Ok guys, I have several hundred doors that need cleaned and I want to know if anyone has any quick tips they have used for there indoor unit doors. Ughhh! They are very duty but I need to get them clean with a damp cloth and with the arms aching the way they are I need a better way. Any trick to this task?

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Lovin it.

We use a California duster, they are used on show cars. They have a wax in them and it helps to repeal dirt later as well. Just and idea.

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Proud Karate Mom

I just hired a college kid to do some of my inside doors with a strong shop vacuum and a wide brush head. He did about 60 doors, the hallway floor, all window sills and horizontal surfaces in one day. It cost me $12 per hour plus a replacement vacuum filter, total about $110. If you keep up with the dust, you shouldn't need to wipe it with a wet cloth. (unless maybe you're in a humid area where the dust turns to mud)

For the outside doors, we wait for a really hot day and hose them off with one man on a soapy long handled brush and another being careful with the hose stream (more like a mist actually). The hot day helps evaporate any moisture that may make its way around the door.

Those waxy dusters wouldn't work on my doors, they would fill up with gunk so quick they would be useless and just smear.

If you feel you must still wipe with a damp cloth, I would at least vacuum them first, you'd remove 80% of the dirt and be left with a much easier job.

Thank's all for your help. Yes we are in a very humid environment, Souther, Al. and to add to that we have new construction going on not to mention the drought conditions to add to the dirt on the move. However we are only 2 years old and are still catching up from red dirt construction. I will put these tips into play, thanks again

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Lovin it.

We always use vinegar and water to clean the doors. Dust sticks to static electricity and vinegar keeps the static down. A trick taught by a door company. W-d 40 is used on the tracks and spring, everytime the unit is empty. The inside of the door should also be cleaned as well as the lip on the inside. I replace any weather stripping that is cracked or torn.

I stay away from WD-40 as it is a dust magnet!! I prefer silicon spray - no dust and dirt!

I have tried silicon spray on the gate chains, it's not a good lube for moving parts. It drys like paint. I now use motorcycle chain lube, it's also used for military tank tracks. We have mostly had facilities in the desert with extreme heat 100+. I stopped using silicon on the roofs also, it don't last as long as some of the other products. They sell WD 40 by the gallon, I then put it into a plastic spray bottle. I don't just lube the door tracks I wash them out real good with WD-40 top to bottom. There is a small puddle of WD on the ground, which the bugs hate. Do you know what brand Silicon spray your using. I might start using it on the springs so it don't drip. Of course our door maintenance plan is for a facility running at 95% occupancy. I would never use WD-40 on idle doors because of the dust. I never lube locks, I have seen managers do it and it ruins them. I have never worked a facility in the snow and ice, so I don't know which cleaning and maintenance products freeze. I have had the small bottle of lube for Swamps freeze up and turn to ice. I never put WD-40 on the swamps, I use the lube designed for them, which looks like WD-40 but has a cool little container with an easy applicator. I don't like to store any cleaning products that come in aerosol cans. They explode in extreme tempertures. I have seen the bottom of doors in Colorado rusted out because managers use salt on the ice in the winter. I worked as a maintenance man for an apt complex for ten years before we started storage. Most facilities don't get the dust storms associated with the moonsoons in the desert. Also what kind of problems do you have with salty air in California if any. I know air pollution leaves a filthy film on everything like computer screens. We had a facility on a really busy street allot of trucks 18 wheelers. every day their would be a black fim caked on all our office equipment.

At a California Self Storage Association conference, we had a round table meeting on Maintenance. We were advised by the door manufacturer to use lithium on the springs. We've done that for the last year and it works very well. We also use it on our gate chains.

The vinegar is a great idea! Thanks for that suggestion.

WD-40 doesn't lube your chain.
It cleans it well, I use it for that too, but it isn't a proper lube. I clean my chain, then I lube it.
Home depot sells DuPont multi-purpose lithium lube. That stuff self cleans and lubes in one shot.

The gates also have the new titanium wheels. I had a gate that the wheels had lube fittings and had to be lubed with a lube gun.

We had a golf cart that had 12 lube fittings, the only problem is the lube gun would bleed lube in the heat when not used. even the box I kept it in would become saturated with lube.

A gate company told me not to over lube the gate chain because the fine dust is what eats away at the plastic sprockets.

Hi!!! We use a FL duster much like Cal but we spray it with pledge an pass it over inside doors cleans well an helps with future dust problems On gate chains i use an industrial chain lube which works pretty well but when it rains everyday like it has been doing here in Ocala for the last (2) months nothing will stay for long Len