THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 10, 1994 TAG: 9408090125
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
Gary Robinson doesn't do windows.
But he does wash houses, driveways, piers, dump trucks and other large pieces of machinery.
Robinson is owner of Isle of Wight County's newest power cleaning company, Smithfield Mobile Wash. The former heavy equipment mechanic opened the business a few months ago.
Smithfield Mobile Wash uses chemical cleaners and a high pressure washer on its heavy duty cleaning projects. While the pressure washer is powerful enough to strip paint and remove stains, Robinson only uses environmentally safe cleaners.
``Nothing I use is hazardous,'' Robinson said. ``All the chemicals I use are completely biodegradable.''
Individuals hire Smithfield Mobile Wash for major outdoor projects, such as pressure-treating new decks or washing their brick or vinyl-sided homes.
According to Robinson, a growing number of Hampton Roads businesses are realizing the value of having their property commercially cleaned.
``If a business doesn't keep its property clean and someone gets hurt,'' Robinson said, ``it could be held liable.''
The company recently cleaned a Norfolk restaurant's parking lot, where several inches of dirt and grease had accumulated over the winter. Another local business, a commercial sand pit, hired Smithfield Mobile Wash to clean its fleet of dump trucks once a month.
According to Robinson, people with small cleaning jobs, such as their home's siding or a deck, often attempt to do the work themselves. But often their efforts fail because they don't have the equipment needed to thoroughly clean the mildew and dirt settled into a building's hidden cracks and crevices, according to Robinson.
``Some things will not come off with just a garden hose and cleaning bleach,'' Robinson said. ``People are not doing a whole lot of good if they can't get to the whole building.'' MEMO: For more information on Smithfield Mobile Wash, call Robinson at
365-0391.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Gary Robinson is owner of Isle of Wight County's newest power
cleaning company, Smithfield Mobile Wash.
by CNB