Cold Weather Maintenance

It's that time of year again

It’s that time of year again when temperatures drop and so does our motivation to do some basic preventive maintenance that can save us thousands of dollars in repairs. So, this article is to remind you of some simple steps that you can take to avoid those repairs and maybe even take on a few jobs that might otherwise go un-tapped until the weather warms up again.

Vehicles

Let’s start with vehicle maintenance. Keep your truck/van closed unless you are going to run in. If you are going to stow it for the winter, be sure to add the gas stabilizer to your vehicle as well as your truck mount to avoid the gas going south on you in the cold winter. If you don’t have a garage, at least cover your vehicle, or keep it under cover. Be sure to remove all hoses, chemicals, and tools from your truck and put inside or in a shelter to avoid freeze and potentially bursting. When water freezes it will expand which can burst your expensive equipment, by simply stowing the equipment in a warmer space you can avoid this costly mistake.

Water supply

When you work in weather below 35 F, then be sure to follow a few basic steps.
Take your equipment out, discharge any water, and clean your equipment. This keeps your equipment cleaner, it will work better, and it’s a good practice to follow under any circumstance.
Drain your water! If you have a water filter, be sure to pre-fill with warm water before going to your client’s house. If you don’t have that option, then try to use interior water from a janitor closet or bathroom using attachment fittings called “Faucet adapter kit” to bring warm water back to your equipment. You really want to avoid using outside bibbs whenever possible. If the water bibb cracks/breaks when you leave, it might open you up to some unwanted liability to your clients.

cold weather bring about expansion with water in the pipes that can lead to a burst!

Water freezes during the winter, so avoid connecting to water bibbs as much as possible!

Using their water! Whatever you wind up connecting your hose to, be sure to consider keeping your hoses off the ground whenever possible. Have a Y at the machine end which will allow water to continually flow even when the machine is not trying to use it. This will keep the water in the hose moving and reducing the possibility of freezing during use. Be careful if you use hot water from the house to not overheat your solution pumps seals, many of which are only rated to about 180 degrees.
Consider where water runoff may happen as ice can develop there and cause slips hazards. This also can be caused by melting snow and ice during your operation, so always be aware of your surroundings.

Simple solutions!

I have heard of cleaners running their lines through another hose or sleeve to avoid the direct atmospheric temps to the hose, so that’s another option for you as well as hose wrap. Bottom line, keep your hoses from freezing!
If you can, try to start cleaning right away and get the water flowing as quickly as possible. Someone might have to man the wand, but it’s better than the water lines potentially getting cold.
Don’t forget to keep your doors open when you’re operating your equipment no mater how cold it is. Special packages are available to allow closing your doors but these are special add-ons that must be installed first into the van. We call them our “Security KIT” because they also allow locking up the van while working.

When you’re done with your job, be sure to relieve any pressure in the hoses by releasing the triggers and allowing any water /solution to drain once the pumps have been turned off.
This is when you need to run anti-freeze through all hoses and wands to keep them safe. Use our “winterizing kit for this. ( Part number “Y Winterizing Kit” )
S.O.V.C. is also great equipment add-on that will allow you to sell jobs where a quick dry time is important. SOVC will dry them faster than a warm summer day!
Enjoy the holidays, and be sure to ask Santa for tools to make your year more productive and financially cheerful!
The team at PowerPlus !

Cold weather maintenance tips