Has your business been the victim of “tagging,” or other types of graffiti? It can be frustrating to have your commercial property vandalized, detracting from the professionalism of your brand. Removal of graffiti takes specialized equipment, and skill to ensure it is properly removed without adding toxic chemicals to the environment. There are options to “green clean” away graffiti while protecting your property.

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If you have a car, you have likely either washed it at home, washed it at a self-washing station, or taken it to a car wash. You have used a sponge and gotten all of the dirt and grime off of your car’s exterior and have likely cleaned the interior well enough to make it sparkle. In most cases, this process is completed in under an hour, if you do it yourself, or under 10 minutes at a car wash. Before you know it you are on the road again and ready to wash your car within the next month or two. However, if you own a commercial fleet of tractor trailers, this is not the same experience you have had washing your fleet. If it is the same experience, you are doing your business a disservice. [Read more…]

The summer is one of the busiest times of year for most businesses that deal with consumers, including freight shipping. Aside from the holiday season, people are buying items at an incredibly fast pace during the warmer months. They are enjoying more outdoor entertainment, conducting more home improvement projects, and keeping an overall fast paced lifestyle that leads to consumerism. As a result, your commercial fleets are on the go from sun up to sun up, only stopping for regulated stops as needed. This type of constant movement allows dirt to attack your fleet on a regular basis, making your constant advertising look unkempt and downright ugly. To avoid this issue, it is a great idea to maintain a regular fleet washing schedule for your commercial fleet.

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Summer is a time that businesses often move. They tend to slow down in the summer, making the process of moving a bit easier to handle, without leaving work undone or clients out in the cold. If you own a commercial building that is not seeing new tenants fill your empty spaces over the summer, it may be a problem with your building’s appearance, over any other factors. The benefit of this problem is the fix is not only easy, but relatively inexpensive.

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It makes sense that we want our buildings and neighborhoods to stay clean throughout the year. We look to keep our business exteriors appealing and graffiti off our city streets. Keeping a city clean adds to its prosperity and makes it inviting to visitors and locals alike. Yet, in today’s world of global warming and climate change, we cannot afford to sacrifice the environment while keeping it clean. Therefore, when cleaning your buildings and city structures, make sure that the environment is your first priority. [Read more…]

The exterior of your home is a shield from the forces of nature. It is the part of the home that gets hit with rain, sleet, snow, wind, and anything else mother nature decides to throw. The good news is this shield protects your home’s interior from Mother Nature’s wrath, keeping you and your family warm and secure. However, when the sun begins to shine and the days are longer, your house that may have been a beautiful white, blue, or yellow color, now appears gray, black, and just dirty. Take one look and you may hear yourself ask, “What color is my home’s exterior?”  You may rush to buy paint to make it look the way you want to present it to the world, but that may be unnecessary and much more expensive than need be.

Power Washing for the Win!

The first item on your list to present your best exterior should always be power washing. The exterior of your home, whether it needs paint or not, needs to be cleaned off all of the dirt and grime which stick to your siding like dirt sticks to kids. If you do not power wash your exterior first, your paint will not properly cover your home’s exterior. Additionally, once you power wash your home, you may determine it is beautiful just the way it is and you may not need to repaint the exterior any time soon. This process saves you time, money, and sanity, while helping your home return to its original luster.

The Again…

Once the power washing is completed, you may notice you do not like the color of your home’s exterior or there is damage to the paint from years of exposure to the elements. Since you are already in the process of this home improvement project, now is the perfect time to start painting. First, find out if any ordinances in your town dictate the color of the exterior of your home. You do not want to paint your home purple when your town has an ordinance that says all homes must be white, beige or yellow. Next, make sure you are using the best paint to stand up to the exterior elements.  When purchasing your paint, the sales person should be able to help you find the right paint for your job, as interior paint would not be appropriate and will cause more harm than good. Finally, find the color scheme that best suits your home’s personality. This is a labor intensive job that you do not want to repeat in five years. Make sure you love the color you choose and do not settle.

If you are looking at your home, wondering the color and what it should look like, contact the experts at RTD Power Washing at 612-868-7312. They will gladly help you determine if power washing alone is the best option or if you should begin looking at paint as well. Either way, you know the experts at RTD Power Washing are experts you can trust.

Power washing your fleet and commercial property, when done properly, is almost an art form. There are techniques which can result in more harm than good if not followed properly. More importantly the environmental repercussions can be detrimental if proper protocol is not followed. Therefore, it is essential to make sure your chosen power washing service maintains employee certification for environmental regulations. This includes Bay Area Stormwater Agencies Associations and Power Washers of North America certifications. There are several benefits to hiring power washing companies with these certifications.

Bay Area Stormwater Agencies Association

The Bay Area Stormwater Agencies Association, or BASMAA, offers pressure washers specific training to aid in reducing pollution. This type of certification trains individuals about the hazards of harsh chemicals on the environment. It also educates pressure washers on the wastes that surface cleaning can generate and how to avoid such waste. BASMAA also teaches surface cleaners about properly cleaning up after their byproducts to keep the environment safe. Certified technicians learn about the byproducts of their work, where it goes, and how it affects those who utilize local water sources. They are taught environmentally sound methods to wash your commercial building or fleet. These methods will keep the environment safe and work better than the soap products of the past, too.

Power Washers of North America

Another valuable certification is the Power Washers of North America (PWNA) certification. This type of certification aids in understanding the environmental impact and ensuring the methods and byproducts are environmentally friendly. This also includes understanding fleet washing and all that is included in the process. There are several other potential certifications available, all of which are nationally recognized and carry a high standard.

