Parking Garage Cleaning Services MA & New England

Why do you want to wash a parking garage? How is the best way to have your parking garage cleaned? What types of equipment should be used when cleaning parking garages?

These are common questions owners and managers of parking garages often ask.  Below are some notes on the important things to think about regarding parking garage cleaning.

First, there’s public appearance and the user’s perception of your parking facility.

One of the biggest concerns in any industry is public appearance and perception.  Whether you operate a parking garage for a shopping center, a hospital, or a residential condo building, your customers will benefit from a clean garage.

Parking garages that are neglected likely have oil spots on the floors, accumulated dust buildup, soot from cars and trucks operating underground, and sometime human or animal urine.   These issues cause many concerns for the parking garage manager.  The first is obviously safety.   There are liability issues any time the public is involved.  These include slips and falls, tracking oil, dirt and debris into their expensive vehicle, office, or home. Serious health concerns include urine or excrement that might be in the garage.

Second, there’s the benefit of maintain the garage surface, either coated or not.

Concrete is porous and will absorb anything sitting on it.  So, the oil stains, and in the northeast, road salt, sand, and grime will penetrate the concrete surface.  Over time, these contaminants will eat away at the concrete surfaces, causing very expensive repairs or reconstruction costs in the future.  Expensive coatings also need to be maintained.  The sand and dirt left over time, will ruin the expensive coating.  Simple, inexpensive, regular garage washing will remove these risks.

So, how is the best way to clean a parking garage?

First, regular sweeping and trash pick-up is important.  The accumulated sand over the winter months needs to be removed regularly, at least annually, to properly maintain the expansion joints and the concrete surface.   A ride-on power sweeper , along with hand sweeping/shoveling is the best method for indoor parking garages.

Second, a thorough HOT WATER pressure washing is recommended to remove the embedded oil stains and grime.  A professional pressure washing company, like INSTA-BRITE that uses HOT WATER is critical to the best cleaning job.  Detergents, or degreasers should be spot applied to help remove the oil stains.  Many times, ride-on power scrubbers, mini Zamboni type equipment is required.  Many times, indoor or underground parking garages that need to be cleaned, do not have proper drainage.  So, power scrubbers do two things.  They cover a good sized area quickly performing a consistent level of garage floor cleaning, but also help to manage water.  It vacuums up water as it goes and then the tank can be emptied where permitted, or removed off-site by the garage cleaning company.

Finally, to help minimize the inconvenience to users, parking garage cleaning should be scheduled either off hours, or in as limited number of washing shifts as possible.  Shutting down parts of the garage for scheduled maintenance cleaning should be kept to a minimum.  Tenants and users need to be notified and then a safety plan needs to be enacted, to ensure the safe completion of the cleaning project.

So, in summary, while parking garage owners and managers, in an effort to save some money, might put off or delay cleaning, thinking they are saving the money that it would cost for proper garage maintenance. They do not stop to realize the potential liabilities and hazards of a dirty garage or the benefits of having a clean, well maintained garage.

or more information, call INSTA-BRITE MOBILE WASHING at (781) 447-0022 or www.instabrite.com