So I was at the mall last Tuesday staring at this grody escalator – sticky handrails, gunk in the teeth, crumbs everywhere – and thought: "Man, what do these cleaning companies even do for these things?" Started digging and wow, it ain't just wiping handrails.

First Thing I Did

Called up three different cleaning services pretending I manage a shopping center. Asked straight up: "What's your full menu for escalators?" Got some canned brochures, but pressed 'em hard till they spilled real details. Here's the full breakdown from what I pieced together:

• Daily Wipe-Downs: Basic stuff – handrails, side panels. But get this: they use this special blue liquid that shows where they missed spots under UV light. Sneaky!
• Deep Comb Cleaning: They actually pop off those stair plates and scrape out lint, hair, coins (found three bucks once!), and whatever else gets jammed in there. Uses hooked tools like dentist picks.
• Undercarriage Power Wash: Hook up pressure washers under the steps at night when malls close. Blew my mind – they catch all the dirty water in pans so it doesn't flood the floor.
• Handrail Sanitizing: Not just soap! This machine like a giant hair straightener clamps the rail and steams it crazy hot while pulling it through.
• Gearbox & Motor Dusting: Yeah, they crack open the maintenance hatch and vacuum inside. One guy told me they found a dead rat once. Gross.
• Tread Groove Scrubbing: Tiny brushes on drills to dig into the step grooves. Looks like cleaning a giant cheese grater.

What Surprised Me

They don't just clean – they do safety checks too! Like testing emergency stop buttons while wiping panels, or tightening wobbly handrail joints. One company even files down nicks in the comb plates so it won't snag shoelaces.

Ended up chatting with a guy who does overnight shifts at the train station. Said his crew splits tasks: one team topside wiping, one crawling underneath with headlamps scraping gunk. Takes 4 hours for just one escalator if it's nasty. Charges by how many steps it has – longer escalator, more cash.

Moral of the story? Next time you ride one of these, remember there's some poor soul scraping bubblegum off the gears at 3 AM. Wild what goes on behind the scenes, huh?