So many clean with chemicals. How is this really cleaning when harmful fumes and off gassing occur? The chemical goes somewhere. So enters blasting for speed and a higher quality clean.
There are multiple medias to blast with from sand to soda, and everything you can think of in between.
All blasting methods will displace and leave behind a socondary waste... all but one. These secondary wastes left behind are the blasting media; crushed glass, baking soda, walnut shell, silica sand or crystalline, dry ice, among others.
Silica sand(crystalline) can cause silicosis, lung cancer, and breathing problems to exposed areas to human, bird, aquatic, and animal life.
Crushed glass is exactly that, crushed glass with water added. This creates an obvious runoff.
Soda blasting uses baking soda as the media. This is very effective in mold and fire remediation. The problem is the soda when blasted creates a large cloud of dust, soda dust. This then settles in the surrounding work area. Baking soda settled on plants will kill the vegetation and landscaping. The dust will eventually runoff with watering amd rain. This contaminates and risks the nearby aquatic life and systems.
Dry ice blasting is the only blasting media and method which does not leave behind a secondary waste. It does not create a runoff exposing and risking human health, aquatic life, water ways, plant, and animal life.
Dry ice blasting is EPA & FDA approved cleaning. It requires proper PPE. OSHA describes dry ice blasting as "Alternative, less toxic blasting material" under the "OSHA Fact Sheet: Protecting Workers from the Hazards of
Abrasive Blasting Materials".
The CO2 is in solid, frozen form as a media. Upon impact from blasting with forced air, the CO2 returns to gas and disipates, leaving behind zero secondary waste to clean up, or risk to the environment.
In production and manufacturing, as with any environment, there is more than one way to skin a cat. There's safe, dangerous, complicated, simple, expensive, cost effective, hard, easy, "...the way we've always done it", and innovative. It should be quick to recognize the 180° variances which exist between each.
Let's look at these from a high level. Dangerous can come from many directions. There are hazzards of using chemical agents. You risk the substrate being cleaned. You risk employees who are trained and versed in their everyday work, but not in the use of chemicals, application of, necessary safety gear & containment, proper ventilation, and the list just goes on. I would have the use of chemicals fall under dangerous, complicated, expensive (adds extensive down time), hard, and my favorite, "the way we've always done it."
Tailing chemical usage is the addition of manual labor. The cleaning may be required in confined spaces. It will include small corners, angles, and reaching into the machinery. That alone is an elevated and unnecessary risk to good employees. This requires lock out tag out.
Blasting comes with a variety of media used; glass, sand, soda, walnut shell, other materials, and dry ice. Every one creates a secondary waste. Many are too abrasive for the molds and machinery to be cleaned. Many are toxic and can cause life long health issues when inhaled. Dry ice blasting does not create a secondary waste, nor require additional clean up after the cleaning. You only sweep or vacuum the displaced debris. This can be done in process in some instances with negative air, containment, and filtering.
OSHA is the mighty above all in production and manufacturing. OSHA can have an immediate impact from what was a cheap, quick fix to expensive in a matter of minutes. Thereafter comes the investigation and additional shut down, until the investigation is complete.
Safe, easy, cost efficient, simple, and innovative only describe dry ice blasting.
It is cost effective in a multitude of ways. First, dry ice blasting only requires minimal tear down. Blasting is effective with line if site. If we can see it, we can clean it. Dry ice blasting over manual labor reduces risk, less OSHA regulatory language, eliminates risk to your employees by taking them out of the work area, is EPA approved cleaning, reducing down time and returning the affected area to production sooner. Dry ice blasting restores your quality output after deterioration and build up begin to overflow onto your product.
Here are images of just a few different applications and uses with dry ice blasting
It is true, there is always someone willing to do the job cheaper. I have learned over the years between working in family owned, privately held, publicly traded, Fortune 500s, and now being as a business owner, a few things hold true. One is, there are three types of companies to do business with:
GUY WITH A TRUCK - THE Pros - the cheapest, lowest overhead, has a business card, a phone, and some experience. THE Cons - this one is not insured. If the job is done right and there are no problems, this is the guy. The concern with this one is, there is no room for error. If the job is done wrong, and, or something is damaged in the process, there is no backing to pay for it. This "company" may or may not be legitimately registered. This company may or may not be properly licensed. When a job is done wrong or something is damaged, it cost more now than the original job scope for a legitimate contractor to come in, fix the problem, then re-do the job properly. Often, there are not clear, written, and signed contracts for these jobs. It can escalade quickly to the court room to be resolved at the expense of both parties.
