Urban dust is ubiquitous, merciless and invincible, and in this on their own “skin” buildings are convinced whose facades lose brightness and freshness of color a couple of years after the construction or repair. A lot of different things settled on them – soil particles, soot, soot, pollen, asphalt dust, etc. D. The attack does not stop for a minute and over time gives the buildings a grayish tint. How to deal with it and whether it is possible to protect the facades from dust?
Significant amounts are spent on the fight against dust and mud on buildings, and the work itself is usually carried out on the eve of significant events. So, in St. Petersburg in 2005-2007. As part of the celebration of the three hundredth anniversary of the city, the program “Facades of St. Petersburg” was held, according to which the facades of historical buildings in the center were repainted and updated. In Kazan, similar works were carried out in front of the 2013 Universiade, and in cities where the 2018 World Cup matches will be held, preparations for renewal of facades have already begun. All this is very costly, so questions arise about reducing the cost of such measures.
On the one hand, you can regularly clean the facades, however, a lot of difficulties can occur here if the walls have a complex relief surfaces and decorated with various decorative elements. Another question is the correct selection of the washing mixture and washing time. For example, walls in the construction of which used tiles, granite, facing brick, etc. p., Wash with slightly acidic means, and walls lined with natural or artificial stone, marble or dolomites are neutral or alkaline. The type of pollution is also taken into account – mineral or organic. Mineral contaminants are rust, sticking cement solutions, dreams, patina, etc. D. Organic – spots of fat and oil, mold, lichens, etc. The facade cleaning time is determined by climatic conditions. In our country, work to cleanse the walls is carried out from the late scales until early autumn, but in each city this time is its. For example, in St. Petersburg, May is considered the best month.
The cost of such work depends on the used means and technologies, relief and other factors and fluctuates in the range of 15-100 rubles per square meter. In some cases, forests, building cradle or lifting mechanisms are used, and industrial climbers are involved in others.
Most often, glass facades are washed, less often – plastering. Cleaning and washing of plaster facades is considered the most difficult type of work and requires special qualifications of employees, since errors and incorrect actions can harm the facade, up to damage to the plaster. To clean the plastering facades, special cleaning solutions are used, which are sprayed to the surface, after which they clean it with brushes and only after that they wash. However, the last stage is often omitted so as not to damage the painting.
In general, plaster facades are washed quite rarely, preferring to re-color the walls every 5-10 years. However, recently, paint that can self -clean. Such paints are produced using nanotechnologies, and they are based on silicone resin, which provides high hydrophobic qualities, which allows the walls not to absorb rain water, but to let it drain, washing off the pollution. The use of such colors provides the brightness of paints for a long time, even if the building is in the immediate vicinity of the busy track.
In general, each owner himself decides how to deal with dust settling on the facades. Someone every year washes and cleans the walls, someone with one or another frequency repains the walls, and someone uses the latest technologies and forgets about the dust for a long time.