Dry Ice Blasting FAQ's continued
What about other methods of cleaning?
Typical Cleaning Problems - problems of cleaning in an industrial environment are continual. The needs to reduce downtime, the desire to eliminate mould wear or reduce the use of hazardous solvents are all factors that effect day-to-day running. In addition the potential damage to base surfaces, accumulations of grease and dirt, layers of old paints, and general grime all can have an effect on the operation of equipment and add to business costs.
Traditional Cleaning Methods - solvents, sand blasting and manual sweeping or bushing have normally been used in industrial cleaning. Each has specific applications and constraints, and all result in additional environmental and disposal concerns.
Solvents - the most common industrial cleaning method today is the use of solvents to remove oils, grease, dirt and even paint from machinery and equipment. However, there are considerable risks and costs involved with solvent use: Workers must be protected from carcinogens, the cost of disposing of hazardous waste is now rocketing and solvents release severe greenhouse gases and deplete the ozone layer. In many cases solvent cleaning creates more waste that the original dirt or grease, and the resultant waste are considered hazardous.
Sand Blasting - sand blasting is another common method of removing layers of paint or dirt from exposed areas. It is useful only where there is sufficient space to mitigate the resultant dust cloud and where the projected sand can reach large open areas of the equipment. It has many significant disadvantages, including the generation of more solid waste than was originally present on the equipment, breathing hazards for workers and nearby personnel, and potential damage to the underlying surface being cleaned by the abrasive sand particles.
Manual Cleaning - the age-old method of manually scraping, brushing and sweeping dirt and grime from surfaces is the simplest but least-efficient method of industrial cleaning. The cost of labour and the unpopularity of performing such tasks, which often leads to a high turnover of personnel, are problems associated with manual cleaning. In addition, the complexity of some equipment and the consequent downtime makes this an unpopular choice.
Whether it is because companies have had problems with one or all these traditional cleaning methods, dry ice blast cleaning has gained widespread acceptance in a variety of industries as the preferred method of cleaning. Industries that now use dry ice blasting include food industries, rubber producers, plastic and aluminium manufacturers, the automotive industry, glass bottle production, paper and packaging, shipping, robotics, dryers and engine maintenance are just a few of the industries and applications benefiting from this cleaning method.
