What solutions come to mind when you think of ways to make a factory more efficient? Do you need state-of-the-art machinery, a well-trained and diligent staff, or wise material sourcing to achieve optimal production?

While these things are crucial, one more factor will override them all if left ignored: industrial factory cleaning. Without a reliable cleaning solution, your floors will look and feel grimy, posing a massive safety risk and negatively impacting production.

Thankfully, pressure washing factory floors is a reliable way to clean your facility thoroughly. Factory pressure washing is quick, effective, and simple to learn.

We’ll cover everything you need to know about how to use a pressure washer for factory floor cleaning, including all the equipment you need, how it compares to other traditional cleaning solutions, and more.

While our article will cover the basics, you can learn more by contacting our team at Hotsy of Houston! We are the most trusted home for commercial pressure washers in Houston, with friendly service and decades of combined experience to help your business get started.

The Importance of Maintaining a Clean Factory

No matter which factory cleaning solutions you prefer in your business, you must have something in place. Factory floor cleaning will boost production, provide a safe work environment that keeps you out of regulatory crosshairs and enhance your brand’s reputation among clients, vendors, and employees.

Productivity and Efficiency

When considering the importance of maintaining a clean factory, one of the first things most business owners consider is productivity. After all, many factory managers often delay cleaning to secure extra production time.

However, industrial factory cleaning actually boosts production. Whether factory pressure washing or using a different method, cleaning your equipment and floors of grime and crease will ensure your machinery and staff operate at peak performance.

Machinery can often suffer mechanical issues if grime and dirt are left to fest over time. Additionally, staff can become distracted and dissatisfied by unclean work environments.

Safety and Compliance

Factory floor cleaning is essential for providing a safe work environment. Failure to keep factory floors clean of slippery substances, trip and fall hazards, and biochemical contaminants can harm your staff.

The consequences of neglecting to invest in factory cleaning solutions will place your business directly in the line of fire for regulatory agencies like OSHA, causing far more financial liabilities through fines than you could ever save by squeezing out extra production.

Image and Reputation

Beyond the internal benefits of implementing reliable factory cleaning solutions, there are also some critical external advantages.

Maintaining a pristine appearance for your facilities will ensure your business always puts its best face forward. Potential partners, investors, or vendors will be wowed by your brand’s commitment to professionalism and attention to detail.

Without regular factory pressure washing or another cleaning method, your facility will contain several dirty and dusty areas, creating a negative image and poor production numbers.

All the Different Ways to Go About Industrial Factory Cleaning

While pressure washing factory floors is the most reliable way to manage your facility, it is not the only option. Let’s briefly discuss other factory cleaning equipment and methods to help you compare.

Manual Cleaning Techniques

Before businesses switch to pressure washing factory floors, the most common methods we see them try are manual techniques like mopping, sweeping, and scrubbing.

These methods require extremely low amounts of water and cost little in terms of factory cleaning equipment. However, there is a massive tradeoff in terms of production efficiency and time that is difficult to justify.

Using manual solutions requires allocating multiple staff members to labor-intensive tasks that hardly produce an effective result. You may spend hours watching your staff members try in vain to remove tough stains like grease and oil, only to realize you have lost ten times the amount of production efficiency you intended to gain by cleaning.

Therefore, it is no surprise that most businesses struggle to keep up with cleaning when they trap themselves in this vicious cycle of manual labor.

Mechanical Cleaning Equipment

After trying manual cleaning with no success, many factory managers consider mechanical solutions. These include factory cleaning equipment like floor scrubbers, buffing machines, and vacuums.

While factory floor pressure washing counts under this umbrella, the difference between most machines in this category and power washing is their cleaning ability.

Many machines effectively remove loose debris, dust, and other surface-level stains. However, tougher embedded grime like oil, graffiti, or grease can only be handled by the most powerful pressure washers.

