Playgrounds and playground equipment are hugely important for parents and kids. These offer fun and safe ways for children to enjoy themselves and gain some exercise. For parents, your child's happiness is crucial, but equally, having the chance to enjoy five minutes of peace while they are occupied is worth its weight in gold.
This means the condition of playgrounds must be of the highest calibre, with playground cleaning an essential component to consider.
At Right Wash, we are playground cleaning specialists, and whether you’re an interested parent looking for information or someone with responsibility for maintaining playground equipment in schools or parks, we are happy to offer advice and services.
It is important to follow safety guidelines when using cleaning products, but when it comes to surfaces and equipment for youngsters, safety is paramount. Quick playground cleaning tips to consider include:
If you are concerned about causing more significant problems by cleaning a playground, leave it to skilled and experienced professionals like Right Wash.
When kids play, dirt, mud and grime is never too far away! This makes a regular cleaning process vital for anyone responsible for maintaining a playground. In most cases, the following simple steps will keep your playground clean:
If your equipment requires minimal maintenance, this will be more than enough to leave everything in great condition. However, you’ll often find that a more intensive approach is required for effective playground cleaning, and this might be the time to call on specialist cleaning companies.
A clean playground is a great start, but most clients know that germs and health issues can arise even with a clean site. Our services go further to kill germs in play areas.
Power washing is a great tool when cleaning outdoor items, and you’d expect playground equipment benefits from this form of cleaning. The issue is, not all playground items are suitable for a high-pressure washer.
A reputable playground cleaning service will inform you if a pressure washer is a suitable playground cleaning option for you, and if not, they'll offer alternatives.
It is best to avoid cleaning plastic with water at a high temperature, or with high-pressure water. The same can be said for timber, especially wooden posts and stands that have possibly seen better days, and soft washing is often a more effective cleaning method for play areas.
As mould, moss and mildew are common across outdoor surfaces, it is not uncommon to find it growing on playsets, climbing frames, swings and all other outdoor play equipment.
After initially wiping the equipment with soap and water, it is important to treat the equipment to remove mould or algae.
A mixture of bleach and water is effective at removing mould and mildew, but be sure to wear gloves and follow recommended practices for using chemicals. Also, make sure it is thoroughly rinsed and dried after a suitable amount of time.
Vinegar is effective at removing moss and mould, and is a more environmentally friendly option. A quick and easy way to use white vinegar on outdoor equipment is to place it into a spray gun bottle, and cover any affected areas. Allow the vinegar to settle for at least an hour, and then rinse clear.
Commercially available mould removal spray is a great way to clean playground equipment. Products aimed at bathroom and shower cleaning are suitable, and please follow instructions on the bottle.
As you can see, there is no reason why you cannot clean playground equipment yourself, but there are many reasons why people choose to hire a specialist cleaner.
Wet pour surfaces are extremely common in playgrounds and schools, coming in a wide range of colours and designs, made from rubber granules. They are soft and durable, making them a safe option for children at play.
You should also be careful with power washes when clearing your playground surface. The intensity of power washers might strip some of the top coating or layers from plastic or rubber surfaces, and of course, high temperatures are often damaging to these materials.
Another issue with using pressure washing on these surfaces is that organic matter like mould returns quickly, and with a thicker appearance.
Cool water sprayed at low temperature can help remove dirt and debris like leaves, but again, this is an activity which is best left to the experts, minimising problems or concerns for playground holders.
Ideally, these surfaces should be doused in an eco-friendly and biodegradable solution, creating a safe and sanitised surface for children to play. When carried out effectively, this treatment only needs to be carried out once or twice a year.
No one wants to take chances when it comes to sanitising children’s play equipment, and there are many reasons to hire a professional cleaning firm:
There is no excuse for compromising on high standards when it comes to playground cleaning. Hiring a reliable playground cleaning service provides you with peace of mind about the cleanliness of wet pour playground surfaces, keeping play items clean and ensuring playground users are safe and well protected.
There is no shortage of cleaning companies offering maintenance and cleaning services ensuring play areas are safe and cleaned regularly. When you want peace of mind about the hygienic standards of your play area, Right Wash is more than happy to provide a wide range of effective playground cleaning services.
We are fully insured, offer regular cleaning and one-off jobs, and can use specialist equipment such as pressure washing and low-pressure, low-temperature washing. Contact us immediately to support your community.
No it is not advisable to jet wash a soft play area, playground or wet pour surfaces as it is likely to cause damage. Soft washing systems are a much safer and more common way to clean playgrounds.
General cleaning for sanitization should be done every 3 months but a full professional clean by us would be done every 6-12 months.
Statistics by Home Advisor stated that playground equipment on average carries around 3,500,000 colony forming units (CFU) of bacteria per square inch. This is huge compared to the average kitchen worktop which is around 85 CFU.
72 hours is the time we recommend not using a wet pour surface after it has been cleaned but it can dry after 24 hours depending on weather.
