Exterior Care: At UNL Parking Garages, A Rider Pressure Washer Reduces Labor

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Once every summer, three parking garages with nearly 4,000 stalls at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) have to be cleaned of dirt, oil and residue that vehicles deposit all year long.  Given the heavy use of the garages and a relatively narrow annual cleaning window, the University has to make its opportunity to clean count.  Bill Manning, night manager of University Parking and Transit Services, relies on the Cyclone 4500™ rider pressure washer from Advance to ensure that the University makes the most of its summer cleaning routine.

Manning realized that the University’s conventional pressure-washing equipment wasn’t up to the task when he found the floor of a garage still caked with dirt, oil and buildup the day after the scheduled cleaning.  When he confirmed the yearly washing had taken place, he set about finding a replacement for the old equipment.  After researching several options, he saw an impromptu Cyclone demonstration on one of the loading docks at the Dallas Convention Center while attending the International Parking Institute Conference & Expo.  Right then and there, Manning knew the Cyclone 4500 was the machine for UNL.

“It was amazing what the Cyclone did as far as cleaning all the rust and oil and everything else that was on the floor of that loading dock,” Manning said.  “I couldn’t believe how much it cleaned in just one pass.  We decided to pursue the purchase of the Cyclone based on that one demonstration.”

The Cyclone’s cleaning performance has made a big difference in removing dirt, oil and other build-up from the floors of UNL’s parking garages.  The Cyclone heats water to 160 degrees F, then unleashes it over a 34-inch cleaning path at 4,000 pounds of pressure per square inch.  The machine’s patented cleaning and recovery head spins hydraulically and tips to within a quarter-inch of the ground, which allows the Cyclone to clean surfaces ranging from flat to uneven.  The result: “When the crew gets done with the Cyclone, you can tell where they have cleaned,” Manning said.

Cyclone cleans up after itself
Manning doesn’t have to worry about how to comply with federal stormwater runoff regulations since the Cyclone doesn’t require detergents or other chemicals and doesn’t leave water on the ground.  The machine’s closed-loop system reclaims, filters and reuses the water used during the cleaning process.  That’s a distinct upgrade from UNL’s previous pressure-washing equipment, which required non-stop use of water that once resulted in a flooded storeroom after the cleaning crew forgot to turn off a system drain valve.
 
“The old power washers splashed water on walls, signs, cars and the windows of the stairway tower.  Then we would have to have window cleaners come in to clean the water streaks and spots,” Manning said.  “There are so many things that the Cyclone is saving us trouble on.”

A quick payoff
Before the University bought the Advance Cyclone, it paid an outside contractor to come in and clean the parking garages once a year.  The contractor used the University’s power-washing equipment, and two people spent an entire weekend cleaning one garage, parts of which had to be closed during that time.  Under the new cleaning regime, UNL keeps its cleaning operation in-house – staff members of the University’s  Landscape Services department now are responsible for garage cleaning – and it no longer is necessary to block off parts of the garage.  Since it takes just one person to operate the Cyclone, the machine frees up staff for other on-campus cleaning and maintenance.

“We were paying contractors a significant amount of money to come in and clean our garages every year, and they still used the University’s equipment,” Manning said. “Our payoff is really going to be two or three years when the Cyclone will be completely paid off and we’ll save all that money on the inferior job that was being done.”