Gear in rush to make subway spiffy

tions, power washers, scrub brushes and, in some cases, the same types of citrol degreasing solutions the private companies use, union officials say.

WRS executive Mike Rodgers repeated Cuomo’s use of the Tide gibe last week. Rodgers hopes to get more work from the agency.

“Nonunion contractors are a scourge to the safety of the system,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “We’ll clean with any chemical they issue us to clean with as long as we can do it in a safe manner.”

Samuelsen thinks the MTA got the short end of the deal with the private contractors, and called the move to hire them a “political stunt.”

Outside contractors have also been brought into subway train maintenance facilities to clean cars inside and out.

FleetWash, the contractor hired to do exterior cleaning, uses strong chemicals that are not allowed to be dumped into city sewers. FleetWash pumps the runoff from its work back into waste tanks in their trucks and hauls it off for disposal.

The company leaves the outside of subway cars, about 3,000 so far, sparkling and shiny. They do this by using a high-powered pressure washer to blast them with a highly concentrated phosphoric acid solution, which over time can corrode the cars’ stainless steel exteriors.

“It has a very high acid content,” a high-ranking MTA source said of FleetWash’s cleaning mixture. “It’s not meant to be used regularly.”

The MTA has train car washing facilities at eight of its subway depots that automatically blast cars with water and cleaning solutions, but are unable to fully remove years of built-up rust and grime.

FleetWash CEO Anthony DiGiovanni said the treatment should be applied to subway cars every few months. The company’s contract expires in early July.

Private contractors who clean cars’ interiors use safer chemicals. Imperial Cleaning Co., one of three contractors brought in to clean 3,000 cars, uses standard soap, mops and wipes for the floors and seats, and off-the-shelf Bar Keepers’ Friend to polish steel grab bars.

Imperial Cleaning supervisors said it takes a full day for 16 of its workers to clean a 10-car train. Before the Subway Action Plan was launched, the MTA deployed just one or two workers to clean each train.

Some riders may notice cleaner cars and platforms — but surveys show straphangers believed they were already up to snuff. Recent MTA surveys say 85% of straphangers find the appearance of stations and cars acceptable.

While cleaner environments will have minimal impact on subway service, agency officials hope the outside contractors’ work will set a new baseline for cleanliness. “These intensive cleanings were necessary because many of the stations have not been thoroughly cleaned in decades,” said Young. “The deep cleaning also helps in maintaining the structural elements of the station.”

Crews are testing new cleaning equipment and techniques supervisors hope will keep the stations clean without the safety risks that come with the private contractors.