The Benefits of Dry-Ice Blasting

If you have heavy machinery lined with grease, smoke damage in your property after a fire, flaking paint, rusty structures, or downright dirty installations, there is a simple solution: dry ice blasting. Dry ice cleaning is the most effective and safe method of cleaning almost any surface, however intricate it may be.

Dry ice blasting, or dry ice cleaning, consists in firing dry ice -carbon dioxide at a temperature of minus 109ºF- at a surface through a nozzle, where it hits the unwanted elements and freezes them, causing them to fracture and fall apart, away from the surface. The result is instantaneous – shiny new surfaces, as good and clean as new.

Who needs dry ice cleaning?

Dry ice cleaning is typically reserved for heavy-duty cleanings, such as:

• Removal of grease and grime from heavy machinery
• Smoke and soot damage after a fire
• Paint removal
• Rust that has formed on steel and iron
• General dirt

But why use dry ice over traditional cleaning methods? Dry ice cleaning comes with an array of benefits.

1. Effective

The thing about dry ice cleaning is how truly effective it is. Because blasting is done through different shapes and sizes of nozzles, it can reach every nook and cranny on the surface to be cleaned. For intricate woodwork, uneven surfaces, or those with nails and other foreign objects protruding, dry ice blasting reaches all of it – every millimeter of the surface will be clean.

2. Fast

Dry ice blasting is a fast cleaning method. Rather than manually scrubbing and wiping surfaces, dry carbon dioxide at a temperature of minus 109 ºF is blasted at the area to be cleaned, giving instant results. It reduces labor downtime, and can even be carried out while your machinery is in operation.

3. Cheap

Because dry ice blasting is a fast cleaning method, labor costs are greatly reduced. Not only this, but if you maintain your machinery and other surfaces clean with dry ice cleaning, they are less likely to break down further down the line. Call us for a quote.

4. Safe

Dry ice blasting is a completely safe method of cleaning even the most difficult, dirty of jobs. Trained professionals use the dry ice blasting equipment and no harmful chemicals are involved in the process. As the name suggests, it is a dry cleaning method, so it is even safe to use on electrical wires and equipment. It is approved by the FDA, USDA, and EPA.

5. Environmentally-friendly

No harmful chemicals are used in the process of dry ice blasting, and there are no waste by-products, as the carbon dioxide returns to its gaseous state after fracturing the dirt. The equipment is reusable, unlike traditional cleaning products and rags, which inevitably end up in landfills.

6. Non-abrasive

Dry ice cleaning is non-abrasive – it won’t damage the surface of your machinery, but it will remove every speck of the unwanted contaminant. It’s also non-conductive, so it can be used on electrical equipment. 

Should I use dry ice cleaning?

For heavy machinery and hard surfaces, dry ice blasting is one of the safest, cheapest and quickest methods of cleaning. As the dry ice is propelled at a pressure of 80 psi (5.5bar) or higher, dry ice cleaning is not suitable for softer materials.