Maintenance and Repair Instructions for Outdoor Children's Slide
Outdoor children's slides are popular recreational facilities for children. To ensure their safety and durability, regular maintenance and timely repairs are necessary. Here is a detailed maintenance and repair guide:
I. Daily Maintenance
(1) Regular Cleaning
Cleaning Frequency: Conduct a comprehensive cleaning at least once a week. If the slide is used frequently or the environment is dusty, the frequency can be increased.
Cleaning Method: Use a mild cleaner and a soft cloth to wipe the surface of the slide to remove dust, dirt, and bacteria. For hard-to-clean crevices, use a small brush to clean. After cleaning, rinse thoroughly with clean water to ensure no cleaning agent remains and to avoid irritation to the child's skin.
Cleaning Focus: Focus on cleaning the sliding channels, handrails, platforms, and other parts that children come into direct contact with to keep the surface smooth and prevent the accumulation of stains that may affect the sliding experience and hygiene.
(2) Inspection of Fasteners
Inspection Period: Check the connection fasteners and column fasteners of the slide every two weeks.
Inspection Contents: Check if the bolts, nuts, etc. are loose. If loose, promptly tighten them with appropriate tools and ensure the reliability of the loosening measures, such as using anti-loosening nuts or applying anti-loosening glue.
Notes: During the tightening process, pay attention to moderate force to avoid excessive force causing damage to the parts. Also, check if the fasteners have rust or wear. If so, replace them immediately.
(3) Basic Inspection and Reinforcement
Inspection Frequency: Conduct a monthly inspection of the slide equipment foundation.
Inspection Points: Check the fixed contact points between the equipment and the ground to see if the foundation is loose, displaced, or offset. If the foundation is loose, promptly reinforce the foundation by re-casting the concrete foundation or using expansion bolts to ensure the stability of the equipment and prevent the slide from tilting or collapsing during use.
II. Special Condition Maintenance
(1) Protection against Bad Weather
Protection Measures: In case of bad weather such as heavy rain, hail, or strong winds, use a covering cloth (such as colorful tape) to wrap the sliding channels and key parts of the outdoor slide tightly to ensure that the surface of the outdoor slide is not damaged by the weather, such as being damaged by hail or having the structure loosen due to rain erosion.
Post-Handling: After bad weather, remove the covering cloth promptly and conduct a comprehensive inspection of the slide to check for any damage or abnormalities. If there are any, immediately carry out repairs.
(2) Long-term Non-Use Maintenance
Preparation for Shutdown: When the slide is out of use for a long time, use a covering cloth to wrap the outdoor slide tightly to avoid direct sunlight and slow down the aging of the slide's acrylic surface. At the same time, place the slide in a dry and ventilated environment to prevent rusting of metal parts due to moisture.
Re-Startup Inspection: Before re-starting, staff should conduct a comprehensive inspection of the slide. Any exposed sharp edges, corners, or burrs that passengers may come into contact with must not be present. There should be no cracks, deformations, or fractures. If any abnormalities are found, repair them promptly.
III. Maintenance Operations
(1) Surface Issues Repair
Crack Treatment: If there are cracks on the slide surface, first use an angle grinder to remove the cracks, then clean the polished surface (using a brush or cotton cloth), and then use the same color acrylic for repair. After the repair, first rough-grind with 400# water sandpaper, then semi-finish-grind with 800# water sandpaper, and finally polish with 1500# water sandpaper to achieve a smooth and flat surface. Finally, use a polishing machine (with 3# polishing liquid) for polishing treatment.
Leakage Repair: For water leakage caused by the aging of the Sika glue connecting the fiberglass slide, first remove the old glue and clean it up. Slightly sand the slide joint area, then reapply Sika glue for sealing, smooth it with your hands, and scrape off the remaining glue. Wait for it to dry and then sand the surface with water sandpaper to ensure that it does not scrape when a person passes by.
(2) Structural Issues Repair
Connection Repair: If the connection parts are severely damaged, such as breaking or deforming, replace the new connection parts promptly. When replacing, make sure that the specifications and models of the new connection pieces are consistent with those of the original ones, and the installation should be firm and reliable.
Maintenance of load-bearing components: Regular inspections should be conducted on load-bearing components to check if there are any cracks or bending deformations in the structure. If any are found, they must be replaced promptly. When replacing, select qualified components with the required load-bearing capacity and have them installed by professionals to ensure the overall structural safety of the slide.
(III) Maintenance of Metal Components
Paint layer maintenance: During non-use periods, the paint layer on the surface of metal components should be inspected for any peeling or fading. If there are peeling or falling-off phenomena, they should be dealt with promptly. Knock off the fallen and bulging areas, sand them down, and then reapply paint. Before applying anti-rust paint and anti-corrosion coatings, clean the rust and corrosion substances on the slide surface thoroughly to ensure that the coatings can adhere firmly and extend the service life of the slide.
IV. Regular Comprehensive Inspection and Evaluation
Inspection cycle: Conduct a comprehensive inspection every six months, covering various components, structures, and safety performance of the slide.
Inspection content: Check if the handrails and guardrails of the slide are loose; inspect the connection parts to ensure that the screws, nuts, and other fasteners are not loose or missing; check if there are cracks, damages, or sharp edges on the surface of the slide; evaluate the aging degree of the slide. If the slide groove is excessively aged (with cracks, fissures, peeling, etc.), promptly have the equipment manufacturer assess whether it can continue to be used.
Record and follow-up: Make detailed records of each inspection, including the problems found, maintenance measures, etc. For issues that require further maintenance or replacement of components, promptly follow up on the handling progress to ensure that the problems are completely resolved.
