About Us

Any time of the year is good, if a regular programme is maintained there will be no scope for seasonal growth. Gutter cleaning is best done at the start of summer and before the start of winter – especially for lower level properties. Properties 4 levels and above don’t suffer the same level of debris such as leaves and wind blown (or human thrown) rubbish. 

Roof cleaning is usually done in conjunction with a building wash but any time of the year is ok – keeping levels of dirt down reduce the chances for moss growth and corrosion. 

We follow a process that ensures H&S remains top priority at all levels, a site-specific safety plan is produced for every site and where necessary a task analysis is produced for tasks that offer certain risks. Education and rehearsal is key to a safe operation – along with trained operators who know common sense. We’re pleased to say that our operation has been accident free since we started in 2012. 

Safety for the public around our work sites is of all importance – safety signs and spotters along with traffic management personnel are all means we use to protect people from harm. 

All of them, remote locations are usually visited from one of the main centres as part of a programmed clean for one of our retail chain clients.

We use a Quaternary Ammonium Chloride based biocide for Moss and Lichen applications, this works over time and will kill spores on the surface having a longer lasting effect. It can take between 3 – 6 months for the effects of Moss spray to be noticed, the growth will die off and be eventually washed away by the rain. Heavy growth may take more than one application. 

Regular treatment is recommended – treatment every 12 months is a cost effective way to keep a surface clean. 

We communicate very well – our programmes are designed to make it easy for our clients to work with us and our reminder service is well liked. 

Adler operate nationally so we are a one point of contact for busy property managers with a national portfolio. We can service, report and manage sites to any level you like. 

We’re not just cleaners, we are a company that loves to create great first impressions for our clients.  

We either fix it – or arrange the repair, through our contractor network or under direction of the property manager / owner. Simple. 

It’s rare but things do and will happen. 

Chemical run off is captured through the use of filter cloth in downpipes or storm water drains. It is important to note that the soils and carpark oil runoff is as much or more of a threat to the waterways than the chemicals are. 

There are a few ways we can minimise our impact on the environment, starting with cleaning; 

• We use Ultra-pure Water for cleaning windows, this means no chemicals are used in the process 
• The proprietary cleaning detergents we use are supplied in Super-Concentrate form – this means less packaging, less water in the manufacturing process and less waste. A little goes a long way so to speak. 
• We use Hot water for many cleaning jobs, meaning no chemical – or a lot less is needed. This has pro’s and cons as diesel fuel is needed to run the water heater units. We keep up to date with new technologies that may improve this in the future. 

No chemicals can be regarded as ‘safe’ in their raw or concentrated form and handling measure are put in place to keep people and the environment safe when they are used. In their diluted form when being used all our chemical cleaners are bio-degradable and as safe as they can be. 

Our operators hold the following training certificates; 

• First Aid  
• Elevated Work Platforms 23966,  
• EWP Scissor Lift 23960,  
• EWP Self Propelled Boom 23962,  
• Use safety harness when working at height 23229,  
• Use, install and disestablish temporary proprietary height safety systems when working at height 15757, 
• Site Safe Building Passport, 

Various specialist training courses have been done for utilities provides to allow access to high risk sites.  

ADLER has been operating as a specialist cleaning division since 2011, previously named PJF Ltd. Prior to that, our roots go back to the late 80’s early 90’s when painting and cleaning maintenance was where it all began. 

We offer a workmanship guarantee which states; in the unlikely event you are unsatisfied with our work or if we have missed something please notify us within 3 days of the job completion. We promise to fix any defective workmanship but we can't be responsible for new soiling that may occur after 72 hours. You can appreciate rain, dust and wind can soil a building again after it has been cleaned. 

We can give you specific referees on request, our website has feedback reviews as well. 

Our primary market is Commercial Property Managers, many of these work with well known commercial real estate companies in NZ and there are many others besides; Rest Home National Property managers, Retail group managers, Government and Utility facility managers - as well as one-off investors or syndicates who manage property on behalf of others.

There is a place for everything - and everything in its place they say. 

Mop and blade cleaning is traditional, effective and continues to work very well for many applications. It remains one of the few options for interior cleaning. It is quite labour intensive however when it comes to large scale cleaning and access can be an issue for exterior work. 

Ultra-pure / Di-ionized water cleaning is not new but can be expensive to set up, it’s been slower to take on in NZ – ADLER was one of the early users of Pure water for window cleaning in NZ and it has many benefits. 

Purified water has the solids (ions) and impurities removed through a resin media filtration system. This means the drops of water left on your glass will evaporate off without leaving a spot. That’s it, simple but effective. 

This method of cleaning has other benefits, long poles can be operated from the ground – cleaning 6  stories high is not uncommon and it is faster than mop and blade cleaning. This means it is a cost-effective way to clean and often more cleaning can be done within the same budget. At ADLER we use both systems.  

No - we don't undertake residential work for private home owners unless under special circumstances. 

Our operators are trained to take before and after photos of the work they perform, an emailed report will be sent to you at the end of the job. 

20 Million Public Liability and full Vehicle & Plant insurance 

Apart from the obvious, some things that can go wrong on a building can be; 

• Leaks from disturbed roof surfaces 
• Water ingress to electronic equipment or alarms 
• Attacks from nesting birds! 

• Some work can be noisy for tenants 

Our teams are trained to be professional and adapt to situations as they come up, and they do from time to time. Communication is the best tool and if repairs can be made by our teams they will effect these without hesitation.

EWP – Elevated work platform, pretty much any title for a personnel lifting machine like a Cherry Picker, Scissor lift, Knuckle boom or truck / track mounted boom lift. We use them all. 

