Warehouse cleaning and industrial floor care

Warehouse floors are never at the top of anyone's priority list. As long as stock is where it should be and the despatch schedule holds, a layer of dust on the concrete does not look like a problem — it shows up instead under entirely different cost headings: forklift radiators clog early, air filters are replaced twice as often, packaging on the upper beam levels loses its retail appearance, and the auditor writes up yet another non-conformance.

DepoHub's warehouse cleaning service exists to break that chain. We are not an office cleaning contractor. We work in a live warehouse — without shutting down truck traffic entirely, or inside a between-shifts window — because we understand the routes the equipment takes, why a particular zone gets dirty, and which chemical will ruin an epoxy floor.

What a dirty warehouse actually costs

Dust does not distribute itself evenly. It is lifted by forklift tyres, drawn along the racking aisles by air movement, and settles in three places: on the grilles of cooling systems, at the base of rack uprights, and on the top surfaces of cartons on high beam levels. The consequences are measurable.

• Equipment running costs. In a dusty environment a diesel truck's air filter blocks noticeably sooner than the manufacturer's recommended interval, and the radiator needs washing out every season. On electric trucks, dust settles on the cooling fins of the controller housings, and in summer thermal protection cuts in early and derates the machine.
• Safety. Dust mixed with an oil spot sharply reduces the friction coefficient of a concrete floor. Where a pedestrian route crosses a truck route, that means a direct slip risk and a longer stopping distance.
• Audit and certification. In food, pharmaceutical and packaging operations, the most repeated findings in HACCP, ISO 22000 and BRCGS inspections concern the floor-to-wall junction, the inaccessible zone under racking, and accumulated dust. Every one of those findings means a corrective action plan and a re-inspection.
• Operational accuracy. A dusty barcode label does not read first time. In a warehouse picking several thousand lines a day, that is a loss measured in hours.

We therefore plan cleaning not as cosmetic work but as an operational measure that directly changes equipment life and audit outcomes.

What the service includes

Scheduled routine cleaning

The core of a contract is mechanised floor cleaning: wet cleaning with a scrubber-dryer, a sweeper on open areas, and a compact pedestrian machine or hand tools in narrow aisles.

• Truck aisles, crossing points and the manoeuvring apron;
• pick and pack areas and the conveyor perimeter;
• loading bays, dock bumpers and door thresholds;
• marked pedestrian walkway lines — cleaned without abrasive brushes so the paint stays visible;
• rack upright bases and footplates, by hand;
• waste collection, separation of cardboard and stretch film, and transfer to the agreed point.

Deep cleans and pre-commissioning cleans

A deep clean is carried out seasonally, ahead of a stock count, or when a new building is handed over. It covers:

• upper beam levels and rack top surfaces vacuumed with HEPA-filtered industrial units — strictly working top down so dust does not fall onto finished areas;
• steelwork, cable trays, ventilation grilles and light fittings;
• the floor-to-wall junction and column bases — the first places an auditor looks;
• removal of oil and hydraulic fluid stains with degreaser and absorbent;
• restorative washing of epoxy and polyurethane coatings, and reapplication of the protective layer where needed.

What is not included

Stating the boundaries up front beats discovering a gap in expectations after the price is agreed. The service does not cover: facade and working-at-height glazing cleaning; disposal of hazardous or chemical waste, which is the work of a separately licensed contractor; floor repair, crack filling and recoating, which is quoted as a separate project; repacking of damaged goods; and dismantling or erecting racking.

How the work is organised

1. Site survey. In one to two hours we record the floor finish, traffic intensity, the nature of the soiling, and the water supply and drainage points. The survey is free and carries no obligation.
2. Zoning and chemical selection. The building is divided into zones, and each zone gets a machine, a brush type and a chemical. Food areas use only products with confirmed food-contact suitability; epoxy floors get pH-neutral formulations.
3. Pilot shift. We measure the result on one aisle or one zone, before and after. That shows both sides exactly what the price is based on.
4. Schedule sign-off. Weekly, fortnightly or monthly; a daytime between-shifts window or a night shift. The schedule fits around your despatch plan, not the other way round.
5. Reporting. Monthly photo reports, a zone-by-zone list of work done, and a record of problems found — a damaged rack upright, a weeping hydraulic line. Those notes frequently head off a far more expensive failure.

Equipment used

Crews arrive with their own machines: pedestrian and ride-on scrubber-dryers, a sweeper, a single-disc machine, an industrial vacuum and a pressure washer. Where a machine will not fit — in narrow aisles — the work is done by hand, and that is one of the largest single factors in the price.

If you would rather clean with your own staff, you can buy the machines from us: see floor scrubbers. Cleaning planning is inseparable from warehouse design — aisle width, rack type and traffic layout are settled together with your choices in warehouse racking, forklifts and dock levellers.

Coverage and response times

Baku, Sumqayit and the Absheron district are the core service area: a site survey is scheduled within two working days of your enquiry, and contracted shifts run to the agreed schedule. In Ganja, Mingachevir, Shirvan, Hajigabul, Lankaran and the Alat–Garadagh logistics zone a survey is arranged within five working days; regular contracts there normally require a minimum floor area, while a one-off deep clean is available regardless.

For urgent situations — a spill, a leak, an unannounced audit — a crew within Baku and Absheron is mobilised within the working day. That is availability-based support rather than a contractual commitment, and it is confirmed individually at enquiry stage.

What drives the price

• Area and geometry. Pricing is per square metre, but an open apron and a narrow aisle are not cleaned at the same rate.
• Floor finish. Power-floated concrete, epoxy, polyurethane and old porous concrete each need different chemistry and a different number of passes.
• Type of soiling. Dry dust lifts in one pass; oil, tyre marks and adhesive residue need degreaser and extra mechanical work.
• Shift timing. Night and weekend work is charged at an uplift.
• Frequency. The more frequent the contracted shifts, the lower the rate per square metre, because less soil accumulates between visits.

No price is confirmed without a survey. We give an indicative range in response to your enquiry; the firm proposal follows the site visit.

What we measure

In the first three months of a contract we track four indicators: the actual air-filter replacement interval on your trucks, the number of floor-related audit findings, recorded slip and trip incidents, and failed scans in the pick face. If those numbers do not move, we change the schedule or the method — cleaning is not an end in itself.

Next step

Send us your floor area, floor finish and operating pattern — we will book a survey within two working days and give you an indicative price range. Request a quote or contact us directly.

If the layout is being rebuilt, allowing for the cleaning regime at design stage is cheaper — see warehouse planning. If the condition of your trucks is the underlying concern, see forklift service and maintenance.