Cleaning diverse flooring types at the Gewandhaus Leipzig Clean. Maintain. Repeat.

Cleaning the floors in cultural institutions such as the Gewandhaus concert hall in Leipzig is a challenge for service providers. The various types of flooring require not only professional cleaning and care, but also quick and flexible response to last-minute schedule changes.Commuters on the first tram that lumbers across the Augustusplatz square in Leipzig at dawn are always in for a treat: the gigantic mural in the foyer of the Gewandhaus lounge can actually be seen in all its glory from the outside. As the city slowly wakes up, this temple of the arts is already brightly illuminated. “On 365 early mornings a year, our team is fully stretched preparing the entire building for that evening’s event,” industrial engineer Steffen Schmidt tells us. The CEO of Ostrei Dienstleistungen und Umwelttechnik GmbH in Leipzig knows that he can rely on the team around Detlef Schmiedgen, the facility manager. Since the contract was signed in 1991, his company has been deploying permanent staff to the world-famous concert hall – and knowing that their work contributes to the magnificent reputation of the institution naturally fills the team with pride. “Both concert halls and the choir rehearsal area feature parquet flooring, which absorbs sound waves and reduces reverberation – provided it is maintained properly. In that sense, you could say that our cleaning staff also contributes to the quality of the concerts,” Steffen Schmidt shares with a wink. The great hall is the heart and soul of the Gewandhaus. Up to 1,900 music aficionados fit comfortably in the stalls, balconies, in the two galleries above the orchestra podium, and on the additional balcony directly underneath the hughe Schuke organ. The stage is large enough for enormous line-ups. In addition, the Gewandhaus’ Mendelssohn Hall offers 498 seats for chamber concerts. Before the cleaning opus commences, a visual inspection is carried out in both halls. “There is a lot less litter to be removed here than in other public institutions. But people do leave behind program booklets or tickets, and musicians sometimes forget their sheet music,” Detlef Schmiedgen explains. Later, the street grime carried into the hall on soles and clothes is vacuumed from the stalls and the galleries, one seating row at a time. The podium is equipped with fixed seating and that needs to be cleaned manually. Next comes a pass with a mopping product (Igefa) to prevent dirt from penetrating the parquet and create a neat, matte glow. Every three months, Igefa glossy hard wax is applied to the parquet floors. After the cleaning, the hallways and other large areas are polished with a hand-held polishing machine and polishing brushes. The areas between the seating rows are cleaned manually. The need to be nimbleAfter the parquet flooring has been treated and the seating areas have been vacuumed in both halls, preparations for the evening event can begin. Detlef Schmiedgen: “The sound technician checks the equipment, and depending on the evening’s line-up chairs have to be set up on the podium. We’re also in charge of putting up the sheet music easels and getting a lot of other organizational tasks sorted.” It’s important to note that the halls are frequently required for rehearsals by the Gewandhaus orchestra or choir during the day. This calls for careful coordination with the staff of the institution on a daily basis. “Although we produce our work schedules in advance and hold weekly meetings, we sometimes need to adapt our routines to last-minute changes,” the facility manager adds. Cleaning the floors of the four lobbies requires extreme attention to detail. On the second and third stories, the textile flooring is cleaned with a Nilfisk wide-area carpet vacuum cleaner. The porcelain stoneware edging along the walls is mopped with a cleaning agent. In those areas of the lobby where food and beverages are served, stains on the light-beige carpeting are difficult to avoid. Occasionally, it becomes necessary to remove them at a moment’s notice and that falls within the scope of a special cleaning order. The marble floors on the forth story need particular attention as well. Here, treating the surface manually with marble polish creates a stain-resistant, anti-slip sacrificial layer that leaves a silky-matte finish without affecting the look of the sensitive stone. The granite floor in the ground-floor lobby has not been renovated since the inauguration of the Gewandhaus in 1981. Because the area is heavily frequented during the day, repeated follow-up cleaning is necessary before the evening events commence – especially during the winter. “The sanitary facilities on the ground floor are open to the public. Around the corner you have the area where tickets are sold in advance as well as the gift shop where music fans can buy audio recordings, literature, and souvenirs,” Detlef Schmiedgen explains. By using a hand-held scrubbing machine (Nilfisk) in conjunction with brushes and an alcohol-based cleaning agent, the floor can be cleaned to a silky sheen without streaks. The tile and stone floors in the sanitary facilities throughout the building are cleaned with an acidic sanitary detergent as the need arises, but at least once per day. The broad-spectrum product by Igefa reliably destroys germs and prevents proliferation, with the added benefit of giving the area a pleasant, fresh scent. All parquet and textile floorings in the offices must be cleaned before the administrative staff arrives. Finally, the porcelain stoneware stairs and the linoleum floors in the dressing rooms for the dancers, musicians and singers are cleaned using a product for wet mopping. Summer time is floor stripping timeEvery summer, when the artists and most of the administrative staff are on leave for their well-earned holidays, the entire Gewandhaus undergoes a complete makeover, which includes floor stripping. “We’re not the only ones to shift in high gear when everybody else is off on holiday. The place is bustling with all sorts of other trades called in for renovations and repairs,” Steffen Schmidt explains. The summer break isn’t endless and careful planning and organization is indispensable for all the work to be completed in time. “If we don’t coordinate everything precisely and have the support from the general service team, nothing will get done. The occasional summer guest performance can complicate matters as well,” Steffen Schmidt emphasizes. In summer, the thick carpeting in the lobbies and offices also receives some much-needed attention. Carpet shampoo is used in conjunction with spray extraction for deep cleaning. The textile floors are then impregnated to prepare them for the stresses of the coming season. The entrance lobby must remain accessible during the summer. For this purpose, the wide granite area is divided into grid squares that are mechanically stripped one by one. Cleaning staff then work on the edges with a hand-held single-disc machine equipped either with brushes or pad discs. An alkaline stripping agent is used here to dissolve any dirt and accumulated layers. In the sanitary facilities, the stripping process is also carried out with a hand-held single-disc machine and a melamine pad. Dirt particles in the joints are removed with power tools or manually with special brushes. The marble floors are cleaned manually, too, with a scrubbing brush and an alcohol-based cleaning agent. Scrubbing pads are used to strip the linoleum in the dressing rooms. For this purpose, an Igefa express stripping agent with a pH value of up to ten is the cleaning chemical of choice. Reinhard Wylegalla | markus.targiel@holzmann-medien.de

Cleaning diverse flooring types at the Gewandhaus Leipzig Clean. Maintain. Repeat.

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