How Does It Compare?

As you would expect from the Cold Clean UK, being the UK’s leading supplier of dry ice products and related services means quality comes as standard. Whether it’s food, automotive, chemical or domestic applications for dry ice blast cleaning, we have a network of world-leading partners that means we only use the best and most effective products on the market that enable us to supply you with the best and most effective products on the market.

 

Traditional methods such as solvent and chemical cleaning, abrasive blasting, water jettingand hand cleaning are increasingly being challenged by new, more efficient and environmentally sound processes. Dry ice blast cleaning has increasingly become the cleaning process of choice.

Abrasive Blasting

Abrasive blasting is a common way of cleaning plant and machinery back to bare metal, however it risk being too aggressive where the surface properties are detrimentally affected.It also affects surrounding surfaces and parts, creating mess and dramatically shortening the life of components through wear and tear.

Dry ice blasting is non-abrasive, environmentally friendly and typically is more convenient. It won’t wear away surfaces or create additional waste for disposal. Also, dry ice blasting equipment can simply be taken to the machinery, cleaning it in position without the need to dismantle equipment or shut down plant for prolonged periods of time.

 

Soda Blasting

Soda blasting is less aggressive than most abrasive blasting, however like all open blasting, it creates a great deal of secondary waste. The result is that the time spent blasting can be matched or even doubled by the time it takes to clean up the extra waste. Residue and waste can also stick to the material being blasted, making clearing up even more difficult and time-consuming.

Dry ice blasting isn’t simply non-abrasive; it can also achieve a far better, deeper clean, without the worry of secondary waste to dispose of. Additionally soda blasting is also considered to have an adverseeffect on the Ph levels of the soil it comes into contact with Dry ice leaves nothing – no waste, no clearing up and no environmental concerns to worry about.

 

High Pressure Water Jetting

Water jetting is becoming increasingly limiting due to the high volumes of waste water it creates, and the associated environmental impact for its disposal. Water jetting can also cause flash rusting on the cleaned surfaces. While water jetting creates a large volume of secondary waste, of course water doesn’t mix with electricity either. Any applications on or in the vicinity of electrics such as welding lines, production lines, presses, motors or machine tools, can be hugely problematic.

Dry ice blasting is suitable for virtually any application – and, because there’s no water involved, it can be used on or near electrical equipment. Dry ice also immediately sublimes during the cleaning process, leaving equipment clean and dry. Plus, with dry ice blasting there’s no secondary waste, so it’s easier to clean up afterwards.

 

Solvent Cleaning

Solvents are undoubtedly bad for the environment and come with inherent personnel risks., not to mention the potential problems of user safety and is traditionally a two-stage process. First the solvents are used to dissolve unwanted surface materials, then a flushing, rinsing or hand tool operation may be required to remove the dissolved materials

Because equipment often needs to be taken apart or extensively prepared prior to cleaning, solvent cleaning can also result in lengthy downtime. On top of this are all the issues relating to solvent management and disposal.

Dry ice blasting dissolves and blasts away unwanted material in a single step. Like solvents, it can simultaneously clean numerous objects with different, complex geometries. But unlike solvents, machines rarely need to be taken apart, saving on costly downtime.

Plus, because dry ice evaporates on contact, there’s no secondary waste to clean up. And of course there are no environmental or disposal issues to worry about.

 

Power Tool Cleaning

Although it’s a quick solution for flat, simple surfaces, power tool cleaning can also damage or wear surfaces. Dry ice blasting cleans equally as well, but without the added wear on expensive moulds and other production tooling. It’s also faster, which is why it’s rapidly taking over power tool cleaning as the preferred method of cleaning in these situations.

 

Hand Tool Cleaning

Sometimes it’s faster and easier for operators to carry out some cleaning tasks by hand. But some hand tools can damage equipment. Dry ice blasting is the perfect solution for simple cleaning jobs too, and, it can be carried out in a fraction of the time.