Server rooms are great at picking up dust, dirt, and debris. Unfortunately, this can damage essential systems and cost thousands to fix. That's why server room cleaning is essential when operating any business that stores vital electronic information in-house and is an important part of data center preventive maintenance.
The Importance of a Clean Server Room
First, let's look at why data center cleaning is so vital. A lot of companies spend time and money protecting access to their information. They lock their server room, password-protect everything, and keep virus protection up to date.
But one danger is almost invisible and can be devastating to systems— contaminants that enter the environment of your data center. Fortunately, ruling out this threat is simple. You need an adequate plan in place to clean your server room.
How Often Should You Clean a Server Room?
Some basic server room cleaning should be carried out every day. Remove trash and mop the floor if there are any signs of dirt. Clean the floor with a dry microfiber mop, as these trap dirt but don't stir up dust as a broom will.
Clean the windows and doors weekly. If you have a raised floor, clean it at least once a week. And if a lot of traffic comes in and out of the server room, vacuum it daily. Just always use a vacuum with a HEPA filter when you're vacuuming your data center.
On top of these daily tasks, we recommend your server room be completely cleaned at least once every three months to help your equipment run properly. Think of this as a light cleaning every day and a deep clean every quarter. Some tasks will be involved in every quarterly clean and others can be left till the six-month mark.
Carrying out a quarterly cleaning correctly requires a professional team that specializes in server room cleaning. Learn more about the differences between janitorial services and commercial cleaning services here.
Preparing Your Server Room For Data Center Cleaning
Preparing for a quarterly server room cleaning will involve reviewing specific areas, so you can build a comprehensive data center cleaning plan with your chosen professional cleaning service. But there are a few key areas that will need your attention in a server room.
A raised floor
We mentioned that you should aim to dry clean a raised floor at least once a week. But your raised floor also needs to be deep cleaned once every three months. This should be carried out by specialists in data center cleaning. They should:
- Use a vacuum
- Wipe the floors with a damp mop and chemicals specifically approved to be used in a data server room environment
- Never use a wet mop to clean a server room's raised floor— this can damage the floor and introduce too much moisture into the air
The subfloor
Mopping and vacuuming help, but contaminants will still gather in the subfloor of your server room. Because of this, it should be cleaned once every six months. Schedule this for every other quarterly deep clean your server room receives. A specialist will:
- Remove the raised floor tiles
- Not remove any more tiling than 24-square feet at a time, to restrict disruption to IT services and contaminants from becoming airborne
- Use a vacuum to get underneath and suck up debris
- Remove any extra contaminants with a lightly damp sponge
- Clean along the cables
Overhead areas
Many server rooms have a space between the ceiling and a second, lower ceiling. This allows cables and ducts to run through the room, out of sight. Like the subfloor, this area needs to be cleaned thoroughly once every six months to prevent contaminants from falling onto the equipment below. Your cleaning service should:
- Vacuum the area
- Wipe a cloth with antistatic cleaning fluids over everything
Preparing Your Server Stacks For Data Center Cleaning
Not only do the surfaces of your data center need cleaning— your server stacks and equipment require special attention too.
Electronic equipment
Airborne contaminants find their way into and around your server stacks, so book a clean once every three months. A competent specialist should:
- Thoroughly clean the racks and support equipment
- Vacuum around the machines, reaching areas not usually accessible
- Wipe all services with antistatic cleaning cloths or damp wipes
Get a Specialist In
It may not seem like a financial priority, but regularly cleaning all of the areas of a server room in-house can quickly turn into a headache. And without this attention to detail, you leave yourself open to the risk of wiping the system out.
Pegasus Data Center Cleaning specializes in subfloor and equipment surface cleaning, antistatic floor care, and much more. Our data center frontline employees are trained to cleaning standards set by the ISO, so nothing gets missed when we thoroughly clean your data center.
