Keeping Streets Clean In The Summer

Aug 14, 2025 - 10 months ago

The warm weather of summertime brings people out of their homes, so make sure they are met with clean streets.

Keeping Streets Clean In The Summer
While the summer sun is welcomed by residents, it can take a toll on the cleanliness of a municipality. As outdoor recreational activities resume, the amount of litter and debris in the streets increases. Additionally, the lack of rain allows dirt and fine particles to accumulate rapidly.

This not only causes harm to the aesthetic of a municipality, but excess dirt and debris can impact air quality and eventually water quality if it makes its way into storm drains.

These factors make the summer taxing for sweepers, so Elgin has five tips for keeping the streets clean this summer.

Keeping Streets Clean In The Summer

Beware of dust
The lack of rainfall in the summertime can cause dust and debris to build up hindering the sweeper’s ability to suction effectively. Wetting the streets before and after sweeping can minimize buildup and results in cleaner streets. High-efficiency sweepers are effective in combatting summer street conditions due to their dust suppression features, high-pressure washers, and multiple brushes.

Water is a friend
Whether a job requires a mechanical or regenerative air sweeper, keeping the water tank full is essential in the summer. Both sweepers rely on a fine dusting of water to help brooms loosen dirt and debris and suppress dust. Regardless of the model, water reduces damage and helps extend the life of the sweeper. Since keeping the roads wet is important in the summer, make sure to clean out the water spray nozzle to keep debris from building up and causing blockages.

Beat the heat
The sweltering summer weather can increase the temperature of asphalt and concrete. To reduce damage to a sweeper’s tire tread and pressure, adjust sweeping schedules to the early morning and evening when temperatures are cooler. Be sure to check tire tread and pressure regularly in the summer to ensure they have not been damaged by the hot grounds.

Keep up with maintenance
Along with checking tire conditions in the hot summers, maintenance like flushing the coolant and lubricating grease points is essential to keep sweepers running smoothly. Since sweepers often travel long distances before reaching a dump site, flushing the fuel system, and replacing the filter at the beginning of the season is also vital to getting the most out of each fuel up.

A clean broom is a functional broom
Sweeper brooms collect debris on the roads and pass it into the hopper. Since they are designed to collect fine particles, large debris like litter can become stuck in the bristles and cause blockages during uptake. Be sure to remove large debris the bristles pick up and invest in high-quality brooms.

Street sweeping is an essential part of keeping municipalities clean, so summer break is out of the question.

Source: Elgin Sweeper