Closeup of a foam spinner in a chute.

Trash Chute Maintenance – How Important Is It?

Are foul odors seeping out of the trash chutes and into the hallways of your apartment building? Depending on the number of residents in your building, these chutes see a high volume of household waste everyday. Daily usage of the garbage chutes on each floor in addition to compactors and dumpsters filling up quickly results in more than just foul odors.  

In addition to the extremely unpleasant smell, the build up of household waste is the perfect place for bacteria, mold, and mildew to grow. These can result in health hazards, not just for the residents but for building employees too! Molds, mildews, and flourishing bacteria degrade the air quality in the building. Poor air quality can affect people with asthma, allergies, COPD, infants, and the elderly just to name a few.  

All that build up of household waste like dinner leftovers, vegetable matter, and dairy containers are a beacon for rodents and bugs. One of the essentials for any landlord or superintendent of an apartment building is contracting a monthly pest service. It’s considered standard procedure to ensure preventative measures are taken against roaches, rats, and other possible infestations. It’s time to start treating trash chute cleaning the same way.

For years the traditional pressure washing method has been the industry standard for trash chute cleaning. It requires a very high volume of water and there are not always areas to park a water truck in front of the work site. So frequently these companies hook into the buildings water supply. This is undesirable because it increases the total amount of water used in the buildings and sometimes, depending on the age of the building and the plumbing, decreases overall water pressure for the residents who are home during this long process.  

The typical trash chute cleaning company also disturbs the peace. A crew of several men dragging heavy hoses through the stairwells and blasting gallons and gallons of water down through the trash chutes can be very noisy. Imagine how long and loud this process would be throughout five different floors. This is extremely problematic for those who work from home, are home with a sleeping baby, or work the night shift.  

Traditional methods of eliminating these garbage odors and cleaning the chutes are effective for the immediate issue, but the average building only contracts these services once or twice a year, so the old methods end up being reactive instead of proactive.  

Fresh Foam has changed all that with our breakthrough technology. We pride ourselves on a proactive approach. At Fresh Foam we recommend a quarterly or bi-monthly maintenance system. This schedule will eliminate the build up from all that household waste we mentioned earlier. By keeping the chutes clean and free of the debris left behind by damaged garbage bags and unbagged trash you will see less pest infestations. Our specially developed organic cleaning compounds use very little water and we do not require large crews of technicians with heavy equipment. So along with the decrease in water needed for our patented process, we have eliminated the noise and the disturbances to residents. Another great benefit to maintaining your trash chutes – cleaner air.  

Fresh Foam is the perfect addition to the routine maintenance schedule for any building. Keeping the chutes clean and free of debris eliminates odors and helps to keep pest infestations at bay. Residents and supers alike are happier when issues are resolved and quality of life is improved. Contact us today to find out more information.