MID-SIZED COMPANY - THE Pros - Large chance of dealing directly with an owner somewhere during the process of the job. Odds are an owner will be one who answers the phone (not just during a crisis). The owners are still involved in the day to day operations of overseeing the business. Reputation, testimonials, referrals, word of mouth, and reputation mean more to this company and it's people. As a client, you are never more than one person removed from talking with an owner, or someone with a steak in the company who can and will make decisions, quickly. These companies have years of experience. They do not arrive on the scene overnight, often from the "Guy with a Truck" who realized early quality and reputation is everything, and survived the first three years. These companies are insured and licensed appropriately. The low overhead helps to control the cost. Price of doing business is not the cheapest, or the most expensive. THE CONS - You often have to be referred / recommended by a friend to these companies to sort through them. There is often not a jingle, TV, or radio ad to help you memorize their phone number. The logo may or may not be recognizable.
LARGE COMPANY -THE Pros - financial backing to address issues, damage, and concerns. These companies have a recognizable logo, advertisements, and have spent the money on marketing to get their name and logo out there for you. These companies have years of experience. They do not arrive overnight. These companies are insured and licensed appropriately. THE Cons - the chain of command can include laborers, project manager, office manager, someone to answer the phone to redirect your calls, possibly and automated system to handle call volume and redirect your calls, but press 1 for owner is not a choice. Not always, but by now the owners are often removed from the day to day operations of the company. Employees attitude and desire to quickly resolve issues is completely dictated by the culture in place around them, good or bad. These companies can be bought as an investment, removing the original owner and the experience of that owner. The clients pay for all of the brand recognition, advertising, familiar jingle, automated phone system, 800 number, and large staff. So the cost of doing business with these companies is reflected in your invoice.
Dry Ice Blasting? Many people ask, “Why dry ice blasting instead of more traditional types of cleaning?” There are advantages to dry ice blasting and some disadvantages too. I will go through and simplify each.
The Bad
So let's just get the bad out of the way first. The list is much shorter and you will see why. Dry ice blasting comes with an initial sticker shock to most. This is because plant managers and finance teams only see the ice blasting costs. It is important to compare your total cost of using other methods to the cost of ice blasting. The cost of chemical agents, man power, additional safety precautions, OSHA fines for compliance failure and injuries, increased employee liability risks, prep times, equipment restoration / rebuild times, AND TOTAL DOWN TIME FRAMES.
The next issue is ice blasters are not abundant and readily available in every area. Many projects require mobilization. Dry ice blasters are not typically city centric, but will mobilize.
The third is dry ice blasting pellets availability. Dry ice blasting, with any contracting, requires planning and scheduling. There is a 2 business notice for ordering dry ice blasting pellets. Nothing detrimental, or out of the ordinary compared to any project. We all have to order materials and prepare to do a job. Again, this isn't terrible; just something to be aware of when searching for a dry ice blasting contractor.
Last - Rent it and do it yourself - well, you can. You can also rent a jack hammer and a bulldozer. Much like a large at home do-it-yourself project, it is always worth paying a reputable and insured contractor with ratings, reviews, and experience. The compressed air must be filtered and after-cooled; not readily available just anywhere. Compressor rental companies have to specialize in offering these units. The dry ice is - 109*. It is extremely sensitive to any amount of moisture coming through the air lines into the machine. This moisture can cause a true H2O ice block where the dry ice is fed through. That can cause a shut down from 3 to 6 hours depending upon the severity and amount of water let in. Dry ice blasting machines do not have trouble shooting codes or lighting. It is either on and working, or not. It is one of three things; 1. air issues, 2/ electrical / circuit issue, or 3. dry ice issue in the unit, in the feed, clog in the blasting hose, or at the gun. Which one is it and where is the question.
The Good It is amazing how it cleans a piece of equipment. Multiple industries are moving to dry ice for cleaning. One ice blaster can often do in one hour what takes a 4 man crew 4 hours (applications & debris levels can vary). So imagine a 4 man crew manually cleaning that takes 4 days. That is 4 days of shut down and lost production in addition to all of the risk, time, a designated safety officer, additional daily safety meetings, and the cost factors listed before. One ice blaster can typically do that same job in one 8 hour day. So all of the sudden, ice blasting is no longer so expensive when you have 3 days of production returned to you. Production = money! The same is true in fire and mold remediation. The job can take 3 days less, returning the home owner back to their normal life that much sooner.
Dry ice blasting is well known for quality restoration to production equipment. Regular cleaning adds to the life of any equipment. It reduces the level of friction and resistance during operation. These are hidden reductions in costs.
There is no physical remaining by-product of dry ice cleaning. Previous cleaning with water, chemicals, soda, and sand blasting would create a big mess to clean up afterwards. This is not true with dry ice blasting. Upon the dry ice impact to the surface, dry ice immediately supplements in to a gas, leaving no additional by-product cleanup. Once again, returning to production that much sooner.
