Dry Ice blasting means not having to use water, harsh chemicals or coarse blasting media that could damage or compromise equipment as pictured above. Also, the added effort of constructing containment areas and minimal waste generation can reduce the time and cost of many projects.
What is Dry Ice Blasting?
Dry ice blasting (or CO2 blasting) is a fast, easy and cost-effective cleaning technology that uses dry ice pellets (solid CO2) propelled at supersonic speeds to clean surfaces without damaging equipment or creating secondary waste. The frigid temperature of the dry ice -109.3°F or -78.5°C "blasting" against the material to be removed, causes it to shrink and lose adhesion from its subsurface. The technology provides a powerful industrial equipment cleaning solution for a variety of applications ranging from heavy slag removal to delicate semiconductor and circuit board cleaning. Dry ice blasting is a dry, non-abrasive cleaning process that is environmentally-friendly and saves precious downtime and additional labor costs.
Advantages of Dry Ice Blasting:
1. Safe, non-toxic and meets EDA, FDA, and USDA guidelines.
2. FDA Food Grade Certified and upon contact can kill most bacteria, mold, mildew and fungus
3. No dust from blast media
4. Small, compact machinery footprint for mobile access to enclosed areas
5. Safe around electrical panels, controls and most electronics
6. Minimizes masking needs prior to blasting
7. Reduces waste because the dry ice pellets sublimate into the atmosphere.
8. Non-abrasive, non-flammable, and nonconductive.
9. Ability to get into tight places.
Environmentally Friendly
The EPA actually recommends dry ice blasting as an alternative to many types of solvent-based cleaning since dry-ice blasting leaves no chemical residue. This is because the dry ice sublimates at room temperature.
Dry ice blasting can clean numerous objects with differing, complex geometries at once. In fact, due to the blast media sublimating without residue, dry ice blasting has been found to be useful in the semiconductor and aerospace industries.
In addition, compared to other blasting-cleaning methods, dry ice blasting produces fewer waste products and does not require clean-up of a blasting medium. The waste products can be swept up, vacuumed or washed away depending on the containment.
Dry Ice for Mold Remediation
Dry ice blasting is especially effective for mold remediation. Often, mold growth will appear in very hard to reach locations (crawl spaces, attics, etc.). It is virtually impossible to squeeze into tight corners to do sanding, scraping, and removal of all mold spores. Most mold contractors attempt to scrape of hand clean what areas they can reach, then encapsulate (spray) the rest. This can actually leave some mold behind. The problem is that it can come back! It is not enough to kill some-but-not-all contaminates. It is not enough to clean "most but not all" of the mess.
Midwest Environmental, Inc. can evaluate your particular situation and offer the most practical and cost-effective solutions. Call MEI today at 419-283-9200. We will be happy to discuss the best solutions available.