5 Advanced Restroom Cleaning Techniques Used by Professional Services
Restrooms require daily cleaning and sanitation to maintain hygiene and prevent spread of germs. Professional bathroom cleaning services use advanced tools and methods beyond basic mopping and wiping.
1. Power Washing with Specialty Equipment
Power washing uses high-pressure water jets to deeply clean surfaces in restrooms. Professional grade power washers generate pressure between 1500-4000 psi, far more than a typical garden hose. This heavy duty cleaning blast removes stubborn dirt, grime, stains, and debris from floors, walls, dividers, fixtures, and other hard surfaces.
Specialized wands and nozzles allow workers to attach the power washer hose and thoroughly scrub specific areas like inside toilets and urinals. The high pressure water jets clean holes, rims, and other hard to reach areas better than manual brushing. Adjustable tips alter the spray pattern and intensity as needed for different applications.
The CR2 system from Edic for touch-free, hands-free restroom cleaning. It uses high water pressure up to 600 psi to blast away dirt, grime, stains, and debris from floors, walls, fixtures, and other surfaces. The pressure washer deep cleans toilets, urinals, sinks, and tile more effectively than mopping or scrubbing by hand. It loosens contaminants so they can be removed with the vacuum squeegee.
The system simplifies the process so custodians don't have to get their hands dirty or bend down to scrub fixtures.
The CR2's power washer provides faster, deeper, more hygienic cleaning than traditional methods. It saves significant labor time while transforming dirty restrooms.
2. Steam Cleaning
Steam cleaning is an effective and hygienic way to clean commercial restrooms. The high-temperature steam penetrates and lifts away dirt, grime, and bacteria that accumulate in high-traffic restrooms.
Commercial steam cleaning units generate very hot, pressurized steam from just tap water. When aimed at restroom surfaces like toilets, urinals, sinks, counters, and floors, the steam immediately dissolves caked-on messes, lifts stains from grout, and cleans the tightest crevices.
The owners of Krystal Klean, Jeremy and Tony Morgan, explain that steam cleaning is an effective way to clean commercial restrooms. Jeremy says they use a "pretty amazing machine" that provides a "deep clean" in high-traffic restrooms, penetrating and lifting away dirt, grime and bacteria.
Tony describes the $50,000 tile cleaning machine they use that operates at 250 degrees. He says "it cleans it, it sucks up all the waste and removes it back to the truck. It's a pretty fabulous machine and it gives you that clean environment."
Jeremy elaborates on the importance of clean restrooms, saying:
"there's nothing worse than walking into a restroom and taking a deep breath and smelling waste and cleaning supplies mixed together."
He says their steam cleaning service leaves restrooms clean and smelling fresh.
The Morgans emphasize that steam cleaning provides a thorough and hygienic cleaning process for commercial restrooms. The hot steam penetrates and cleans places that other methods like mopping miss. Overall, they advocate that:
"Steam cleaning is the most hygienic way to maintain safe, germ-free public restrooms."
3. Electrostatic Sprayers
Electrostatic sprayers are an efficient way to disinfect public restrooms. These specialized sprayers give an electrostatic charge to liquid disinfectants as they pass through the spray nozzle. This produces a fine, positively charged mist.
When sprayed, the positively charged disinfectant particles are attracted to all the negatively charged surfaces in the restroom – such as sinks, toilets, mirrors, floors, and stall doors. The disinfectant wraps around and coats all sides of objects, covering even hard-to-reach nooks and crannies.
This allows complete and even coverage of disinfectant across all restroom surfaces very quickly. An entire restroom can be disinfected in a matter of minutes with an electrostatic sprayer, rather than relying on manual spraying, wiping, and scrubbing.
Glenn Rasin, a chemical specialist, advocates that electrostatic spraying is "one of the greatest innovations" he's seen for cleaning in his 40+ year career.
He explains that electrostatic sprayers positively charge disinfectant particles which are attracted to the negatively charged surfaces in a restroom. This allows the spray to "wrap around" all surfaces, reaching even hard to access areas like behind toilets and urinals.
Rasin states that electrostatic spraying skyrockets productivity compared to manual disinfecting. The sprayer he demonstrates can disinfect 18,000 square feet per hour, whereas manual spraying with a trigger bottle is far slower.
He urges facilities to adopt electrostatic spraying because "you'll get that wrap coverage and allow even further productivity." Rasin concludes:
"If you're not in the electrostatic or have electrostatic within your facility, I strongly urge you to consider it and you could firsthand see the advantages of electrostatic spraying in maintaining a much healthier, safer facility."
4. Ultraviolet Light
Ultraviolet or UV light is an effective way to sanitize restrooms, especially as a supplement to daily cleaning routines. UV light in the germicidal wavelength range has the ability to deactivate and kill viruses, bacteria, fungi and molds.
Germicidal UV fixtures can be installed in restroom ceilings to shine down and disinfect all surfaces. The UV exposure damages the DNA and RNA of microorganisms, rendering them unable to reproduce or infect. It also breaks down the membranes and metabolic processes in cells.
The germicidal effects happen quickly, as brief exposures for just seconds are enough to inactivate most viruses and bacteria. However, UV light can only disinfect areas it directly shines on, and does not have lasting residual effects.
For restrooms, UV lights are often operated overnight or during closed hours when the restroom is unoccupied. This allows the UV to sanitize all surfaces without risk of harming people's eyes or skin. Signage and motion sensors help prevent anyone from entering restrooms when UV lights are on.
Facilities managers can monitor UV usage with sensors and alarms when bulbs need replacing.
5. Ozone Treatment
Ozone treatment is an advanced disinfection method that can be very effective for cleaning public restrooms. Ozone (O3) is an unstable gas made of three oxygen atoms. It is a powerful oxidizing agent that destroys bacteria, viruses, and odors.
Specialized ozone generators produce ozone gas from regular oxygen in the air. The ozone gas can then be pumped into and circulated within an empty restroom space. As the ozone permeates the entire area, it penetrates and sanitizes all surfaces, cracks, crevices, vents, and fixtures. It oxidizes contaminants and breaks down organic materials that cause odors.
The unstable ozone molecules quickly revert back to regular oxygen after sanitizing an area. This leaves no chemical residues behind. However, the gas is highly reactive and proper ventilation protocols are essential for safe use. Technicians require training on following ozone exposure limits and operating generators correctly.
Ozone treatment works best for periodic deep cleanings when the restroom can be closed off and sealed overnight or during low-traffic periods. The powerful gas sanitizes the whole space, reaching places that daily cleaners can miss. Ozone complements normal cleaning routines.
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