MILTON, Del. - Driving past the Milton water tower on Chandler Street, a drone could be seen flying around it. Although, it wasn't to take pictures or video, it was to clean the tower.
Companies like Mid Atlantic Prowash are utilizing the technology for maintenance work. Pilot and business partner Cody Whaley says this is a safer approach to cleaning tall structures because it keeps people on the ground.
"Well, you either rent a lift or you would put a tether on top of the structure and work your way down again, it's just not safe. So that's where the drone comes into play - There's a need for it in the area, a lot of high rises, water towers, large above ground structures."
In comparison to a consumer grade drone, the one used for spraying structures is large and requires a license to fly. It hooks up to a hose and sprays a chemical mixture onto the tower to melt away the grime covering it instead of using high pressure water.
According to Whaley, the drone will fly about three school buses high to clean. However with flying that high comes obstacles from mother nature.
"Wind. We had some issues with it today. We were able to get part of the tower clean, but yeah, wind is definitely a key factor and our biggest challenge most of the time." said Whaley.
Whaley believes this is only the beginning of using the flying technology of drones for manual labor. The Milton water tower is expected to be completely clean in about four days.