tile and grout floors. They were covered with stains, spots, grease, and oil, and the grout areas were dark, indicating they were heavily soiled. Further, the washrooms were all foul smelling.
The cleaning consultant suggested three ways to address this situation and turn things around. It all came down to the proper selection of cleaning solutions; proper selection of cleaning equipment; and ventilation.
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CHEMICAL SELECTION The tiles in most industrial washrooms are naturally smooth. This makes them relatively easy to clean. The big problem is the grout. Grout is very porous, and the surface of the grout is usually lower than the surface of the tiles. Because moisture, along with soiled cleaning solution, often finds its way into these grout areas (especially if the floors are mopped), as they dry they leave unsightly dark areas that get worse over time.
Many times these tile and grout areas are sealed, but cleaning contractors should know a sealant at best delays the darkening and soiling of the grout areas. It does not prevent it. Depending on how seriously soiled these areas are, the cleaning consultant suggested the initial cleaning should be with a powerful degreaser. Once applied to the tile and grout areas, it should be given a few minutes to dwell on the surface, but do not let it dry. If the degreaser dries, it can contribute to the problem and
not resolve it. After a few minutes, agitation with a deck brush or handheld brush may be necessary.
These same areas must be rinsed thoroughly to remove the degreaser or whatever cleaning agents were used. However, if a mop is used on the floor tiles, this process should be repeated a couple of times using a fresh mop and cleaning solution each time. If soiling is still present in the grout, the entire process should be repeated once again.
Be forewarned: degreasers are very powerful cleaning solutions. Use them carefully. Once the grout areas are effectively cleaned, an all-purpose cleaning solution should be all that is needed on a regular basis. However, deep cleaning with a degreaser will still likely be need periodically.
EQUIPMENT SELECTION Even if these industrial washrooms were in good condition, cleaning them manually would likely prove very time consuming, and because of worker fatigue, less effective. The big problem
Tomorrow’s Cleaning August 2016 47
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