SSSP – Site Safety Plan, a complete H&S document that is specific to a particular site. Contains pretty much everything from contact details to detailed rescue plans 

JSA – Job Safety Plan – as above, another document name that is common particular in Australia  

TA – Task analysis, a step by step break down of a particular task, usually with some risk attached. 

SDS or MSDS – Material Safety Data Sheets. A document containing all the information needed about a particular product, chemical or compound. These should be on hand at all times. 

PPE – Personal Protection Equipment such as Hard Hats, Safety Boots, Glasses, Gloves, Specialist Clothing etc to protect your body from harm. It also covers safety harnesses and fall arrest equipment. 

PCBU - A PCBU means a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking. It's a broad concept used throughout HSWA to describe all types of modern working arrangements which we commonly refer to as businesses. Most New Zealand businesses, whether large corporates, sole traders, or self-employed, are classed as PCBUs.  

The difference between a business and an undertaking is: 

businesses are usually conducted with a view to making a profit and have a degree of organisation, system and continuity. 

undertakings will have elements of organisation, systems, and possible continuity, but are usually not profit-making or commercial in nature. (source Worksafe NZ) 

HSWA - The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) is New Zealand's workplace health and safety law. It introduces new responsibilities for managing the work-related risks that could cause serious injury, illness or even death. (source Worksafe NZ) 

De-ionised / Ultra Pure Water – two common terms that are used to describe water that has been filtered through a fine resin media to remove all if not nearly all the solids and impurities. We use it for cleaning Glass and smooth surfaces because it penetrates soiling better than standard water and it evaporates off leaving nothing on the surface. Simply put it doesn’t leave a ‘spot’ when it’s gone. 

There are many technical descriptions about this process  which you are welcome to google in your spare time, we’re keeping it simple because it really it. It’s an excellent and cost effective way to clean. 

Soft-Wash Cleaning – The interpretation of this depends on where you live in the world, in the UK and USA it essentially it is using chemicals to do the cleaning -  over against pressure cleaning or water blasting. Most people mix a hypochlorite solution (Bleach for short) with a Surfactant cleaner (Soap or Detergent for short. This process is easy on sensitive surfaces that can’t be water blasted, and the chemical residue is generally lethal to microscopic spores on the surface that would otherwise grow back and look dirty again. It is practiced by a few companies in NZ. 

We don’t like it.. it’s quite heavy on chemical use and that doesn’t fit well with our environmental policy. For one, it creates an issue with chemical handling for our staff, and dirty water run-off that is laden with chemicals is hard to manage. 

If we refer to ‘soft washing’ – it is our term for spray and leave Moss treatments, we’ll often clean using low pressure (which may not remove every speck on some surfaces) followed by a dose of moss spray to continue cleaning long after we’re gone. 

Chemical Wash (Chem-wash as it’s often called) – This is pretty much how you clean your car, spray on a detergent, give it a scrub if needed and hose off. Simple, fast and effective. 

We do this on a large scale using high pressure foaming guns or low-pressure high-volume sprayers to apply large areas at a time. Our chemicals are super concentrated and a little goes a long way (see our environmental policy), they are typically low foaming variety’s as well. We give it a chance to soften the dirt and then pressure wash clean, sometimes using heated water. Now and then we’ll need to give the surface a scrub to help move the stubborn bits – to put that in context, you may see us doing that on a Aluminium façade, but probably not on a 15,000 sqm roof however… 

Steam Cleaning – There are a few types of steam cleaning, there are those little domestic machines that can be purchased from many retailers and used for cleaning your bathroom (if you like to spend that much time cleaning..), there are also powerful steam cleaners used in the carpet cleaning and other industries. Our version of Steam Cleaning is probably more appropriately called Hot Water Blasting. Water under pressure travels through a boiler which heats the water up to anywhere between 60 & 100 deg Celsius. They can go a lot higher than that for some applications but in the main we keep it to safe levels. Hot water cleans 70 – 80% better than cold water and also helps kill embedded lichen spores at the right temperatures. It’s a great chemical free option for those that prefer it,  note however it mostly uses diesel to heat the water so it’s not always as green as it may seem. 

Fall-Arrest – or Fall Restraint ?  - These may seem like generic terms but there is a difference. 

A fall restraint system only will allow an operator to work to the extent of their lanyard so they can not fall – the restraint point will normally be no closer than 2 mtrs from the fall risk hence a 1.5m lanyard is typically used. 

These systems would normally reply on a high number of anchor points – especially if the working area is large. 

A fall arrest system provides maximum freedom of movement  - meaning it also may allow the operator to reach the point where a fall could occur, such as the edge of a roof or EWP basket. Slipping on a steep roof for more than 600mm is also regarded as a ‘fall’ 

In the event of a fall however, the fall will be arrested – thus allowing the person effect a self-rescue or be rescued by someone else. 

Due to the nature of our work we generally use Fall Arrest systems – this is determined by the quantity and accessibility of anchor points on a building more than anything else. Our operators have self lowering devices on their harnesses that allow them to lower themselves to the next solid surface should they fall. It hasn’t happened yet, but we are prepared. 

Work Safe Notification – If we refer to and send you one of these, it is generally a log of our planned working at height activity. There is a requirement to log any work over 5 mtrs with Worksafe NZ, so they know who’s out and about. You should demand a copy of this if you know your building clean involves an EWP or roof work – before it starts. You’d be surprised and probably alarmed how many companies ignore this simple safety requirement.  

What does ADLER stand for? -  Thanks for asking! Adler is the name of one of NZ’s leading Commercial Property Cleaning Companies. It was chosen because it also means ‘Eagle’ in German (Hence the Wing Logo) and we like the Eagle’s style of doing business. They are the apex predator in the avian world and pretty much the one the rest look up to or avoid at all costs! They are powerful strong birds and don’t hang around in the crowd, they prefer to soar above it.