3 Ways Cleaning Companies Can Protect Your Business Servers
Server rooms are vital facilities for many businesses with an online presence, but keeping your server room clean is more complicated than simply running a vacuum around once in a while. The delicate and expensive components of a server room can easily be damaged by excessive dust and particulate matter in the air, and keeping your server room dust-free and sterile is the bast way to ensure the proper functioning and longevity of your servers. As such, professional server room and data centre cleaning companies offer a range of services to keep your server room in top condition:
Floor cleaning
The floor of your server room can be a safe haven for all kinds of dirt, dust and grit, and having it cleaned thoroughly can involve several steps:
- Surface cleaning: Server room cleaning services use specialised vacuums fitted with HEPA filters, which are fine enough to catch even the smallest particles of matter. You should also consider having any raised floor panels and tiles cleaned and sterilised to prevent accumulation of mould.
- Sub-surface cleaning: This process involves removing your server room's floor coverings to access the concrete plenum beneath, which is cleaned and vacuumed with filtered equipment. This prevents concrete dust from entering vital systems, and removes dirt and debris which can accumulate in the concrete's porous surface. Concrete dust can be contained further by application of an encapsulating epoxy coating, although not all cleaning operations offer this service.
- Anti-static floor treatments: These treatments are sprayed or painted onto tiles and other smooth floor coverings, and work to prevent the accumulation of static electricity, which can attract dust and cause dangerous electrical damage to servers and other equipment.
Some server room cleaning services also offer resin-impregnated floor mats, which can be placed at your server room's entry points to collect outside contaminants carried in on footwear.
Ceiling cleaning
The ceiling of your server room can also harbour deposits of particulate matter, and since ceiling panels are so rarely disturbed, a simple knock can release damaging plumes of dust. As such, you should also have your ceilings professionally cleaned with HEPA filtered vacuums and microfibre cloths. Anti-static treatments can also be used on your ceilings. If your server room has a drop ceiling, take particular care to have the ceiling void cleaned regularly and thoroughly. Overhead cable trays can also be cleaned, although you may be required to power down equipment so cleaners can work safely.
Air scrubbing
No matter how clean your server room's surfaces are, airborne dust can still infiltrate systems and cause damage -- since surface cleaning inevitably throws up airborne dust, any thorogh server room cleaning job should end with air filtration and scrubbing. To achieve this, cleaning companies can bring in dedicated air purification units, which are fitted with the same high-density HEPA filters used in filtration vacuums. Larger server rooms, or ones containing particularly sensitive equipment, can be sealed off and pressurised to expel dust and airborne matter.
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