May 17, 2022
If you have a job that can only be done by rope access, is it safe to use a sodium hypochlorite (sh, hypo) based product – such as Benz Lightning Cleanze softwash biocide – or will it damage and weaken the ropes?
The answer is yes, if the ropes are made from natural fibre. Long term exposure of natural fibre rope to any sodium hypochlorite product will damage the rope. If you doubt this, just consider that sodium hypochlorite is used in paper pulping mills to break down the fibres in wood prior to making it into paper.
Obviously, the degree of damage is going to vary according to the type of material a rope is made from and the level of exposure to sodium hypochlorite (time and dilution strength).
But by far the safest option is to use ropes made from all artificial materials.
We don't recommend natural fibre rope for multiple use when applying any sodium hypochlorite based product because of the danger of the chemical rotting the ropes.
The rot will not be immediately noticeable, but over time and repeated exposure the sodium hypochlorite will weaken the rope. And you don't want to be dangling from a rotting rope.
Quick tips:
1) To be on the safe side only use a natural fibre rope once after using it to apply any sodium hypochlorite cleaning product.
2) There are contractor ropes that designed to be used once on messy jobs such as cleaning or painting. Click here to get in touch with the Abaris rope company and ask them their advice.
The best professional working practices:
1) If applying Lightning Cleanze use man-made/artificial ropes (e.g. nylon) that will not be affected by sodium hypochlorite.
2) If you have to use natural fibre ropes, then whenever possible given the nature and needs of the contract, apply Benz Bio Cleanze instead. As far as we know it will not damage natural fibre rope (and certainly not nylon/artificial rope) but check first with the manufacturers of your rope as we don't have specific data. You can send them our SDS which you'll find in our Product Documentation Pack.
We hope this information is helpful and sincerely wish you great success in your soft washing business,
Team Benz
How to find answers to most soft washing questions: Simply enter a relevant "keyword" or short phrase – e.g. keyword for the above link = "chemicals" – into our in-site Search Engine (magnifying glass icon on the main menu).
GB (England, Scotland, Wales)
Phone: 0800 70 74 222
Online: www.benzsoftwash.co.uk
Ireland and other countries
Phone: 00353 214 622 978
Online: www.benzsoftwash.com
Lines open Monday - Friday, 9am – 5pm
Please note: The above numbers are for orders only (click here for tech support)
PS: Click here to set up your "Clean & Maintain" programme. After completing an initial soft wash treatment, put your customer on a "Clean & Maintain" ongoing maintenance programme. Your customers will enjoy a permanently clean property and you will enjoy a steady stream of repeat business.
This is clearly a win-win arrangement for you and your customers.
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December 13, 2024
Do you know how long a property will stay clean after being soft washed with Benz Bio Cleanze or Perma Cleanze?
Click the link on this page to find out ...
December 06, 2024 4 Comments
November 29, 2024 3 Comments
Every week we receive a large number of questions about soft washing. And, as new contractors are coming into the soft washing business all the time, questions are often repeated. So we thought it would be useful to put together the most frequently asked questions in some Trade Tips posts.
Click the link on this page to read the full Trade Tips post ...
It's a free resource for people wanting to learn about the soft washing industry, to expand an existing business, or build a new business.
Soft washing reduces, or even eliminates, the need to use high-pressure washing.
Instead, once the build up of algae, lichen, fungus and mould – the root causes of properties looking "dirty" – has been treated, the natural "self-cleansing" of sun, rain and wind removes the surface residue through time.
By educating the cleaning trade and public about soft washing we are helping develop an industry that offers sustainable treatments to clean and maintain exterior hard surfaces.
Subscribe to our free trade tips blog to download your "Professional Soft Wash Contractors Pricing Guide".
The free guide shows you – step by step – how to easily, quickly, and accurately create softwash business quotes.
This saves you time, is a highly professional approach, and increases your chances of winning new contracts.
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