Environmentally friendly gum removal
August 1st 2005

In recent years people have woken up to the fact that our streets can be greatly improved by ridding them of the unsightly wads of discarded gum that seem to cover all paved surfaces.

At first gum removal was restricted to just hot water pressure washers and steam cleaners using hundreds of gallons of water and large quantities of detergents and so on.

This meant that shopping areas had to be cordoned off thus reducing the time for gum removal to a few hours a day between the shops closing and any locals being disturbed by the noise. Not to mention the environmental hazards of so much water and detergent going down the street drainage system.

Now however, Nimbus Steamcleaners and Amtech UK have jointly produced a system called Gum Wizzard that uses super heated steam and an environmentally friendly product called CGR1000. This system is totally none evasive to shoppers, uses only a few litres of water per day and can be run from a 3.5KVA generator.

Using super heated steam of 160°C to stage for additional power against grease, oil – and gum.

Despite extensive publicity campaigns and heated debate right up to the highest levels of government, the problem of gum littering remains severe. A recent survey shows London boroughs alone are spending £2.3 million a year on the problem, while another £2 million goes on gum removal on Underground trains and stations. The UK chews through more than £250 million worth of gum annually.

“The problem is not getting any better. Towns we cleaned last year are already as bad again,” says Simon Bailey. “A tax on gum would help. Even if it does not deter littering, it would help to pay for removal. It costs about £2 a square metre to remove gum – and up to £4 in some cases.” Fortunately, with most pavement surfaces, the steam removal process combined with rotary cleaning equipment avoids lasting patchiness.

However, this can be a major problem with graffiti removal – especially from historic stonework.

“A good cleaning Contractorshould be able to remove graffiti without damaging a building or leaving any ‘ghosting’on the masonry,” says Simon Bailey. “However, if a building has significant carbon deposits on its walls, then you can’t avoid leaving ‘clean’ spots after graffiti removal.” In addition to its specialised cleaning services, CSB has an expanding dealership, selling equipment, accessories and consumables to general industry and the contract cleaning sector within range of its head office near Leicester. Nilfisk-ALTO pressure washers, vacuums and floorcare equipment feature prominently in its product line-up.

Simon Bailey says: “The cleaning materials and health and safety products we sell are based on what we had difficulty obtaining for our business.

Now we have a good supply and we can help our industry too.” soften and lift the gum and a quick squirt of CGR100 to emulsify it, the Gum Wizzard then vacuums up the residue into its 10 litre collection tank. The Gum Wizzard will remove a wad of gum in about 3 seconds from virtually an surface including carpets and leaves no residue or further mess to clear up at all. It can be operated by a single person and requires very little training. Furthermore the Gum Wizzard can also be used as a powerful dry steam cleaning machine when not being used for gum removal, making it a versatile piece of cleaning equipment.

All this for a price of just £1698+VAT. For further details and a free demonstration with absolutely no obligation phone: Nimbus Steamcleaners on 01903 212948 Or Amtech UK on 01444 232211 or use the enquiry bar:

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