Parking Lot Maintenance
Why parking lot cleaning is important
The parking lot is the first thing people see when entering a property, it should be treated like a welcome mat and cleaned consistently. This can improve a building’s curb appeal and help extend the parking lot’s life.
Salt, sand, gravel, dirt, fluid leaks, and other debris collect on surface parking lots, potentially a risk to vehicles and pedestrians. Should accidents occur due to poor maintenance or negligence, property owners can be found liable.
Excess gravel and dirt can create an unstable surface. If a driver suddenly brakes, tires may lose their grip with the road resulting in a skid. Also, debris may cause pedestrians to slip and fall, which is a commonly reported parking lot injury.
Exposure to the weather elements, may also blow debris such as nails, screws and broken glass and a dirty parking lot will kick up dust. This fine dust can cause health problems or allergies.
This same dirt and debris, along with other abrasive particles, can act like sand paper when vehicles drive over it. The constant grinding wears the pavement and promotes a process in which the stone particles separate from the binder causing deterioration. Over time, dirt can also accumulate in pavement crevices and become a breeding ground for invasive plants and weeds. As the plants grow, they can cause the asphalt to crack more. Furthermore, a dirty parking lot can become a feeding ground for vermin, which is unsanitary.
Underground Parking Garages
Residents enter and exit building through the underground parking lot, the constant foot traffic tracks, dirt, dust, debris, and salt throughout the common areas of building, while entering unit, hallways, elevators, and mail areas. All to often residents lean towards conceiving underground parking garage as dark and dirty place and people will toss trash, pour out coffee, other liquid drinks that can attract vermin like, rats mice, and ants. Additionally, all vehicles drip and leak oil or gas fluids, which can be a fire hazard. When an underground parking lot is not maintained it can quickly spiral out of control.
Some parkades often have poor ventilation, resulting in stale and stagnant air. This intensifies odours from trash, urine, cigarette butts, vehicle fluid leaks and rainwater, which is regularly tracked in and takes longer to evaporate than on surface lots. Dirty water also sits in floor drains and catch basins, contributing to undesirable underground garage smells.
When a parking lot area is well maintained it shows in the structure, common area of building, and will help to keep your property investment values stable and strong. A clean exterior of a building shows the integrity of the building interior.
We use industrial surface cleaners and pressuring washing that removes the salt, sand, gravel, dirt, fluid leaks, trash and other debris that collects on underground parking garages, all of which pose a risk to vehicles and homeowners. Parking lots should be pressure wash and cleaned at least once per year to keep the area clean and maintain the integrity of the structure. There are garbage and recycling areas in most underground parking garages and due to sanitary and health reasons these areas should be pressure wash twice a year or more.
