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Lee County · Florida
Alva dry ice blasting
Alva work comes to us the same way most of it does: something is coated in build-up and cannot be sanded, soaked or dissolved.
The practical side
Nothing about the setup needs a drain, a hookup or a bay. Which means no downtime spent in transit and no risk of damage moving it out of Alva and back.
The media is gone by the time it has done its work, so there is no sand to vacuum and no water to mop. Only the contaminant is left, and that leaves with us.
What we clean
The work we take on around Alva
Nearby
Also working across Lee County
Questions from Alva
What is the first step?
A short description and a couple of pictures is enough to start. An owner rings you back.
Is Alva in your area?
Yes. Alva is inside our regular working area, and the rig travels to the job rather than the other way round.
What does the site need to have?
Space for the rig and a way to reach the machine. Everything else arrives with us.
Can you work around our schedule?
Usually. Tell us the window you have, including overnight or a planned shutdown, and we will tell you honestly what fits in it.
Who calls you around here?
A mix, vehicle work, shop equipment, marine and light industrial. Same rig, different constraint each time.
Does distance affect the price?
Distance can factor in. You will hear about it up front, not on the invoice.
Why Alva equipment ends up like this
Humidity is the constant. Anything bare oxidizes faster than it would almost anywhere else. So the job is usually less about scrubbing harder and more about not making the underlying problem worse.
The mix here runs from vehicle work in driveways to production equipment inside industrial units. Whatever the setting, the rig arrives with its own compressor and containment, so nothing about the site has to change to accommodate us.
Because the media sublimates, there is no slurry running toward a storm drain and no grit left in a machine. On a tight site in Lee County that is often the deciding factor.
What comes off
What comes off, and why
If it is bonded to the surface rather than part of it, there is a good chance this takes it off. The list below covers most of what we are called out for.
- Food residue
Carbonized product, fat, starch and sugar build-up on processing equipment, cleaned without chemicals touching a food contact surface.
- Grease and oil
Oil film is the layer everything else sticks to. Remove it and half the job is already done.
- Carbon and soot
Heat-bonded black deposit. Because heat put it there, a sudden cold front is what breaks its grip.
- Adhesive and sealant
Cured sealant, old gasket, tape glue and sound deadening, the residue left when something was removed but its bond was not.
- Resin and mold release
Cured process residue on a mold or fixture. The surface has to come out dimensionally unchanged, which rules out anything abrasive.
- Paint and coatings
Taken off in a controlled way when what is underneath matters more than speed.
- Salt and corrosion product
Salt deposit and the oxidation it starts. Anything abrasive removes the protection along with the salt.
How a job runs
Nothing about this should be a surprise
Nobody should have to guess what they booked. This is every stage of a job in the order it happens.
- You look before we pack up
We would rather you find the missed spot while we are standing there than a week later. Another pass on the day is the cheapest fix available.
- You describe the job
The machine, the deposit and the downtime you can afford. Those three things decide the whole job, and we would rather know all of them before quoting.
- We look at access and containment
Siting the compressor, masking what must not be touched, and catching what comes off, settled before the first pellet.
- We test a small area
Pressure and pellet size get dialed in on an inconspicuous spot before we touch anything visible. Painted parts, soft alloys and older finishes all behave differently, and the right setting on one is the wrong setting on another.
- We blast, then clean up
One mess instead of two: the pellet vanishes and we take away what it removed.
The comparison
The other ways to do this
- Hand scraping
Slow, inconsistent, and the tool marks the surface. Fine for a small area, unworkable across a machine.
- Media blasting
Abrasive by definition. Anything with a tolerance or a finish worth keeping comes out changed.
- Pressure washing
Water gets into everything and has to come out again before the equipment runs. Around electrics it is off the table entirely.
- Solvent and degreaser
Good at softening, bad at leaving. There is always a residue and always a drum to get rid of.
- Dry ice
It is the only one on this list where the media stops existing the moment it has worked.
What to expect on site
The process is loud. Hearing protection is standard for anyone in the working area, which is why you will see ear defenders in most of our photographs.
Cold surfaces are the one aftereffect. Depending on the piece that is either a few minutes of patience or some condensation while it returns to room temperature.
Air comes from our own compressor. You do not need to provide power, water or a connection of any kind.
Anything nearby that should not be touched gets masked before we start. That is quicker than explaining it afterward.
Tell us what needs cleaning.
Send the equipment, the location and a short description. Photos help. You will hear back from Giancarlo or Kenny, not a call center.