The information contained in this guide is not meant to be a doctoral thesis on chemistry, biology, nor molecular engineering. Instead it’s a simple laymen’s guide to understanding the things that are making your property look dirty.
Acadiana Hydro Kleen’s approach to providing professional exterior cleaning services is three pronged. Step one: we identify what it is we’re going to be cleaning. Step two: we identify what type of surface are we going to be cleaning. Step three: we determine what the best method will be to effectively and safely deliver exemplary service.
Organic Dirt
You might be wondering how anything with the word ‘organic’ in it can be labeled as a bad thing and the truth is organic dirt isn’t all bad at all. Organic dirt is a vital force of nature and can be beautiful to observe. But, when Mother Nature literally gives your home a warm, fuzzy appearance, we know you’re not quite feeling the love.
The occurrence of organic dirt is essentially Mother Nature’s way of breaking things down and bringing those things back to a more natural state of existence. As the saying goes: ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Overview of Organic Dirt
- Algae: Algae is a simple, nonflowering, typically aquatic (moisture needing) plant that contains chlorophyll but true stems, roots, leaves, and vascular tissue is absent from its biological makeup.
- Fungi: Fungi is defined as a part of a group of spore-producing organisms feeding on organic matter such as molds, yeast, mushrooms, and toadstools.
- Plants: Yes, we said plants! This covers moss, lichens, creeping vines, and more.
- Bacteria: Bacteria is a member of a large group of unicellular microorganisms which possess cell walls but are void of an organized nucleus. Some bacteria can cause disease.
Inorganic Dirt or Mineral Dirt
It stands to reason that if living organisms are classed as organic dirt then those that are no longer living fall into the inorganic category.
Investigating Inorganic Dirt
- Mineral stains: Mineral stains can be lime scale buildups, soap scum, the blue-green stains resulting from copper, the reddish brown stains of rust or iron as well as the black stains left behind by manganese and other minerals.
- Dust: Dust is made up of all sorts of solid matter particles. The typical ingredients in the recipe for dust include textile fibers, plant pollen, soil minerals, human skin cells, and a lovely mixture of human & animal hair.
Hydrocarbons
We’ve covered the bad boys of home cleaning, organic and inorganic dirt, now it’s time to learn all about hydrocarbons. Fear not, hydrocarbons aren’t as scientific as the name suggests. Here at Acadiana Hydro Kleen we lump oils and its byproducts in the hydrocarbon category.
Having a Look at Hydrocarbons
- Soot: Includes the fine black particles, chiefly composed of carbon, that is a result of the incomplete combustion of oil, coal, wood, and other fuels. Soot can consist of acids, chemicals, metals, soils, and dust.
- Oil: Oil can be spots of oil on concrete, transmission fluid stains that appear on your driveway or stains left behind by motor oil.
- Pollutants: Components of pollution can be either foreign substances or energies as well as naturally occurring contaminants. Think of the exhaust gasses from trains, planes and automobiles.
We Like Getting Our Hands Dirty, Just Not With This Stuff
This last classification of dirt is everything our Acadiana Hydro Kleen team doesn’t clean —be it organic, inorganic, or hydrocarbon dirt. It’s not that we don’t want to help, it’s that there are remediation specialists who are certified to do so.
Things We Don’t Kleen
- Molds: Molds are part of a huge taxonomically diverse fungal species. There are thousands of known mold species, some of which cure disease while others cause it.
- Hazardous materials and waste: Hazardous materials and waste are dictated by RCRA authorities and require special regulatory disposal techniques.
Bio-hazards: Bio-hazards are defined as biological substances that pose an immediate risk to the health of humans and anything that can cause an infectious disease. Examples of bio-hazardous waste include viruses, toxins, and medical waste.
An Infographic
Are you more of a visual learner? Prefer to digest information in a bite-sized format? Have a look at our dirty infographic down below.
