Data Center Cleaning

COMPREHENSIVE CLEANING SERVICES FOR DATA CENTERS

Controlling contamination in your facility can help prevent data loss, hardware failures, and costly downtime. Only Critical Facilities Solutions offers a comprehensive solution to data center and server room cleaning.

Keep Your Critical Facilities Contamination-Free

As home to mission-critical equipment, it’s easy to see why you’d want your facility to be as contamination-free as possible. Yet, even with the necessary procedures in place, contamination still occurs. Everyday activities such as running cooling systems, employees opening and closing doors, installing new equipment — all of these are activities that introduce various levels of contamination.

At Critical Facilities Solutions, we take a “minimize, regulate, and maintain” approach to contamination control and data center and server room cleaning services. We apply our nearly three decades of experience in protecting data centers, server rooms, and numerous critical facilities around the world. Our cleaning services include:

Data center cleaning
Sterilization ISO14644-1 cleaning
Cleanroom Class US Fed. — STD — .209E
Data center construction cleaning

Post-construction cleaning
Custom project / handover cleaning
Comm and Server room cleaning
Disaster recovery cleaning

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A Clean Data Center Is Essential…Here’s Why

You likely may not see the source, but airborne and contact-based contaminants build up on equipment over time. Even solid-state storage mediums can be compromised by buildup on heat sinks, bearings, and vents.

According to LED Magazine, even so-called ‘high-efficiency” LED displays lose anywhere from 65-90% of input power to heat, and SSDs are not far behind those figures. Resistive heating or “ohmic heating” exacerbates the issue of thermal clogging, hastening the rate at which components degrade. Most systems factor some level of thermal clogging within their design tolerances. But, to extend the lifetime of equipment and prevent failures, it’s best to combat contamination head-on. The two areas of contamination that are most concerning are airborne contaminants and settle contaminants.

Airborne Contaminants: An Unnoticed Threat

There’s no such thing as an airproof data center. Therefore, contamination from airborne sources is — for all intents and purposes — unavoidable. Electrostatic dust, corrosive oxides, volatile organic compounds, solvents, and other contaminants put equipment at risk. Even seemingly mundane, everyday sources of contamination such as pollen, dust, hair, and carpeting fibers can prove to be problematic.

The trouble with airborne contaminants is that the source (or sources) isn’t always easy to identify, and harmful buildup can occur over the course of months, years, or even days.

Settled Contaminants: Decreased Performance and Thermal Clogging

When airborne or touch contaminants buildup on the surface of equipment, this is known as “settled contamination.” These tiny particles make their way onto (and into) delicate equipment, resulting in thermal clogging, data loss, and performance bottlenecks due to thermal throttling. Contamination-related failures can even occur with solid-state drives (SSDs).

Densely Packed Racks Are More Susceptible to Contamination

Servers and drives continue to shrink and become even more compact. This is great for reducing floorspace, but it also means equipment is packed in tightly, creating opportunities for settle contaminants to go unnoticed. It’s important to note that more contamination accumulates on equipment and in air filters, the less efficient equipment becomes, leading to performance bottlenecks and wasted energy.

Facilities Served

Critical Facilities Solutions brings state-of-the-art critical facilities cleaning and management services to locations around the world. While not an all-inclusive list, the facilities we typically oversee include the following:

Data centers
Communication (“comm”) rooms
Network rooms
Network control centers
Server rooms
Datacom rooms
Containerized data centers
Computer Rooms
Blade rooms
Audio-visual (AV) rooms
MMRs
CCNRs
Network operations centers (NOCs)
Uninterruptable power supply (UPS) rooms
Generator rooms
Chiller and cooling tower rooms
High-voltage (HV) and low-voltage (LV) power rooms
Pharmaceutical laboratories and manufacturing facilities
Data center construction sites

In addition to server room and data center cleaning services, Critical Facilities Solutions also provides live raised access floor replacements, zinc whisker testing and remediation, consulting and testing.

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Benefits of Data Center Cleaning

Data center cleaning services involve cleaning, dusting, and sanitizing all of the components in a data center, such as servers, racks, cables, switches, and other critical equipment. This type of service is necessary to maintain a high level of performance and reliability within the data center. Cleaning services may also include vacuuming, wiping down surfaces, and removing dust and grime from hard-to-reach areas. Listed below are the main benefits of keeping your Data Center clean.

Improved Efficiency

Data centers are often filled with dust and other debris, which can cause equipment to overheat and malfunction. By regularly cleaning your data center, you can keep your equipment running at optimal levels, helping to maximize efficiency and minimize downtime.

Improved Reliability

A clean data center is less likely to experience problems due to dust buildup and other debris. This can help you reduce the risk of unexpected downtime, helping to keep your data center running smoothly and reliably.

Improved Air Quality

Dust and other debris can cause air quality to suffer in data centers. A regular cleaning schedule can help reduce dust and other particles in the air, improving the air quality in your data center.

Reduced Energy Costs

Dust buildup can reduce the efficiency of cooling systems, leading to higher energy costs. By regularly cleaning your data center, you can help reduce energy costs by ensuring your cooling systems are working at optimal levels.

What are the best practices for Data Center Cleaning?

Critical Facilities Solutions follows best practices when cleaning data centers. Below are the top best practices:

Ensure proper training for all personnel involved in cleaning the data center.
Use only approved cleaning supplies and equipment.
Establish a regular cleaning schedule and stick to it.
Wear protective gear when entering and cleaning the data center.
Document all cleaning activities.
Wipe down all surfaces with a dry antistatic cloth.
Vacuum all equipment and surfaces.
Clean all air vents and filters.
Clean all cables and cable trays.
Check for dust or debris accumulation and remove if found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should a data center be cleaned?

Data centers should be cleaned on a regular basis, typically weekly or monthly, depending on the size and complexity of the data center.

How long does a data center cleaning job typically take?

The length of time for a data center cleaning job can vary depending on the size and complexity of the data center. Generally, a data center cleaning job can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days.

What kind of cleaning products are used in data centers?

Cleaning technicians use specialized products designed specifically for data centers, such as static-dissipating cleaning agents, Hepa filtration vacuums as well as products that reduce electrostatic discharge (ESD) risks. It’s important to use cleaning products that are safe for electronics and don’t leave behind a residue.

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Your data center doesn’t exist in a vacuum; electrostatic dust, dirt, pollen, and other types of contamination are inevitable. Critical Facilities Solutions can help preserve the integrity of your hardware and create healthier workspaces for humans and equipment alike.

Critical Facilities Solutions (USA) » Data Center Cleaning