Why Clean?

The subject of cleaning buildings, has at times in the past and even on occasion today, been a source of potential conflict...

Many people still see cleaning purely for aesthetic reasons and there are others, who realise that the enhanced appearance is not the most important benefit, derived from the process. There is also another group who after having seen the damaging results of the past (and on rare occasions of today), advocates completely leaving all pollution upon the surface, rather than risking further damage through removal, believing that this is the lesser of the two evils.

The use of ‘safe’ methods for the removal of damaging pollutants or coatings from a surface, should be seen as one of the most important factors without which, permanent changes can begin within the building surface as ‘damaging irreversible chemical reactions’ take place between both the pollutants and the surface.

Register of Jos/TORC Trained & Inducted Operators

It is fair to state that correspondingly, since the introduction of the Jos/TORC 'swirling vortex' by Stonehealth and the implementation of the Register, building cleaning has once again become generally acceptable and indeed, can and should be seen as beneficial. The company’s Register enables an Architect or other Specifier, to check the credentials of any potential contractor prior to commencement of a given project. It also allows the company to continually monitor the standards to which a contractor achieves, allowing Stonehealth the ability to remove a contractor from the Register, if their work falls below the appropriate standards.

Before Jos&TORC , many diverse contractors had been using either aggressive, abrasive cleaning techniques or potent chemicals to give the illusion of a ‘cleaner appearance’. There were even contractors who whilst normally being involved with ‘general grit/sand blasting’ were trying to compete against ‘responsible conservation’ companies for the same restoration type of projects. Fortunately now there is little place for either damaging methods or contractors; although it should be realised that examples of detrimental systems are still on odd occasions being offered and used today by some companies. Some alternative suppliers, who are normally in the supply of ‘higher pressure’ cleaning equipment for instance, primarily designed to clean structural concrete etc. still mistakenly believe that there is also an opportunity and potential involvement in trying to supply their same, or slightly ‘modified’ systems to the conservation field.

"The use of 'gentle' granulates alone, will not constitute a gentle system, the machinery has to be capable of developing a gentle action, not simply an outdated 'slurry blast' method of cleaning".