Special Properties Require Special Touch

First, do no harm.

While the Hippocratic Oath is most often associated with M.D.s and their human patients, it’s a tenet followed by Envirowash with every job – even more so when the project in question includes a historic or architecturally significant structure.

Over the past two decades, Envirowash has cleaned or removed paint from delicate buildings throughout the region, including the Virginia State Capitol and the C.F. Sauer Co. headquarters at 2000 West Broad Street.

“There are very few people who are skilled at removing paint that’s been on a building for 75 years without damaging the brick,” says Bradford B. Sauer, chairman of Sauer Properties. “[Owner James Herbert] always has first-class equipment and people who really understand what they are doing. They are very thorough, very smart, and very focused on each individual challenge that we’ve put them up against.”

Before starting projects, Sauer says, the Envirowash team will test a small area with different cleaning agents, making sure, through a trial-and-error process, that the approach is safe. “We’ve done historic renovation and restoration on 100-year-old buildings,” he says. “The exteriors would have all kinds of problems. If you use the wrong [cleaning] technique, you’d destroy the

mortar between the bricks or take the finish off the brick.”

Envirowash has also worked inside C.F. Sauer company buildings, Sauer says, which brings another set of challenges. “Inside a food plant, you have to work around equipment and be careful about the substances you’re using and how you clean everything,” he says. “James and the team always figured out a solution.”

Anthony Griffin, director of maintenance and operations with the Virginia Department of General Services, believes the first job Envirowash completed for the state was cleaning the Shrine of Memory at the Virginia War Memorial, a space that includes stone and glass walls, each engraved with names of Virginians who have died in military service.

“We’ve used [Envirowash] for many graffiti issues, buildings and monuments over the years,” Griffin says. “They know how to do low-pressure cleaning, which is very important on historical buildings. They’re our go-to people.”

Envirowash now power-washes most state buildings Griffin oversees, including the State Capitol, the Executive Mansion, and other buildings on or around Capitol Square.

“We have a very good partner relationship with [Envirowash],” Griffin says. “When they come to do a job, you have the same crew that knows the ins and outs. We recommend them to other state agencies when asked.”