Building cleaning across Dartford’s business parks and older streets
Around Dartford, most facades belong to modern commercial buildings. Crossways Business Park sits by junction 1a of the M25, with offices and distribution units close to the river, while newer logistics buildings have gone up at Littlebrook on the former power station site. Their cladding, glass and concrete take a lot of dirt from the traffic around them, and they’re seen by a lot of people.
The town also has older streets that need a gentler approach. Whatever the building, we look at the surface first, then choose the method, and we clean a small test area before the main job starts.
Facade cleaning: before and after
Choosing the right method for the surface
| Surface | How we usually clean it | Find out more |
|---|---|---|
| Cladding and glazed facades | Cleaned from MEWPs, cradles or scaffolding, using a method chosen for the material | Facade cleaning |
| Concrete, modern brick and paving | Commercial pressure washing, with chemicals chosen for the surface | Pressure washing |
| Older stone and brick | Low-pressure DOFF steam, which needs little water and no added chemicals | DOFF cleaning |
| Aluminium window frames | Dull, chalky or faded powder-coated frames restored | Window frame restoration |
| Tags and paint | Removed using a method matched to the surface | Graffiti removal |
Keeping business parks looking right
On a business park, the building is often the first thing a visitor sees, and dirt tends to gather in the same places:
- Traffic film: the M25, the A2 and the A206 all bring exhaust and road dirt, which dulls cladding and glass.
- Algae: green staining appears on shaded walls and around gutters and joints, especially beside water.
- Paving and steps: algae and moss make these slippery, so cleaning them is a safety job as well as a cosmetic one.
- Bird fouling: droppings build up on ledges and canopies, and they can stain the surfaces below. We can clear this as part of the same job.
We can work at the times that suit your site, including evenings, nights and weekends. If you need several buildings cleaned on a schedule, we can plan them in phases and set up regular visits.
Older buildings and conservation areas
Dartford Borough Council lists six conservation areas: Dartford Town Centre, Greenhithe, Southfleet, Hook Green, Church Hill in Wilmington and Red Street. The town centre also has the Grade I Church of the Holy Trinity, and there are many other older commercial buildings around the High Street.
If your building is listed or in a conservation area, speak to the council before work starts. As the Building Conservation Directory explains, cleaning a listed building may count as an alteration, and test panels are a normal part of that process. High-pressure water can damage older brick and mortar, so on these buildings we’d usually look at low-pressure steam. Our guide to what DOFF cleaning is explains more.
Facades on the High Street and The Bridge
Town-centre buildings bring their own problems, as there’s limited room for access equipment and there are plenty of people walking past. We’ll work out what we need at the survey, including any permissions for working on or over the pavement, and plan the work for quieter times. At mixed-use sites such as The Bridge, we can agree timings that work for both residents and businesses.
If the inside of your building needs work too, see industrial cleaning in Dartford and our commercial cleaning page for Dartford.
How a building clean works
- Free site survey: we check the surface, the access and whether permissions are needed.
- Test piece: we clean a small area, so you can see what’s achievable.
- RAMS and planning: you get a written quote, risk assessments and method statements, and we agree timings.
- The clean: carried out from MEWPs, cradles or scaffolding, as the building requires.
- Sign-off: we walk the site with you and hand over photos and records.
Accredited, insured and documented
Locus is SafeContractor-accredited, Constructionline Silver and a BICSc corporate member, and our operatives hold IPAF and CSCS cards. We’re registered with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier (CBDU320327).