Chemical Cleaning Solutions

Another option instead of pressure washing factory floors is to use chemicals. Chemical cleaners offer relatively fast cleaning power, even on tough stains like grease and rust. However, they require meticulous handling and procedures to maintain a safe work environment.

Unfortunately, with many solutions like this, it is easy to make a mistake and disregard safety. Improper disposal or use can endanger worker health and the surrounding ecosystem, leading to costly regulatory fines and lawsuits.

Why Factory Pressure Washing is the Most Efficient, Effective Approach

Manual scrubbing takes far too long, vacuums and scrubbers can’t handle the toughest stains, and chemical solutions can be costly and deadly. Thankfully, pressure washing factory floors succeeds where other methods fail.

Businesses have been pressure washing commercial buildings for decades with unparalleled success, thanks to a shockingly quick and thorough cleaning that is even environmentally friendly!

Efficiency and Speed

Factory pressure washing offers the greatest speed of any method. The high-powered water streams of a pressure washer blast away residue extremely quickly, especially compared to manual scrubbing.

Rather than assigning an entire team of employees to clean, you can free up room in your staff schedule and maximize productivity.

Thorough Cleaning

In addition to speed, factory pressure washing is the most reliable way to deep clean your facility. Tasks that would take hours or even days with manual scrubbing and a hose can be completed with a pressure washer in just a handful of minutes.

Power washers can remove everything from mud and algae to graffiti and oil. No matter the specifics of your industry, your best chance of deep cleaning stubborn stains is with a reliable pressure washer.

Water Conservation

Because power washers use powerful water jet streams, some business owners worry about water consumption and energy bills when using this method.

However, pressure washing uses less water than traditional methods. Because these machines can quickly and powerfully remove tough stains, you will not need to apply water to stains for hours on end constantly. Plus, pressure washers have an efficient delivery system, including specialized nozzles to minimize water waste.

As with any water-based cleaning method, be sure to consider local regulations regarding runoff water. Beyond that, pressure washing is the most eco-friendly cleaning method for tough stains.

What Do You Need to Start Pressure Washing Factory Floors, Walls, and Equipment?

Okay, but what does factory pressure washing require?

With so many types of pressure washers available, you probably have plenty of questions, like what size pressure washer do I need, how do I choose between pressure washer PSI vs GPM, and what role does a pressure washing pre-treatment play?

Below is a comprehensive pressure washer equipment list, including the best pressure washer hoses, soaps to choose from, and safety equipment.

Choosing Your Pressure Washer

Okay, what is the best commercial pressure washer for industrial cleaning?

You will need to weigh several factors.

Let’s begin with discussing pressure washer PSI and GPM. PSI stands for pound per square inch, denoting the amount of pressure flowing from your machine. For most industrial tasks, you want a value of at least 2,000 for floors, while machinery and tougher tasks with oil and grease will require values beyond 3,000.

Similarly, GPM on a pressure washer stands for gallons per minute and denotes how much water flows at any given moment. Values within the 2.0 to 4.0 range offer an outstanding balance of cleaning speed and water efficiency.

Then, you will want to choose an engine type. The gas vs electric pressure washer has a few elements to it.

However, ultimately, we recommend electric pressure washers for completely indoor factories without proper ventilation, as they lack fumes present in gas models. On the other hand, a gas model could be a better choice if you have a well-ventilated space and want mobility to clean the exterior areas of your factory.

Finally, there is water temperature. In most cases, the hot water vs cold water pressure washer should lean towards heated models, as they offer extra oomph to deal with stubborn stains like oil and grease.

Nozzles and Attachments

Remember our discussion on alternative mechanical cleaning methods like floor scrubbers and buffers?

These tools have their own analog within power washers. The best pressure washer accessories, such as surface cleaners, foam cannons, custom hoses, and extension wands, allow you to access hard-to-reach areas and tackle common cleaning tasks more efficiently.

