Every single millimetre of cladding cleaned
November 1st 2004

Anew service for cleaning cladding and façades has been developed by Kaizen Contract Services.

Called Kai-Wash, the company claims it can clean every millimetre of a building’s external panels or structure, no matter how tall the building.

Central to the system is a purpose-designed, lightweight device, not dissimilar to a cradle, temporarily suspended from the roof of a building on a dual fail-safe rope system. It contains hoses not people attached to a custom-built service vehicle at ground level.

Installation takes about half a day depending on access.

The cleaning action is entirely by hot water pumped under pressure through Kaizen’s specially designed spray heads that jet the water at critical angles onto the outer surface of a building to attack dirt and grime, first by loosening it and then getting under it to remove it completely.

Only the company’s safety conscious rope access technicians, who are all IRATA trained, are allowed on to the roof of a building to install the system. They are also responsible for setting up safe temporary systems of attachment when the roof does not have its own fall arrest system.

Brushes are not used, and use is not normally made of additives or detergents. Due to the speed of the cleaning, Kaizen says relatively little water is used and, if detergent is not used, water can go directly into surface drains.