Elevator hoistway:
The elevator hoistway is truly the forgotten section of any building. More often than not, the elevator hoistways are dirty and forgotten. This section of the building includes the elevator pit, which can include dampness or even water ingress and, of course, dirt, debris, garbage, and personal effects, such as money, credit cards and lost keys. Hoistway maintenance must also include the car top and even the underneath of the elevator car, where, with cable elevators, a key component of the elevator safety mechanism is located. Dirt and debris gathers behind the doors, all hidden and out of sight and out of mind.
Consider the elevator operation for one minute. The elevator goes up and down, often nonstop. It sucks the air in from floors and then blows the air out at other floors in both the up and down directions. There was a time when air conditioning systems were proven to affect the health of tenants in commercial buildings, and over time these systems have been upgraded to take these health effects into account. With the constant movement of elevators, the large-scale transfer of air from floor to floor, and the unhygienic conditions of the hoistway and elevator pit, it is no wonder hospitals are vulnerable to infectious disease health scares. Large compact high-rise buildings cannot be far behind. Imagine fumigating hospital corridors and hallways and ignoring the inside of the elevator hoistway.
Garbage left in the elevator pit, or fluff and dirt gathered the full length of an elevator hoistway, can also pose a serious fire hazard. Behind the doors, dirt and grime accumulates and is seldom cleaned. For both reasons mentioned, health and fire, the elevator hoistway should be kept meticulously clean. Building maintenance budgets and the preventative maintenance contracts/agreements for elevators should allow for these costs on top of the fair wear and tear cleaning due to environmental conditions.
Keeping dust and dirt down is important for elevator equipment. As mentioned previously, install filters over the ventilation systems in the elevator machine rooms. If renovation work is performed in a building, such as gyprocking / sheetrocking of walls, the transportation of construction materials in the elevator can create a great deal of dust and grim falling down the hoistway. Make sure building contractors do not overload an elevator, and include a post-renovation cleaning of the elevator installation in the price of the renovation work, as a lot of damage can result from construction residue infiltrating the elevator system. Unfortunately, this requirement is all too frequently missed.
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