| CLEANING SERVICES AND PROPRIETARY METHODS |
| Building owners often contract with independent janitorial or cleaning services to maintain ceilings. These firms have the ladders and lifts that may be necessary to reach high ceilings, drop cloths to cover furnishings and equipment, and special equipment such as vacuum cleaners with extra-long wands or that can be worn on the back.
Thermoformed and metal panels can usually be cleaned as described in the main article. However, the services may be able to provide a variety of proprietary methods to clean grids and panels without removing panels from the ceiling. One formula for treating mineral fiber panel, is a spray-applied liquid that is said to encapsulate contaminants in droplets that fall to the floor where, presumably, they are vacuumed. Panels are then allowed to dry. Since this is only successful to varying degrees, the standard procedure of the company offering this formula is to use a test panel to determine the optimum cleaning mixture, treat the test panel, and then ask the customer if it is clean enough. According to one of their service providers, this cleaning method is intended to be cosmetic and is not offered as a form of sanitization. Stains that are associated with water damage are acknowledged to be difficult to remove adequately. If the stains are, in fact, mold, panels should be treated or replaced. According to the service provider, “If [the stains are] coming from above and you have water damage, those tiles are damaged in themselves. You would have to remove all those tiles to properly treat every single one. To treat a tile is probably a lot more expensive than to replace a tile.” If panels cannot be cleaned satisfactorily, the service offers a recoating application that they claim does not void the panel manufacturers’ warranties or violate fire codes. Such claims should be verified with the product manufacturers and authorities having jurisdiction. The service provider describes the recoat as “not paint-based, or in any way much like a paint. It is almost like a spray powder.” If applied with a specific spray nozzle and pressure, the application is said to not accumulate in the acoustic fissures in the panels, and to not stick the panels to the grid. |
