Maintenance Tips: Cleaning Your Steel Building
By opting for a steel building, maintenance work gets cut down significantly compared to traditional materials. Primarily, metal buildings only require regular cleaning to stay in their best conditions. But how does one clean a metal building effectively without damaging it? RHINO has put together this step-by-step guide to walk you through the process.
What Needs To Be Cleaned on a Metal Building?
Over time, different kinds of dirt, grime, or other contaminants will gather on a steel building, and need to be cleaned off before it builds up too much. This includes greasy residues left by airborne dirt, chalky-white film — a common byproduct of UV light degradation on painted surfaces — graffiti, or rust on any unsealed or unprotected edges. While rain will help clear some of the mess, mostly the dirt or graffiti, it can’t remove everything.
How Often Should I Clean My Steel Building?
At the very least, a metal building should be cleaned annually, though bi-annually is preferred. However, if the building is in an industrial or coastal area, more frequent cleanings may be needed, as smoke, waste, and salt can lead to more buildup.
How to Clean a Steel Building
Gather Your Tools
The first step of cleaning a metal building is to gather all needed cleaning supplies, which consists of a bucket, cloths or gentle brushes, a detergent, and either a hose or a pressure washer. If using a pressure washer, use the low setting.
There are many options for detergents, and each will be mixed with a gallon of warm water for dilution. These options include:
¼ cup of phosphate free laundry detergent
1 oz of dishwasher detergent
¼ cup of household bleach
¼ cup of household ammonia
Step-by-Step Washing
Before starting on the wash itself, we recommend clearing out and covering anything in the area that you don’t want hit by the water spray or detergent. Close doors and windows, cover outlets and lights, and protect any plants you’re concerned about.
When everything is cleared and covered, it’s time for the pre-wash. Using the hose or low-pressure setting on the power washer, spray down the walls and roof of the building.
Once everything has been sprayed down, use the cloths or brushes to wash everything with the diluted detergents. Be careful with brushes as they can damage or scratch the steel, though they are particularly helpful in spots with tough buildup.
Finally, thoroughly rinse all surfaces and allow to dry.
Your Clean RHINO Steel Building
RHINO Steel Building Systems likes to keep your building simple for you, including maintenance. Only requiring a simple clean a couple times a year, prefab metal building kits keep your workload low and your structure strong. If you’re ready to design your next building, RHINO’s online 3D Designer allows you to put together all aspects of your building in an easy to view 3D space. Or, call our designers to get started.
