Pigeon droppings cleaning in Paris 2nd
A build-up of droppings cannot be dealt with by hosing it down from a window. Old deposits dry hard, bond to the surface and work their way into stone, zinc or the paint on a railing. Lifting them off calls for a method matched to the material, followed by treatment of the surfaces once they are clear.
Défi Clean cleans the accessible areas of buildings in the 2nd arrondissement: balconies, terraces, window sills, courtyards and light wells, service stairs and the common parts concerned. The work can be commissioned by an occupant, an owner or a managing agent, depending on the area affected.
- Balconies, terraces, sills and railings
- Courtyards, light wells and accessible common parts
- Method chosen to suit the surface: stone, zinc, iron, glass
- Treatment of the surfaces once stripped
The areas we clean most often
Balconies, terraces and sills
- Balcony floors in tiling or zinc
- Stone window sills, often heavily marked
- Iron railings and their balusters
- Undersides of ledges, corners and junctions
Courtyards and light wells
- Courtyard floors, setts and paving slabs
- Lower walls and plinths
- Glass canopies and glazing at the back of a courtyard
- Bin stores and open shelters
Accessible common parts
- Open landings and walkways
- Service stairs giving onto a courtyard
- Stairwell window ledges
- Plant terraces and roof structures
Delicate surfaces, typical of buildings in the 2nd
The 2nd arrondissement mixes older buildings, Haussmann façades and architecture of glass and metal. You will find in it just about every surface that droppings can bond to, and each one sets its own limits. The dressed stone of window sills is porous: strip it too aggressively and the mark stays for good. The zinc of roofs and of some balconies scratches and deforms, and badly judged pressure can open a joint and let water in. The iron of railings is almost always painted, and the aim is to lift the deposit without taking the metal back to bare and starting corrosion off again. As for glass canopies, those of the covered passages and those capping a courtyard alike, they are cleaned from the existing footholds, never by putting weight on the glazing.
To that are added constraints specific to the area, from Gaillon to Bonne-Nouvelle: cramped light wells where bulky equipment simply will not fit, no water point on the upper floors, outlets that must not send wash water down onto the neighbour below, and the pedestrian streets around Montorgueil making it awkward to bring a vehicle close. The logistics, then, are prepared just as carefully as the technique itself.
How we work on a fouled surface
Reading the surface
Before anything else, we identify the material, its condition and its age. That reading is what rules out, from the start, any method too aggressive for the surface in question.
Protecting the surroundings
Window frames, glazing, planting, balcony furniture and outlets are protected. In a tight courtyard, whatever sits below the area being treated is protected too.
Lifting the deposits
Deposits are removed using a method that limits them becoming airborne, bagged on the spot, and the residual marks are then dealt with. Waste is never pushed towards a shared drain.
Cleaning and treating the surfaces
The surface is cleaned, then a suitable treatment is applied where its condition calls for it. It always follows the cleaning and never stands in for it.
Where things stand afterwards
At the end of the job we tell you which perches we spotted, and whether prevention looks necessary to stop the area fouling up again just as quickly.
Cleaning without treating the cause does not hold
It is the most common remark after a job: a few weeks on, the balcony or the sill is dirty again. That stands to reason. Cleaning restores the surface but changes nothing about what draws the birds in, and a site used for a long time goes on being used. Where an area is occupied regularly, cleaning alone means starting over indefinitely: it is pigeon proofing that treats the cause, by making the ledge unusable. The two services remain separate, but they are often ordered together, in that order.
- Area concerned and the number of zones to be treated
- Thickness and age of the built-up deposits
- Material and fragility of the surface to be preserved
- Accessibility: floor, narrow courtyard, roof, need for access equipment
- Whether a water point is available and where the run-off can go
- Protection to be put in place for neighbouring flats and courtyards
- Whether surface treatment is needed after cleaning
Where droppings have found their way inside a flat or a commercial unit — through a window left open, a skylight, an air shaft — the matter goes beyond outdoor cleaning and becomes a question of disinfecting the rooms concerned. Say so in your first message: it changes how the job is prepared.
Related pages for Paris 2nd
Cleaning, stopping them coming back, or treating the inside: three neighbouring needs, three different pages.
Frequently asked questions — pigeon droppings in Paris 2nd
Can I clean a badly fouled balcony myself?
For a few recent marks, ordinary upkeep is enough. With old, thick deposits, the difficulty lies in protecting the surface and in handling the waste. The wrong stripping method marks stone, scratches zinc or takes a painted railing back to bare metal, which is far harder to put right than it was to clean.
Do you use a pressure washer?
Not as a matter of course, and never without having identified the material first. High pressure is ruled out on porous stone, on zinc roofing and anywhere near a waterproofing joint. The method is chosen surface by surface, not applied uniformly across the whole area.
Does cleaning stop the pigeons coming back?
No, and it matters to say so plainly. Cleaning makes the surface clean again; it does not change what makes the ledge attractive. If the area has been used for a long time, only prevention changes the situation, and without it the deposits build up again.
Who should commission the work in a managed block?
It depends on the area fouled. A private balcony or sill is down to the occupant or the owner; a courtyard, a façade, an open landing or a plant terrace belongs to the common parts, and therefore to the managing agent. A quote setting out the two scopes separately can be drawn up.
What happens to the waste you remove?
It is bagged on site and then taken away through the appropriate channels. It is not pushed into a rainwater downpipe, nor left in the building’s bin store, nor rinsed down into the courtyard.
Do I need to clear the balcony before you come?
It is not compulsory. If you can move light furniture and plants out of the way, the job moves faster; if not, we move and protect them ourselves. Just tell us what is on the area when you get in touch.
Balcony, courtyard or sill heavily fouled?
Describe the area and its surface: we will propose the method suited to the material, along with the prevention to consider if the birds come back regularly.