It's a classic case of 'what have you done for me lately?'.

We welcomed salt & sand on our city and rural roads as a safety measure against the hazards of slippery snow the past few months. And now that spring's approaching? We repay these nameless particles of the earth by sweeping them away in preparation of the new season.

Don't feel bad for these inanimate minerals. Salt and sand not only detract from neighbourhood aesthetics, but the longevity of the roads, parking lots, and commercial properties they were employed to protect in the winter, as well as the health of the environment and people in it.

Here's how you can get spring cleaning started early with our street sweeping advice for the season.

Don't Get Salty about Street Sweeping

No one likes spring cleaning. But if we had a choice, we'd do it with state-of-the-art machinery that makes it fun instead of frustrating.

The most effective way to remove the masses of sand and salt accumulated over the winter is a premier street sweeping & parking lot cleaning service. It's the fastest, most cost-efficient, and - most importantly - environmentally-conscious method of removing sand, dust, and salt.

Preserving air quality and minimizing the spread of dust particles is of equal importance to keeping streets, parking lots, and commercial properties clean. Today's top-of-the-line sweepers adhere to rigid environmental safety standards and health regulations, managing the size and density of debris being swept away. This ensures the environment isn't permanently affected by salt and sand, and protects people's respiratory and cardiovascular health, too.

Street sweeping also keeps salt from seeping into water catchment areas or nearby aquatic ecosystems, further safeguarding our environment. It also makes roads safer for drivers, and improves the appearance of city roads and commercial areas.

The Spring Cleaning Schedule

You should schedule property maintenance or street sweeping services to begin no later than the end of April, or early May (early April, or the end of March is even better, weather permitting). Arterial roads are taken care of first, followed by residential streets. If you're in need of parking lot sweeping or commercial property cleaning, try to book these services ASAP, as people in similar spring cleaning situations are waiting for the snow to melt like you are.

In terms of street cleaning, a typical service consists of two processes:

1. A mechanical street sweeper that's designed to sweep and remove heavy sand and salt deposits, as well as large debris, will do a once-over of the city's roads, followed by;
2. A second pass of the street with a vacuum sweeper to remove the finer materials that may remain. This sand and salt is removed in environmentally-responsible ways, ensuring nothing enters the ecosystem or water catchment areas.

From there, a city or town's spring cleaning checklist is nearly complete. Your street cleaning service crew should weep where necessary over the next few months, and take inquiries from residents that report salt or sand buildups in streets, parking lots, or commercial areas.

Unfortunately, you can't apply your in-home spring cleaning methods (drinking alcohol and spraying everything with Febreeze) to city streets, parking lots, or commercial properties.

Sweep away all the salt and sand in time for spring - schedule a street sweeping, parking lot cleaning, or commercial property clean-up with A&G - The Road Cleaners today!

After years of dedication to our trade, clients, and projects, we are happy to announce the official launch of our new website to help serve you better.

Our goal is to provide you with an easier format to learn about our services and get in touch. From our environmentally-safe equipment, our 24 hour a day service, to our fleet of leading-edge trucks, we've made it easier to find what you're looking for.

We hope you find our new website an easy browsing experience with the information you're looking for at your fingertips.

We thank you for your continued support,

- A&G The Road Cleaners

If the road maintenance service you've hired thinks 'PM' indicates the time of day, you should reconsider your options.

Particle pollution, or particulate matter (PM), awareness should be a priority for any street sweeping or road cleaning service that's conscious of people's health, and the environment.

What is Particulate Matter?

Particulate matter is comprised of a mixture of solid and liquid droplets floating in the air. These are created naturally through traditional road sweeping, power washing, and other road maintenance services, as well as chemical reactions in the atmosphere.

PM can range in sizes depending on the substance, with anything under 10 micrometers in diameter being a serious health risk when they enter the lungs.

There are two types typically created through road cleaning:

• Coarse dust particles (PM10) are between 2.5 to 10 micrometers in diameter. Created from crushing /grinding operations; dust stirred up by sweepers, trucks, etc.
   
• Fine particles (PM2.5) - are 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller, and are invisible to the human eye. Fine particles are made from all types of combustion motor vehicles, power plants, residential wood burning, forest fires, agricultural burning, etc.

Why PM2.5 & PM10 are Dangerous to People

The lighter, finer particles, PM2.5 and PM10, stay in the air longer, making it more likely for humans to inhale them. PM2.5 are less than a hair thin, meaning they easily travel through the respiratory system, and into the lungs.

These particles have been linked to heart and lung disease. They're also known to trigger chronic diseases such as asthma, heart attack, bronchitis, and other respiratory problems.

A study conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association found long- term exposure to PM2.5 led to plaque deposits in arteries, a hardening of the arteries, and eventually heart attack and stroke.

Why PM2.5 & PM10 are Dangerous to the Environment

PM's effects on the environment are similarly devastating, including:

Visibility Impairment: PM creates haze, limiting visibility in treasured areas of greenery and parks.

Environmental Damage: This includes making lakes and streams acidic, changing the nutrient balance in coastal waters and large river basins, depleting the nutrients in soil, damaging sensitive forests and farm crops, affecting the diversity of ecosystems, etc.

Materials Damage: In city settings, PM can stain and damage stone and other building materials. Along with building structures, culturally significant city statues and monuments can be eroded away, too.

A PM-Compliant Road Maintenance Service

When you're hiring a street sweeping, street cleaning, or road maintenance service, be sure to ask if their equipment is PM-2.5 and PM-10 compliant.

You'll keep yourself safe from the potential dangers of PM, as well as the community and the environment.

Preserving air quality and minimizing the spread of dust particles is of equal importance to keeping streets clean.

A&G The Road Cleaners' entire fleet of road maintenance trucks is PM-2.5 and PM-10 compliant, making us the cleanest & safest service in the industry.

For more information about our street cleaning & road maintenance services, contact us today!

A&G The Road Cleaners Ltd awarded 10-year contract with City of Brampton for Roadway Winter Maintenance.

A&G The Road Cleaners Ltd has been awarded a 10-year contract for snow plowing and cleaning services in the City of Brampton.

Toronto's largest street sweeping & road maintenance service, A&G will be covering all roadway salting and plowing for the east side of the city, including Areas C & D.

A&G secured the decade-long deal thanks to snow plowing & salting services that surpass Minimum Maintenance Standards (MMS), as defined by the Ontario Government. The professional road maintenance crew focuses on reducing hazards of slippery roads & commercial properties for motorists and pedestrians, and maintaining safe school bus routes for children.

When the snowfall comes, A&G deploys its unrivaled fleet of 35 Salter/Plow Combo Trucks, 15 Loaders, two Graders, and two multi-purpose Tractors. The fleet is on call 24/7, always prepared for the next flurry of snow.

Learn more about A&G's municipal snow plowing and salting services by visiting our site. For information about our year-round street cleaning & road maintenance services, click here.