These certifications allow the client to be confident they are working with technicians who care about their work as well as the environment. This allows the client to also show their clients they are concerned about the environment and only work with like-minded companies. Environmental issues, especially clean water issues, are one of the most pressing issues of the day. Therefore, it is essential to show customers that you are on the Earth’s side. This will aid in attracting a more socially conscious customer, as well as those who just want to know their water is safe to drink.

There are other benefits to hiring a firm with high environmental standards. The investment of requiring these technicians to maintain these certifications shows that the technicians are not fly-by-night sub-contractors. You do not want someone who only cares about the hours billed before they move onto the next job and next dollar. These certifications show that the firm is staffed by employees who work for a company that cares about who they hire to represent them in the field. These firms would rather hire an employee than a sub-contractor. They want to ensure the employee has the company’s best interest at heart, as opposed to his or her own. If you would like to work with a power washing company that cares about the environment and the message they send, contact the experts at RTD Power Washing at (612) 868-7312.

Like most exterior projects, most property owners do not even consider power washing until spring comes around. They allow the dirt and grime to pile up on the exterior of their building throughout the coldest months of the year. Then, they clean the building as soon as the frost breaks. While this may be the standard in building maintenance, it is not necessarily the best option to help maintain your property and keep it safe from winter damage. As a property owner, it may behoove you to consider power washing your commercial property after each significant snow storm throughout the winter.

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Cars do not only need to be washed in warm weather. The same is true – maybe even more so – when it comes to power washing commercial fleets of trucks. In addition to the normal elements that affect vehicles all throughout the year, winter storms create additional issues which may cause rust, paint removal, and other damages to your fleet. Rock salt is full of chemicals which can negatively affect the underbelly and other areas of your fleet. This can lead to costly repairs that could have otherwise been prevented.

The Issues

The main reason many fleets are power washed throughout the year is to keep up the look of the exterior. However, there are other issues that can arise which are related to excessive dirt and prolonged exposure to the elements such as rain, ice, and snow. If left unattended, rust can begin to appear, which affects how the exterior of the vehicle performs. As more and more rust builds up, it can actually eat away at the metal. This causes holes in the exterior, as well as less flexibility in the joints. Snow aids in forming rust, just as rain and bodies of water do. In addition, rock salt can not only in cause rusting, but it can begin to chip away at the paint on the exterior of the vehicle. As the paint chips away, the metal is unprotected. This leaves it susceptible to damage, such as increased rust exposure.

As for the look of the vehicle, a dirty fleet is seen as an unreliable fleet. Many customers look at a dirty fleet as representing a company that does not take pride in their work. It can cost the company in the bottom line, making it less cost effective to run the fleet during the winter.

Finally, a dirty vehicle is also less fuel efficient as a clean fleet. Dirt actually weighs down a vehicle slightly. However, as more and more dirt and debris build up on the truck, the more weight is added. This causes the vehicle to use more fuel to continue operating.

Winter Washing Solutions

When it comes to commercial fleets, the best way to keep your fleet clean, especially in the winter, is through the use of power washing. Power washing your fleet maintains the beauty and reliability of your vehicle, extending its lifetime. By utilizing a well-equipped power washing company, specialized chemicals will help clean your fleet without creating additional water damage issues. Your vehicle will run more efficiently, look more beautiful, and be protected from the elements.

RTD Power Washing offers affordable, reliable fleet power washing throughout the entire year. They understand the need to maintain the beauty and efficiency of your fleet throughout the year. In addition, they are Clean Water Act Compliant, making sure the environment is not negatively affected by power washing your fleet. To learn more about the best ways to keep your fleet clean throughout the entire year, contact RTD Power Washing at (612) 868-7312.

Commercial property value is determined by several factors, such as location, building size, internal features, and cleanliness, to name a few. While little can be done regarding location, building size, and some internal features, cleanliness is something that can easily be controlled by the owner of the property. Cleanliness, with respects to commercial property, is about more than just the inside of the building. It deals a lot with the external portion of the property, including the sidewalk and even the garbage area. It is important to understand the benefits of a thorough power washing to help boost the rental and the sale value.

Make a Moderate Location Appear Beautiful

We have all seen areas that look run down, yet with a bit of effort, they could be thriving communities. These areas have grime and dirt on their sidewalks, buildings, and almost every surface in sight. They are not the depths of the inner city, littered with graffiti and crime; however, they are not the center of the suburban community either. These areas are less desirable to many business owners looking to rent or purchase property because they do not appear successful. They appear to be dilapidated, which is usually not the face a business wishes to put on for the public. Therefore, many of the buildings become vacant, causing a cycle in which areas become completely run down. There is a fix! Simply power washing the location, including the building or buildings, sidewalks surrounding the building, parking area, and garbage area can brighten the area, helping it look pristine and successful. Suddenly, businesses will be happy to move into the space and help the area become the thriving metropolis it should be.

Keeping the Building Safe

More important than aesthetic appeal is the actual maintenance that power washing an area provides. As dirt and grime grow on a building, there is the possibility of moss and ivy growing as well. These plants can begin to eat away at your building, causing other issues to develop, such as mold and possibly even structural damage, in the long run, depending on the material of your building. Just like your home, a commercial building can only withstand so much moss and ivy before it begins to suffer.

Additionally, the garbage area must be cleaned regularly to help keep smells and food residue at bay. As these things pile up, the area can attract rodents and small animals looking to infest your building. This can become a health hazard as well as create health code violations, making the property unsafe for your employees and clients.

Properly power washing the building and garbage area will help to eliminate these issues that could be detrimental to your property. The cost to regularly power wash your commercial property will be far less than the cost to pay fines and fix issues that occur from damage that could have been avoided.

To get your commercial power washing estimate, contact the experts at RTD Power Washing at (612) 868-7312. They will be happy to come to your property and give you an estimate to keep it looking beautiful and staying safe.