What You Need To Know About High Surface Cleaning

The ceiling is full of rafters, pipes and ductwork. Dirt and dust travels through the air and lands on these high surfaces, where they accumulate quickly. Since these areas are out of reach and out of sight they don’t get regularly cleaned or disturbed, and the industrial dust on the ceiling increases while the rest of your building appears clean. And while it may seem that as long as that ceiling dust stays up there it’s not hurting anything, it is actually causing numerous problems within the building.

Top Issues Caused From Dust Collected on High Surfaces

1. Vibrations and air movement in the building can shake loose the built-up dust, which will fall down to contaminate production areas below.
2. Collected dust can create the ideal breeding ground for mites, mold, bacteria, viruses, and even insects or rodents. These mites and mold cause allergic reactions in some people; bacteria and viruses spreading through the building make your employees sick.
3. Chunks of this dust build up throughout the ventilation, clogging the HVAC system and making it work harder to move air through the building.
4. Accumulated dust causes foul odors, and start to break down the surface it’s on. In some cases, it results in rust or rot on the surface.
5. Certain types of dusts can pose a fire hazard when they collect in large enough areas. Many secondary explosions in factories have been caused by an explosive dust cloud forming when dust is knocked down from high surfaces.
6. Lastly, based on this NFPA requirement, OSHA will inspect these areas for a build-up of dust, and will give expensive citations for any accumulations.

Dirt and dust travels through the air and lands on these high surfaces, where they accumulate quickly. Since these areas are out of reach and out of sight they don’t get regularly cleaned, which will increase the risks associated with the lack of high ceiling dusting. Routine high surface cleaning will remove dust, dirt, grease, and other materials commonly found on the high surfaces of manufacturing and production facilities.

How High Ceiling Dusting Keeps Your Facility Clean and Healthy

Removes Accumulated Dust on High Surfaces

High surface dusting removes dust, dirt, grease, and other toxic materials commonly found on the rafters and ceilings of manufacturing and production facilities. The vibrations in facilities like these can shake built up dust loose, causing it to contaminate the production below.

Improves Indoor Air Quality

Commercial duct cleaning can help improve indoor air quality by removing dirt, dust, other airborne contaminants and allergens out of the air from your facility’s HVAC system.

Not only does duct cleaning also improves your facility’s air quality, but allows your facility’s HVAC system to run more efficiently.

Improves Employee Health

Dirty ducts are the perfect breeding ground for mites, mold, bacteria, viruses, and other poisons that could contribute to Sick Building Syndrome. Mites and mold can cause allergic reactions in some people; bacteria and viruses will spread throughout the building making your employees sick.

Dust can also be a slipping hazard when it collects on walking surfaces; the small particles reduce the traction that people are used to when walking in a building. Slips are one of the main causes of workplace injury, and within those injuries dust is one of the main causes of those slips.

Prevents Combustible Dust Risks

Properly removing combustible dust with the right equipment and gear helps to lessen the risk of a dust explosion during the cleaning process. Industrial facilities, produce a lot of dust, and over time that dust collects on machinery, floors, and on high surfaces. These types of dusts can pose as fire hazard when they collect in large enough areas. Many secondary explosions in factories have been caused by an explosive dust cloud forming when dust is knocked down from these high surfaces.

OSHA has been paying attention to the dangers that dust in the workplace can create and has been cracking down on companies that aren’t following housekeeping rules. The Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program was created by OSHA to deal with this issue, and has already cited almost five thousand businesses for dust accumulations, with fines ranging from thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands.

Helps You Avoid OSHA Fines

OSHA has been paying attention to the dangers that dust in the workplace can create and has been cracking down on companies that aren’t following housekeeping rules. The Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program was created by OSHA to deal with this issue, and has already cited almost five thousand businesses for dust accumulations, with fines ranging from thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands.

Hughes Environmental specializes in cleaning projects for commercial and industrial facilities, and we’re focused on safety. Our technicians are OSHA trained, experienced working on high surfaces, and we’re experts in combustible dust safety.

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