Why You Should Have Your Facility’s Rafters and High-Ceilings Cleaned

Why You Should Have Your Facility’s Rafters and High-Ceilings Cleaned

Dust particles and debris falling from the rafters and ceilings are a major concern for many businesses. Dust is created from the manufacturing process within most facilities; everything from making plastic bottles to aluminum tires creates industrial dust. In food and beverage plants, accumulated dust and grime on high surfaces can result in a failed inspection by the FDA or USDA. In manufacturing, warehousing, and commercial settings, it can become a safety, health, or fire hazard and result in failed inspections by OSHA. 

Dirt, dust, and grime can collect on high surfaces in other types of facilities as well, including car dealerships, gymnasiums, churches, schools, event venues, medical facilities, restaurants, fitness centers, and the like. When looking up from below, your facility’s rafters and high-ceiling may appear clean to the naked eye, but once our cleaning technicians are up there, we find that most high-surfaces are typically quite filthy. 

At Cleanstart, our commercial cleaning services include removing dust and debris on hard-to-reach areas, including rafters, ceilings, ceiling trusses, lighting fixtures, the exterior of ductwork, beams, high storage racks & shelving, ceiling decks, piping exteriors, and other structural components.

There are numerous reasons why you should have your facility routinely cleaned by a professional cleaning company that specializes in high-cleaning and dusting, such as:

• Vibrations and air movement in a facility can shake loose dust build-up, which can fall down to production areas below and lead to quality control issues, or even damage sensitive machinery.
  
• Visible dust can also make your facility look dingy and dirty, which is unappealing to employees and your customers.
• Accumulated dust can create foul odors and start to break down surfaces and even cause rust or rot. If you’ve ever noticed an odd smell in your facility, chances are that it’s coming from accumulated dust rotting from above.
• Collected dust is a potential fire hazard. Many secondary explosions in industrial facilities have been caused by an explosive dust cloud forming when dust particles are knocked down from rafters and high-ceilings. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) just 1/32 inch of dust over 5% of a surface area of a room can create combustible hazards. Rafters, ceilings, and other high surfaces typically add up to more than 5% of the surface area of a room. Numerous explosions have occurred when dust build-up became combustible.
• Accumulated dust can become a breeding ground for mites, bacteria, mold, viruses, and even insects and rodents. Within just 1 gram of rafter dust, there can be anywhere from 100 and 500 dust mites. Mites and mold can cause allergic reactions in some individuals and bacteria and viruses spreading through the building can make your employees sick.
• Rafter and ceiling debris can enter the ventilation, clogging up the HVAC system. It can create poor indoor air quality, which according to the EPA is a leading environmental threat and cause of airborne sickness.
• OSHA & the NFPA can give violations and expensive fines for having unsafe levels of dust accumulation on surfaces, ceilings, and rafters.

Why You Should Hire Cleanstart

At Cleanstart, we specialize in cleaning projects for commercial and industrial facilities, with a focus on safety. High elevation cleaning requires specialist staff with state of the art equipment due to the difficulty of accessibility. Our cleaning technicians are OSHA-trained in high-surface safety and have experience working on high surfaces.

We use man lifts to enable our crew to clean and dust at high elevations while being safe. We also provide our cleaners with personal protection equipment (PPE) including helmets, full-body harness, steel toe boots, and safety glasses. We work around your schedule, including non-business hours to avoid disruptions and protect the areas below from falling dust and debris. 

We have over 25 years of experience in the commercial cleaning industry and we will continue to develop and keep pace with all industry advancements. We focus on building long term relationships with our clients and have over 2 decades of experience in post-construction cleaning, commercial cleaning, and janitorial services.

We genuinely care about our customers and take pride in giving our best to our community. Our goal is always the same and that is to act with integrity at all times and to be the best cleaning service in the greater Puget Sound region. We provide fast and affordable services and are happy to customize a solution to fit your needs and budget.

We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If for whatever reason our 5-star quality cleaning standard is not met, we will make it right by correcting the issue within one business day. Daily, weekly, monthly, and even one-time cleaning and disinfecting services, as well as day and night options, are available.

Our high-quality commercial cleaning services tick all the boxes:

✓ Over 25 years in the cleaning industry
✓ Professionally trained janitorial specialists
✓ Committed to the highest quality of clean
✓ Local, licensed, bonded & insured
✓ 24/7 cleaning options & support
✓ Customized cleaning solutions
✓ 100% satisfaction guarantee
✓ OSHA, HIPAA, EPA, CDC, AORN compliant
✓ BBB A+ rating

If you are looking for an experienced and reputable cleaning company for your facility, we are ready to help – no job is too big or too small!  For more information about our rafter and high-ceiling cleaning services or any other services that we offer, please give us a call at (253) 921-2593. Request a free estimate! 

Article Sources:

https://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib073105.html
http://www.nfpa.org/freeaccess?order_src=D524
https://www.ishn.com/articles/112058-nfpa-652-standard-on-fundamentals-of-combustible-dust

Where we service in the PNW:

Auburn, Bellevue, Bellingham, Bonney Lake, Bremerton, Factoria, Fife, Gig Harbor, Kent, Lakewood, Olympia, Puyallup, Renton, Seattle, Tacoma, Tukwila, University Place, King County, Kitsap County, Pierce County, and Thurston County.

5013 Pacific Hwy E unit 16 Fife, WA 98424 • Phone: 253.921.2593 • Email: Caleb @ thecleanstart.com