Understanding the Importance of Escalator Maintenance
2nd May 2022
Escalators serve a huge convenience to people visiting any facility or building. As a moving staircase, this motorised machine needs proper cleaning and maintenance to be able to serve its purpose, that is, transporting people up and down.
Faulty escalators due to lack of or poor maintenance tend to fail and break.
Read on to learn the importance of escalator maintenance and know some cleaning tools that will ensure that escalators are in their top performance.
Benefits of Escalator Maintenance
1. Keeps Escalators Running
Hundreds of people coming from different places use escalators every single day. Dirt and debris from their travels can get stuck between the grooves and will make the steps unsanitary. Handrails can accumulate germs with the hundreds of people touching them every second, which can cause the rapid spread of various diseases.
Regular escalator cleaning as part of maintenance will keep the escalator clean and in good condition.
2. Keeps Mechanisms Safe
The grime in the escalator, especially when left for too long, can cause mechanical issues. They can enter the internal mechanisms of the engines and clog important parts, which may lead to a malfunctioning escalator.
Lack of maintenance might lead to accidents and can produce higher maintenance costs. Keeping escalators clean can save you from a lot of bigger problems in the future.
3. Leaves a Lasting Customer Impression
A smeared and greasy escalator can reflect negatively on the establishment. When people see muddied steps and dusty railings from afar, their disappointment would often blame the negligence of the facility manager. Failure to address these problems might result in negative impressions from the customers. This then leaves a negative feedback that isn’t helping to the success of a business.
4. Ensures People’s Safety
Dusty escalators may not seem like a big threat at first. But when it starts to pile up and affect its internal parts, accumulation of dirt will affect the integrity or function of the machine. Faulty escalators often are the cause of accidents, especially for small unattended children who love to toy around them.
5. Higher Repair Cost
A seemingly minor issue can easily escalate into a major one. When it comes to escalators, keeping them unclean for too long can damage vital parts. When it gets to a point where it stops working altogether or it is not performing the way it used to, you need to spend more on repairs. Keeping it well maintained will save you from additional expenses.
How Often Should Escalators Be Cleaned?
It all depends on how much people are using the escalator. If there are a small number of people using it, a weekly escalator cleaning procedure would be enough. Twice a week will do the job for medium numbers and daily if there are many people utilising it. However, it is still best to treat it like normal floors and should be cleaned daily, especially if there is a lot of visible dirt.
Escalator Cleaning With EscaTEQ
Regularly cleaning escalators can be tiring and time consuming. EscaTEQ has developed a cleaning system that makes routine cleaning effective and hassle-free.
The powerful commercial cleaning equipment from EscaTEQ keeps escalators in good condition without consuming too much time or too much staff.
Here are our main escalator cleaning tools and solutions:
- Rail-TEQ—keeps the handrails free from dirt and gets them sanitised. Our washable microfibre pad removes dirt buildup with the sponge liner and can sustain additional cleaning chemicals.
- Tread-TEQ—cleans escalator treads with less effort. No need to turn off the escalator because it depends on the escalator’s motion to effectively clean it. Also, it doesn’t require heavy manpower but a one-man operational system.
- Riser-TEQ—allows rapid and effective riser cleaning. It has removable, washable and reusable cleaning pads that are easy to remove.
- Clean-TEQ—a reliable cleaning chemical that degreases escalator steps and travelators. Has no-rinse cleaner with low foaming, anti-corrosion and slip resistance additives for more safety precautions. It also eliminates oil, grease and mineral soiling.
- Absorb-TEQ—a useful cleaning sponge to increase the speed and efficiency of Tread-TEQ and Riser-TEQ.
- EscaTEQ Cleaning Solution—a Clean-TEQ concentrated escalator cleaning chemical that comes in a 5 L bottle.
Regular escalator maintenance is vital in everyday operation if we want to keep them sanitary and in good working condition. Not cleaning them can lead to mechanical failure, higher maintenance costs, accidents and spread of disease, and ultimately negative customer impressions.
Keep your facility escalators clean using EscaTEQ’s commercial cleaning equipment and cleaning chemicals. Call us on (03) 9460 5655 for more details.