Dry Ice Blasting Service for Roanoke and the New River Valley

Dry Ice Blasting Service for Roanoke and the New River Valley

In addition to all the usual services you might expect from a commercial cleaning company, we are also pleased to provide our clients with several industrial cleaning services, including dry ice blasting. We are proud to be one of the few companies that offer dry ice blasting in the Roanoke and New River Valley areas.

What is dry ice blasting?

Dry ice blasting is a non-abrasive cleaning method that is ideal for cleaning food processing equipment or other equipment that might otherwise require disassembly to thoroughly clean. It can decontaminate surfaces of E. coli, listeria, and Salmonella bacteria without the use of chemicals. That’s one of the reasons that the EPA suggests that companies use dry ice blasting instead of solvent-based cleaning methods.

How dry ice blasting works

Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. In dry ice blasting, pellets of dry ice are directed at high pressure onto the surface being cleaned. The pellets are actually quite soft, which means that they can effectively clean a surface without damaging that surface or causing abrasion. Without getting too technical, the way that the cleaning occurs has to do with the rapid heat transfer between the pellets and the surface they are blasted into, which creates a mini-explosion that causes contaminants to be dislodged from the surface.

Because dry ice sublimates without leaving any residue, it is very environmentally friendly and thus ideal in industries such as food production, aerospace, and technology.

Is dry ice blasting safe?

Dry ice blasting is very safe if done correctly, but there are a few hazards that you should be aware of. Because dry ice is basically the solid form of carbon dioxide, dry ice blasting must be done in a well-ventilated area with exhaust vents at or near ground level (carbon dioxide is heavier than air and will sink to the ground). These measures remove the threat of asphyxia due to the carbon dioxide replacing oxygen.

Also, since dry ice at normal pressure is -108 degrees Fahrenheit, gloves and other protective gear must be worn when performing dry ice blasting. However, these are all things that our professionals are trained on, so when you hire us to perform dry ice blasting you needn’t worry about them.