How To Clean Plastic Pallets
15 Mar 2022
Good news! Keeping your plastic pallets clean and pristine is incredibly easy.
One of the benefits of plastic is that it is easy to clean. However, this is far from the materials’ only benefit.
Plastic is remarkably durable, meaning that you can expect fantastic longevity from our pallets. Featuring unrivalled structural integrity, they can withstand product loads with highly significant weight.
In addition, AP Plastic Pallets’ products don’t splinter as lower quality alternatives do. Due to their advanced manufacturing process, our plastic pallets aren’t prone to breakage or damage.
As well as being durable, our plastic pallets are environmentally friendly. We’re passionate about sustainability and as a result, we design our products to be specifically robust. This allows them to be used over and over again, and don’t need to be repurchased as often. Our pallets are also hygienic.
Before washing your plastic pallets, you need to identify if they are indeed reusable. Whilst all of AP’s plastic pallets are highly reusable, this is not the case for all pallets. Our plastic pallets are perfect for washing. This is because the high strength plastic we used can be dried quickly without compromising its structural integrity.
Step 1 – Remove Any Dust From Your Pallet
The first step to cleaning your plastic pallet is to remove any dust from it. It is important to remove dust thoroughly, as dust can provide hiding places for bacteria and germs. Dust itself is also dangerous, as it can cause cold-like symptoms such as coughing and itchy eyes. These symptoms can be more severe for those who are asthmatic. To properly dust your pallet, take a wipe and run it over the entire surface area of your plastic pallet. After doing this once or twice, all of the dust should’ve been removed from your pallet.
Step 2 – Wash Your Pallet With Water And Soap
Once your plastic pallet is free from dust, it can be washed. The best way to do this is with warm water, mixed with strong soap.
Warm water aids cleaning, as it disrupts areas of dirt and grime. These areas would be places where harmful bacteria would thrive. Warm water also enhances the cleaning capacity of soap.
Strong soap is capable of disbanding dirt at the molecular level. Soap works by dislodging microbes, breaking up potentially dangerous germs and bacteria.
The best way to wash your pallet with warm soapy water is to cover it generously and then rub it down with a cloth or towel.
Optional – Steam Clean Your Pallet
Whilst the two above steps are sufficient enough at keeping your plastic pallets clean, you may also then choose to sterilise them. The best way to do this is a steam clean, with temperatures around 165 F being high enough.
Whilst cleaning your pallets will remove any nasty bacteria, sterilising them destroys all microorganisms that are present on their surfaces. This is something which is of the highest importance for the food processing business and pharmaceutical operations amongst others.
An Alternative Cleaning Method
A different way to clean your plastic pallet is to use automated high-pressure washing equipment. This method is probably the most effective and is ideal for those who may find manual cleaning physically difficult.
However, for cleaning lower numbers of pallets or more delicate smaller pallets, manual cleaning is the most suitable cleaning method. In addition to this, automated high-pressure washing is higher in price.
The Importance Of Keeping Your Plastic Pallets Clean
It is, of course, highly important to keep your plastic pallets clean. Keeping plastic pallets clean extends their shelf life. This means that by simply washing your pallets, you can save money by not having to repurchase them as often.
This is also good for the environment. Sustainability is something we’re passionate about. By having long-lasting pallets, users get many years of service from them. This means that fewer pallets are sent to landfills less often. You can read about our plastic pallet recycling service here.
Keeping your pallets clean will also improve the safety of your workplace. Occasionally cleaning pallets helps to reduce the chances of an outbreak or contamination of goods. In addition, clean pallets contribute to a cleaner workspace. And ultimately, a cleaner workspace is more likely to be a more productive one.
Employees are more likely to be happier in a clean workplace than a dirty one. Studies have shown that happier employees are more likely to be more highly engaged. This higher engagement is likely to lead to higher productivity, as well as a lower rate of absence. This highlights the importance of keeping your work environment and your plastic pallets clean.