The Role of Detergents

Learning how to add soap to pressure washers will help you gain all the benefits of chemical cleaning solutions without any dangerous drawbacks. Finding a high-quality and biodegradable degreaser like Hotsy’s Breakthrough or Ripper I blends will help you cut through oil, grease, and rust without affecting the safety of your work environment.

Safety Gear

You will also want to invest in quality PPE for your staff. This includes safety goggles, masks, gloves, protective clothing, and non-slip pressure washing boots. While pressure washing is generally safe, these extra steps can help avoid liability.

With your equipment shopping list complete, the only thing left to do is figure out where to rent a pressure washer to try this method for your business! Thankfully, we have just the place in mind.

Why Source Your Equipment at Hotsy of Houston?

Hotsy of Houston is the #1 home for commercial hot water pressure washers in Houston. As Southeast Texas’ authorized Hotsy dealer, we pair the storied Hotsy brand and its 50+ years of reputation with our friendly team of Houston natives.

We aim to make commercial pressure washer rental in Houston as simple as possible. Our team will work with you to find the perfect solution for your business, from identifying the ideal pressure washer detergent to tiny details like pressure washer hose length.

In addition to selling and renting pressure washer trailers in Houston, we are the premier experts in commercial pressure washer repair in Houston.

We are an authorized Hotsy warranty dealer and carry a vast inventory of parts that ensures we minimize downtime during repairs. We even provide Cuda automatic parts washers to help you keep your factory’s small cogs operating at peak efficiency.

Step-by-Step Guide to Factory Pressure Washing

Before shopping, let’s briefly discuss how pressure washing factory floors and equipment works.

Pressure Washer Preparation

Put on proper PPE for a safer cleaning experience.
Connect your pressure washer to a water source with a hose or dedicated water line.
Attach an appropriate nozzle or accessory. This is usually a fan-tip nozzle for large areas or a surface cleaner for your floors.

Applying Detergent and Letting it Dwell

Identify a suitable detergent for your stains, like Hotsy Ripper I or Breakthrough.
Apply the soap using your machine’s injection system
Allow soap to sit for 5-15 minutes. This helps the soap loosen tough stains.

Rinsing and Drying

Thoroughly cover the area with sweeping motions.
Adjust your spray as needed for complete coverage.
Allow to fully dry. Use fans if speed is desired.
Restart the process if you notice any missed spots.

Pressure Washer Storage and Care

Disconnect your machine from the water source
Drain any remaining water from the pump and hose
If you are wondering how to store a pressure washer, do so in a cool and dry place.
Learn more about how to maintain a pressure washer by asking an authorized dealer like Hotsy of Houston!

Maintaining a Consistent Cleaning Schedule

Create a consistent cleaning schedule. Monthly or quarterly are a great starting point.
Adjust frequency as needed. Consider factors like foot traffic and equipment usage.

Final Thoughts on Factory Floor Cleaning

Overall, pressure washing factory floors offers a speedy and deep clean that is unmatched by any other method.

Whether you want to buy or rent a pressure washer, Hotsy of Houston has you covered. We carry battle-tested Hotsy machines and the best soaps for pressure washers like Ripper I and Breakthrough. We are even the premier source of pressure washer parts in Houston, making repair and maintenance a breeze.

If you enjoyed our guide on the importance of maintaining a clean factory through pressure washing, check out our blog!

You will find plenty of helpful articles, like DIY pressure washer trailer setup, pressure washing parking lots, pressure washing construction equipment, pressure washing graffiti, oil rig pressure washing, restaurant pressure washing, pressure washing farm equipment, how much to rent a pressure washer, pressure washing concrete, and fleet pressure washing.

Otherwise, if you are ready to invest in a commercial cold water pressure washer in Houston, our team is here to help! Stop by our Pasadena location or give us a call at (832) 968-WASH(9274) to get started!

Pressure Washing Factory Floors: The Complete Guide to Factory Cleaning