11 Feb What You Need to Know About Cleaning with Dry Ice

Running an industrial facility is a challenging job, especially if you’re charged with building and equipment maintenance. A big part of ensuring the safety of employees and equipment is keeping your industrial site clean. A clean facility boosts worker morale and overall productivity, and it also prevents potential safety and health issues.

Many facilities managers are choosing to use dry ice for their cleaning needs. Dry ice blasting is a simple process that yields great results when done by a professional. When you hire a commercial and industrial building maintenance and repair contractor to clean your industrial facility in Indianapolis, IN with dry ice, here’s how it works and how it can benefit your business.

How does dry ice blasting work?

A variety of industries use dry ice blasting to clean facilities and equipment. It’s an effective method for cleaning because it takes advantage of thermodynamics. Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide, and its success as a cleaner is due to its temperature (-109 degrees Fahrenheit). At this low temperature, the dry ice is able to penetrate through any waste, cool it instantly and remove it.

It’s helpful to think of dry ice blasting as similar to pressure washing. When you clean with a pressure washer, a compressor helps push water through a hose, creating a narrow, high-pressure jet of water. The water travels fast and knocks dirt and grime from surfaces.

Dry ice blasting works in much the same way, except dry ice pellets are sent through the hose instead of water. Tiny pellets shoot through the hose at high speeds, and as they hit the surface, the pellets convert to gas in a process called sublimation. The carbon dioxide gas expands rapidly and removes waste from surfaces without leaving residue behind.

While it sounds like a simple process, you need the help of a professional industrial building maintenance and repair contractor in Indianapolis, IN to get the best results from this cleaning process.

What can be removed with dry ice blasting?

Dry ice blasting is able to remove unwanted waste from surfaces. It’s an ideal method if you’re looking to remove the following materials:

• Paint
• Rust
• Oil
• Decals
• Soot
• Fire residue
• Adhesives

What are the benefits of dry ice blasting?

Dry ice blasting is an abrasive cleaning method similar to sand or soda blasting, but it offers some unique benefits. Here are some of the advantages you’ll enjoy when you use dry ice blasting to clean your facilities:

• Eco-friendly: No chemicals or solvents are used in dry ice blasting. There’s also no secondary waste to clean up and no water is wasted.
• Effective cleaning: The dry ice blasting method is versatile—it’s aggressive enough for tough surfaces, yet sensitive enough for delicate ones.
• Safety: Since no chemicals are involved, dry ice blasting is a non-toxic, non-flammable cleaning method.

All industrial facility managers take pride in the cleanliness of their business. If you need to remove contaminants and debris from your facilities in Indianapolis, IN, dry ice blasting gets the job done without damaging surfaces or equipment. Rely on the professional touch of an industrial building maintenance and repair contractor to get the job done right. Contact Knauss Property Services, LLC today to discover how dry ice blasting can benefit your facility.