Factory deep clean for an Eastbourne steel fabricator

A handover clean shaped by years of fabrication

The factory had accumulated different types of contamination across different substrates. The concrete slab carried years of dirt, grease and grime, while the painted block walls needed cleaning before they could be decorated. Higher-level cladding had also accumulated bonded dirt over time.

Because the unit was being returned to the landlord, the objective was to improve the condition of the whole internal space for handover rather than concentrate on one isolated area.

The survey set realistic expectations before work began

A site survey was carried out before the cleaning programme was agreed. This allowed the condition and construction of the factory to be assessed and the cleaning methods to be planned around the actual surfaces present.

Importantly, the limitations of the cladding were addressed before mobilisation. The customer was advised that shadowing and staining could remain visible after cleaning because of the material make-up. A successful industrial clean should be judged against what the substrate can realistically achieve, not against an assumption that every aged surface will look new.

Different surfaces called for different cleaning methods

The internal clean covered the factory ceiling, walls and floor. A Stonehealth DOFF Integra system was used as part of the cleaning methodology for built-up contamination, with specialist cleaning products supporting the treatment of dirt and grease.

The concrete floor required a different approach from the cladding and painted walls. Mechanical cleaning was used to work on accumulated grime and grease across the slab, while the wider programme was sequenced so contamination and wastewater generated during cleaning could be controlled.

Wastewater had to leave the factory in a controlled way

Water management formed part of the method from the outset. Rather than allowing cleaning water to run to drain, wastewater was recovered using wet-vac equipment and transferred into an IBC tank for removal.

This made containment part of the cleaning process itself. For an industrial deep clean, how residues and wastewater are managed can be just as important as the equipment used to release contamination from the surface.

Four days of cleaning prepared the unit for handover

The cleaning programme was delivered across four days, covering the internal ceiling, walls and concrete floor. The work removed accumulated dirt, grease and grime and prepared the unit for the next stage of its handover.

The finish was judged against the limitations identified at survey. Areas of aged cladding could retain shadowing or staining because of the substrate itself, so the outcome was a thoroughly cleaned industrial unit rather than an unrealistic promise that every original surface would be visually restored to new condition.

Clean and restored are not the same thing