Cleaning machine for the cleanroom

Scrubbing machines can significantly reduce the costs of cleaning cleanrooms. Timo Speck, Managing Director of MIKROCLEAN GmbH, recommends the use of these machines especially for particle cleaning of large cleanrooms. "This can save companies up to a third of personnel costs."

Whether in supermarkets, swimming pools, or industrial halls - scrubbing machines are used in many places for floor cleaning. They operate with large drive rollers that are supplied with water and cleaning agents, providing an abrasive cleaning of the floors. The dirt dissolved from the floor is sucked up with the dirt squeegee over a suction bar and suction hose and transported into the dirty water tank.

The scrubbing machine used by Mikroclean operates on the same principle. However, the experts for cleanroom cleaning in Grafenberg have specialized designs for the highly sensitive requirements in cleanrooms. The housing of the machine is made of stainless steel, without corners, edges, and with neatly finished welds. "This is much better and more efficient to maintain and clean than plastic housings," emphasizes Speck. The fresh and dirty water tanks are also made entirely of stainless steel. The surfaces are smooth, wear-resistant, and resistant to disinfectants and phosphoric acid.

In addition to cleaning performance, the filtration of the exhaust air is especially essential. Therefore, the machines are equipped with HEPA filters of filter class 13, which comply with DIN EN 1822. The transmission rate of 0.05 percent in filtration also retains the finest particles and suspended solids in the turbine exhaust air.

A special feature is the shut-off valves on the drain hoses. Normally, water and wastewater are discharged uncontrollably via two hoses. "Since we set the highest standards for cleanroom cleaning, this process must also be controlled," says Speck. The risk of recontamination must therefore be eliminated. For this reason, Mikroclean experts have equipped both hoses with a shut-off valve, through which the discharge process can be precisely controlled.

The ideal application area for the scrubbing machine is cleanrooms with particulate contamination that need to be cleaned daily. For highly sensitive cleanrooms with microbiological contamination, the machine is not recommended, according to Speck. It is important that a closed floor system is in place.

Due to its special drainage capabilities, the machine is also ideal for use in ESD (Electro Static Discharge) zones. The materials used are electrically conductive, all moving parts are connected to the chassis, which is grounded via an anti-static drain strip on the floor.

This prevents electrostatic charging. This enables applications in cleanrooms for chip and semiconductor manufacturing, as well as in electronic and optoelectronic industries.

Companies using the scrubbing machine can save significant costs, says Timo Speck. He calculated that using the scrubbing machine compared to manual cleaning with mop frames saves around 450 euros in material costs per month for an area of 250 square meters. Additional savings are achieved through personnel deployment. "For around 1,000 square meters of floor area, you save approximately 2.5 to 3 hours per day," the managing director explains. "So, you save about a third of the personnel costs."

Since the machine only reaches open areas, the floors under tables, equipment, or at the edges must be cleaned manually (classic mop cleaning). Therefore, the scrubbing cleaner is especially suitable for large cleanrooms with many open areas. Speck recommends using the machine starting at about 800 to 1,000 square meters of floor area. "For cleanroom systems of this size, which are cleaned daily, machine use is particularly effective," says the Mikroclean managing director.

Mikroclean offers cleanroom cleaning services in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The combined use of the described scrubbing machine is also offered together with the service in these three countries.