With the world becoming more environmentally conscious, dry ice blasting has a huge advantage. Dry ice is made from CO2 gas. Dry ice is a recycled material to begin with. The waste cleanup from a cleaning job is minimal. Because dry ice turns directly in to a gas, it does not need cleanup. The only cleanup needed is for the waste/debris that get blasted off while cleaning. Imagine having to pay for chemical waste disposal after cleaning. In many plant cases, every chemical brought into the plant by contractor, or direct deliver has to be registered with the safety officer on site. This comes with hazard coding, as well as safety response protocols in case of spills, protocols for if the agent comes into contact with the skin, eyes, or is inhaled. Add another protocol for combustible chemicals (almost all cleaning chemical agents!).
A few simple letters every safety officer has to live by... OSHA. Here is an exert from the OSHA Fact Sheet document titled, "Protecting Workers from the Hazards of Abrasive Blasting Materials"
Alternative, less toxic blasting materials include:
Dry ice
The first recommendation is dry ice. It is easy to see why companies are moving away from the traditional cleaning.
Now here is what the same document also says about health hazards -
Health Hazards
Abrasive blasting operations can create high
levels of dust and noise. Abrasive material
and the surface being blasted may contain
toxic materials (e.g., lead paint, silica) that are
hazardous to workers.
Silica sand (crystalline) can cause silicosis,
lung cancer, and breathing problems in
exposed workers
Coal slag and garnet sand may cause lung
damage similar to silica sand (based on
preliminary animal testing)
Copper slag, nickel slag, and glass (crushed
or beads) also have the potential to cause
lung damage
Steel grit and shot have less potential to cause
lung damage
Slags can contain trace amounts of toxic metals
such as arsenic, beryllium, and cadmium.
That is a pretty dark list. It is like the side effects portion of a drug commercial, BUT nothing to address the health hazards of dry ice. Now let's not be fooled. Dry ice blasting must have proper ventilation to avoid asphyxiation. Dry ice is CO2 in solid form and upon impact from blasting returns to it's natural gas state.
As with any blasting environment, PPE is to be worn at all times to include, but not limited to eye and hearing protection.
Dry ice blasting is non abrasive. Simply, this means that dry ice blasting will not damage most of your equipment or surfaces like sand or chemicals would. When a dry ice pellet hits a surface, it sublimates in to a gas. The process has zero impact to most equipment itself. It is however very effective for removing debris, adhesives, build up, coatings,film, grease, oil, and other production created layers.
Dry ice blasting is non-conducting, so it is ideal around robotics and most other electrical equipment. Just like standard equipment, electronics need to be cleaned. Fragmenting nozzles control the size of the dry ice pellet and it can be dialed down to basically snow texture. Water and sand blasting on electrons are not a good solution and can result in damage to the equipment. Both also can conduct electricity and pose shock hazards. Dry ice blasting is a great solution for that. The pressured air for dry ice blasting is after-cooled and filtered, so no water is getting to the equipment blasted. For more insight on dry ice blasting go to http://www.iaqm.com/industrial-cleaning/
In all applications, dry ice blasting is so much more effective AND efficient than manually doing the job. It saves time and money. Here is mold remediation speed with dry ice blasting. This home would have taken over a week manually... ice blasting took less thana day.
Below is a recent testimony from one of our clients in the Dallas area. We did their mold remediation. Then they hired us again for HVAC. Next they asked us to oversee the build back and some remodeling.
I have always heard the importance of repeat and referral business. I read the book Raving Fans. I have taught the importance of asking for referrals and repeat business. There is no greater, louder applause than when a client calls us to perform additional works and or the referrals they send.
Testimonies like these are humbling reminders day in and day out to ALWAYS do our best work, to keep the moral of the team high, and never let up on quality.
"My wife and I have just completed the mold abatement process and rebuild of the affected areas of my home. The process was long and disruptive to our daily routine.
The IAQM folks made a very trying time much easier and painless through their experience/knowledge and understanding how much of an upheaval a mold situation can be to a property owner.
They were all very courteous, polite and trustworthy. My wife and I would highly recommend them for mold abatement work." - The Besserer Family November 4, 2015
The vast majority of Americans need to spend more time outside. In addition to, or in place of, Americans should also have their air tested in homes and at the office.
Like anything else, as Mold continues to grow, be ignored, and or denied, the cost is also growing, being ignored, and denied... until it is finally assessed and addressed.
This is the case in a home, office, production facility, food or bar establishment, on farms, in grain silos, and so on. Nothing is exempt from mold.
