Outside aired

Peter Beaumont of Monty Miracle outdoor cleaner looks at how your winter cleaning regime needs to start now

The UK has enjoyed one of the driest years on record this year, with Spring 2025 reported as the driest since 1893. Throughout the summer there were several heatwaves, with temperatures rivalling Southern Europe. But with September dawning, now is the perfect time to start thinking about winter.

Prepping for the wetter, cooler months is vital in FM, particularly if you are responsive for larger spaces. Maintenance and planning are key. As autumn beckons, it is the natural time of year to start looking at outdoor maintenance and care.

This goes beyond landscaping and includes all your outdoor cleaning. The outside of your buildings and the surrounding walls will benefit from a clean, particularly if you have render which can show the dirt. Your paths and car parks will look smarter and more welcoming, and your outdoor furniture and signage will all provide a better first impression if cleaned now before winter.

CONVENIENCE

People will be grabbing time in the sun while they can during the early autumn months before winter arrives, so you need to be looking into ways of cleaning your outdoor areas as quickly as possible. With less daylight hours, this is even more of a challenge. FMs have a lot of different things to juggle but cornering off huge sections of your offices, car parks or gardens to give a deep clean is not terribly practical. If you have larger premises to consider, work in smaller sections and get the most visual and used areas done first.

DISRUPTION

Exterior cleaning can mean more noise, larger kit and more manpower, if jet-washing equipment is being used. This is far from ideal if you are managing a facility that requires a quiet atmosphere and needs the job doing more efficiently. Hospitals, libraries, educational establishments and a lot of workplaces are not always receptive to distracting noisy equipment, and often require access, so it’s better to consider soft washing with a specialist liquid cleaner, which can be applied easily and quickly rinsed with no hassle.

SAFETY FIRST

Paths get muddy and entrances in general look unappealing as autumn moves in. A dry spring and summer has led to a build-up of leaves which will be added to over the next few months. These need to be tackled immediately to ensure kerb appeal but also for safety. Steps can become slippy with wet leaves and algae which can build up in autumn weather. Warmer climates coupled with humidity provide a breeding ground for moss, algae and blackspots, and without zero temperatures, there is less frost to kill this organic growth all off naturally. If they are allowed to grow, they can cause cracks, which can become trip hazards.

Aggressive jet washing might seem appealing thanks to its immediate visual effect, but it can take the top layer off stone, and it can splinter wood, leaving these areas vulnerable to the elements. It can also blast away jointing between stones and doesn’t deep clean the organic growth, it just pushes the roots deeper, so it comes back year-on-year, meaning it needs to be done more frequently – using more effort, creating a thankless task.

PROTECTION

Clearing debris away is vital. But you also need to protect your surfaces in advance of the dampest, coldest months of the year. Pressure washing stone, cement and wooden surfaces can erode or damage them and pointing, gravel and sealants can suffer under the high pressure of the spray. This can lead to hollow areas that are prone to letting in water which can freeze, or could result in more vulnerable or porous surfaces, leading to cracks which could develop into larger issues over time. A soft wash is a much gentler approach and one which offers protection against the elements in the coldest months of the year.

SEALING

Black spot, algae, lichen and other organic stains build up on most external hard surfaces over the summer and autumn months – and into winter if it’s mild. However, by using the right kind of products and equipment, including the correct sealant, your cleaning team can ensure the areas look better and can resist, the growth of organic stains building up quickly. Don’t forget that sealant, it means your cleaning team can prolong the lifespan of outdoor surfaces including wood, concrete, tarmac and stone.

ARTIFICIAL GRASS

We are seeing an increasing use of artificial grass and astroturf, which come with their own cleaning and maintenance challenges. It can lose its natural lustre thanks to UV rays and if animals frequent the space, can retain certain smells. A full circle range of cleaning products will ensure these areas are cleaned and maintained before winter.

There’s still time to get larger exterior cleaning tasks done before the autumn weather arrives. And then it is a case of planning ahead for the smaller maintenance tasks.