Aviation

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Commercial Cleaning Equipment for Aviation Operations in Florida

Aviation cleaning is not simply pressure washing in a hangar. Aircraft surfaces, ground-support equipment, and hangar floors each need different pressure, heat, and chemistry — and every one of them drains somewhere. Florida’s stormwater rules treat aviation maintenance and equipment-cleaning areas as regulated industrial activity, so the equipment you choose and how you contain what it produces are part of the same decision.

Sun Pro Supply supplies and services commercial pressure-washing systems for aviation operations across Northeast and North Central Florida, and we’re an authorized retail and repair center for Hotsy and Ramteq.

What Aviation Operations Actually Clean

Hangar floors. The default surface is sealed or coated concrete, and the soils are the ones that don’t rinse: hydraulic fluid, oil drips, exhaust soot, tire marks, and the polymer films that build up under repeated traffic. Hot water plus a properly matched detergent does work cold water can’t — this is the single most common upgrade we make in aviation facilities.

Aircraft exteriors and components. Exterior washing needs control more than force. Pressure has to stay low enough not to damage seals, antennae, static ports, bearings, and painted or composite surfaces, while chemistry does the work. Wheel wells and engine areas concentrate grease and exhaust deposits and need targeted degreasers rather than higher pressure.

Ground support equipment. Tugs, loaders, carts, belt loaders, and fuel trucks accumulate the same road film and grease as any fleet vehicle, usually on a schedule driven by inspection rather than appearance.

Airfield and apron surfaces. Fuel and oil staining on aprons and ramps, plus the general grime that follows Florida’s rain-and-heat cycle.

Wash-Water Compliance Is Part of the Equipment Decision

This is where aviation cleaning differs most from ordinary commercial washing, and it’s the part most suppliers won’t talk about.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s industrial stormwater program addresses air transportation facilities specifically — vehicle maintenance areas, equipment cleaning areas, and deicing areas at airports are called out as regulated industrial activity (NPDES Sector S). DEP’s recommended practices for those areas include performing maintenance activities indoors, using drip pans, using oil/water separators, using closed-loop systems, disposing of wastewater to a sanitary sewer facility, and prohibiting the practice of hosing down the apron or hangar floor.

DEP’s guidance for mobile vehicle and equipment washing points the same direction: wash water carries oil and grease, petroleum products, suspended solids, heavy metals, and detergents; discharge to a sanitary sewer is generally the preferred route and requires prior approval from the wastewater utility, possibly with pretreatment. The alternatives are containing and hauling to a treatment, storage and disposal facility, or a treated discharge to land.

What that means for your equipment purchase:

• Choose high-pressure, low-volume washing — it generates less wastewater for the same cleaning result
• Plan where the water goes before you buy the machine: wash pad, containment, oil/water separation, or closed-loop recycling
• Use biodegradable detergents — DEP’s BMPs recommend phosphate-free biodegradable detergents for these operations. Sun Pro’s cleaning formulations are biodegradable and don’t separate or degrade, with SDS available on request
• Confirm your discharge route with your wastewater utility and your DEP district office — that’s a regulatory conversation, not an equipment one

We’ll size equipment to your containment strategy, not the other way around. If you don’t yet have one, we’ll tell you what to plan for before quoting a machine.

Equipment We Recommend by Application

Why Aviation Operations Call Us Rather Than a Big-Box Supplier

• Documentation for procurement and audits — formal written quotes, W-9, certificates of insurance, SDS and technical data on request
• Equipment and chemistry matched to each other — the machine, the nozzle, and the detergent are one system, and mismatching them is the most common cause of disappointing results. Our sizing guide walks through the arithmetic
• Service on the equipment you buy — authorized repair and preventative maintenance, onsite or drop-off at our Jacksonville shop
• We’ll name the compliance constraint before the sale — if your discharge route can’t support the machine you’re considering, you’ll hear it from us first

Service and Maintenance for Aviation Equipment

Aviation cleaning equipment runs hard and can’t be down. We service what we sell — burner and coil service on hot water machines, pump and unloader repair, and preventative maintenance intervals tracked for you. If a machine is already struggling, our guide to why hot-water burners stop firing covers the usual causes, and our hot-water repair service handles the rest.

Frequently Asked Questions

What pressure is safe for washing an aircraft exterior?
Lower than most people assume. The safe figure depends on the airframe and the manufacturer’s guidance, and the practical approach is to use the lowest pressure that lifts the soil, keep the nozzle moving and at a distance, and let chemistry and dwell time do the work. We won’t quote a universal number for aircraft exteriors — anyone who does is guessing about your airframe.

Can you help with wash-water containment and discharge requirements?
We can tell you what DEP’s guidance expects and how equipment choice affects it — high-pressure low-volume washing, containment, separation, and closed-loop options. The discharge approval itself comes from your wastewater utility and DEP district office, and we’ll help you assemble the equipment side of that conversation.

Do you supply the cleaning chemicals as well as the equipment?
Yes — detergents, degreasers, and wastewater-treatment chemistry, matched to the equipment and the surface. Our formulations are biodegradable and don’t separate or degrade like generic detergents, and SDS documentation is available on request.

Can you service equipment at our facility?
Yes. We offer onsite service across Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Putnam, Marion, Alachua, and Columbia counties, plus drop-off at our Jacksonville shop Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm.

Do you provide documentation for a bid or purchase requisition?
Yes — formal written quotes, W-9, certificates of insurance, and manufacturer literature. Tell us your procurement requirements and we’ll respond in writing.

Request a Quote for Your Aviation Operation

Tell us what you clean, where the wash water goes, and what your power and water supply allow. We’ll recommend the equipment and chemistry that fits, and be straight with you about the compliance constraints.

Call (904) 693-2155 or request a commercial equipment quote. Sun Pro Supply is the exclusive authorized Hotsy dealer for Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Putnam, Marion, Alachua, and Columbia counties, and an authorized retail and repair center for Ramteq and other major commercial brands. See all industries we serve.