Metal ceiling cleaning

[DanKes]

Hello, I am being asked to clean about 50k sq. ft. of metal ceiling which has manufacturing dust accumulated on the "I" beams and support beams at about 1/4" thick. The ceiling is 20' from the ground. I am unsure about pressure washing from the start, as the dust will just become airborne, and I'll end up chasing it around the room. There is a central vacuum system in the plant, and I am leaning towards using that first.

I am looking for suggestions from anyone who has some experience in cleaning this type of situation. Possibly a low pressure rinse or soap application first? Possibly using a foamer? I've got the disposal and electrical issues taken care of. I'm just not sure if there's a better approach to the cleaning.

Thanks in advance.

 

[hadishon]

I would try to get as much as the dry stuff up before you make too much mud.

One idea is to use microfiber towels. Microfibers are the fibers used in the "swifters" and such... they attract dirt very well and hold many times its weight. What I would do is get some large terry microfiber towels on an extension pole and mop what I could first. There are several websites that sell microfiber towels, just do a search.

(Microfiber towels are not the same as regular towels, the attract and hold much more material. A side note, I use microfiber towels when I wash cars in car lots. I let as much water evaporate on itself as I can (I use DI water) and then I just go back and touch up with the towels. They are guarenteed not to scratch...)

With the vacuum system, make sure the vacuum filters the dust and just doesn't blow it right back up there.

 

[Walt Graner]

I did an old saw mill once, used a shop vac mounted on a 55 gal drum with & a car air filter mounted with duct tape on the discharge, it had a brush on the end also. This with a 40 ' man lift worked real well. The shop was empty when we did the job, the new tenant was going to be a club / dance hall.

 

[oneness]

I imagine that only in Texas could a sawmill be converted to a dance club!

 

[DanKes]

Thanks for your suggestions. I hope to put some of them to use, as I did get the job. It has to be completed by 10/1, which is a little over 5 weeks of work. I'm hoping 4 men can get it done in that time.

 

[hadishon]

May I ask what your bid was?

 

[DanKes]

$ including walls, floors and a second building. I'll let you know once I receive the paperwork. Until it is signed, I'd like to keep it under wraps.

 

[DanKes]

Ceiling cleaning

I wanted to thank those who helped with suggestions. I ended up injecting ZEP Industrial through a telescoping wand, and rinsing off of a scissors lift with a turbo nozzle. We still have a few more weeks to go, but it has gone well so far. Attached is a before/after pic. There is a little rust that is remainig that they will have to live with.

 

[B.E YOUNG Sr]

How many weeks have you been on the job?

How much a square foot?

 

[DanKes]

I have 2 buildings to do. About 60,000 total sq. ft. of ceilings, and walls. I've been there a week, and figure on about 2 - 3 more weeks. We're covering about 3000 to 4000 sq. ft. per day, using 2 men, 1 pressure washer (hot water, 5 gpm, 2000 psi). The work is being done at 80 cents per sq. ft. I have an alternate price to add the floors at 30 cents per foot.

The second buildings' ceiling was painted 6 months ago, and should go much quicker. That building is twice the size of the first. The buildings are 20k and 40k sq. ft.

We vacuumed all of the I beams prior to washing. Here's a pic showing that.

 

[DanKes]

Beam picture

 

[B.E YOUNG Sr]

Dankes,

Looks like you guys are doing a great job!

At 1.10 a square foot, what a job to land.

Will look good in you porfolio and checking account.

 

[DanKes]

A couple final pics

A couple more pics from the completed job. A floor pic:

 

[DanKes]

And a wall pic

Wall cleaning, using an extension wand and a turbo nozzle.