Addressing the gap in escalator cleaning standards: EscaTEQ develops escalator maintenance framework
EscaTEQ, a global provider of method-based escalator cleaning solutions, introduced the EscaTEQ Method™ at Interclean Amsterdam 2026, the world’s largest professional cleaning and hygiene exhibition.
Despite more than a century of escalator use globally, no widely adopted framework exists for routine escalator cleaning. According to the National Elevator Industry, Inc. (NEII), escalators handle an average of 3,000 passengers per hour under typical conditions – rising significantly in airports, transit hubs and major retail environments.
Escalators are among the most visible, heavily trafficked and mechanically sensitive assets in the built environment, sitting at the intersection of passenger safety, mechanical reliability and long-term asset value. Yet cleaning practices have historically remained fragmented, inconsistent and dependent on localised approaches rather than documented methods.
The consequences of that gap are visible in the injury data. An NIH-published study estimates around 10,000 escalator-related injuries per year require emergency care in the United States alone, with roughly three quarters of incidents occurring due to falls, according to the U.S. In the UK, of the approximately 2,000 escalator accidents reported per year, 93% involve falls.
Surface contamination is among the environmental factors identified in escalator fall causation, with legal and safety practitioners noting that cleaning regimes and inspection records are increasingly scrutinised in incident investigations.
The EscaTEQ Method™ is a voluntary, structured operating framework designed to introduce clarity, repeatability and controlled application into escalator tread cleaning, developed over 10 years of field deployment and operational refinement. The method provides a practical, repeatable, low-moisture, surface-controlled approach to escalator tread cleaning, built around a structured ABC condition classification system, defined restoration paths and a standard operating sequence.
The structured, sequential nature of the Method also makes it straightforward to integrate into Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), allowing escalator cleaning to be logged, tracked and audited alongside other planned preventive maintenance activities. For asset managers, facilities teams and cleaning contractors operating under increasing scrutiny around documented maintenance practice, that audit trail has value well beyond the clean itself.
At Interclean Amsterdam, EscaTEQ will present the method through printed and digital reference materials, visual demonstrations and a short explanatory video illustrating the method in practice. Attendees are invited to review the framework, examine supporting field evidence and engage in technical discussion regarding its applicability across different environments and traffic profiles.
Willem de Roeper, Vice President of Global Sales at EscaTEQ, said: “Whether you are managing an airport, a shopping centre or a transit hub, escalators are among the most visible and most used assets in your portfolio. The consequences of inadequate cleaning practice – moisture ingress, degraded slip resistance, unplanned downtime – are the same across all of them. What has been missing is a consistent, documented framework for addressing it. That is what we are bringing to Interclean.”
EscaTEQ introduced the EscaTEQ Method™ at Interclean Amsterdam 2026: RAI Amsterdam | 14–17 April 2026 | Stand 02.416.
