16 services · Miami, FL
Contaminant Removal With Ice Blasting
Sometimes the job is named after the contaminant instead of the machine. The method is the same: thermal shock breaks the bond and the contaminant releases.
What we clean, and what it is covered in
The build-up here is whatever is bonded to the surface rather than part of it. Scope is set by what has to come off and what must survive underneath.
Most of the people who call are anyone with something stuck to something else. What they are protecting against is taking the substrate along with the coating, which is exactly why an abrasive or a solvent is the wrong answer.
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Questions about this work
What makes dry ice right for this work?
Sometimes the job is named after the contaminant instead of the machine. The method is the same: thermal shock breaks the bond and the contaminant releases.
Do you clean in place?
Scope is set by what has to come off and what must survive underneath. Most of this work does not need a teardown.
Will it damage the surface?
On most substrates, no. The pellet is soft and sublimates on impact, so the work is thermal rather than abrasive. We test an inconspicuous spot first on anything unusual.
Is there any residue afterward?
None from the media. Dry ice sublimates, so what is left is the contaminant we came to remove, and that is ours to clean up.
Do you come to us?
Yes. The rig is mobile and works across South Florida from Miami out to roughly a hundred miles.
What does it cost?
It depends on the equipment, the contaminant and the access. Describe the job and we will give you a real figure rather than a guess over the phone.
What comes off
What dry ice actually removes
The rule of thumb is simple: anything stuck on rather than built in. These are the deposits we see most.
- Ink and printing residue
Ink and coating on anilox and press rollers, surfaces where changing the texture changes the print.
- Food residue
Carbonized product, fat, starch and sugar build-up on processing equipment, cleaned without chemicals touching a food contact surface.
- Grease and oil
The soft film that holds dust and swarf against metal. It is what makes a part feel dirty long after it looks clean, and it comes off first.
- Carbon and soot
Heat-bonded black deposit. Because heat put it there, a sudden cold front is what breaks its grip.
- Adhesive and sealant
Bonded material that outlived whatever it was bonding, usually harder to shift than the part it is on.
- Resin and mold release
Release agent and resin build-up on tooling, where a solvent fix trades one residue for another.
- Paint and coatings
Taken off in a controlled way when what is underneath matters more than speed.
How a job runs
How a job actually runs
Most people have never watched dry ice blasting happen and are not sure what they are agreeing to. Here is the whole sequence, start to finish.
- We test a small area
An out-of-sight patch comes first so pressure and pellet size are proven before anything that shows. Soft alloys, older paint and bare metal each want different numbers.
- We blast, then clean up
The ice is gone on impact. What is on the floor afterward came off your machine, and clearing it is ours to do.
- 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
We start with what it is and what is on it. Whether it can come offline matters as much as the contaminant, and a wrong-tool answer is one we give up front rather than after the invoice.
- We look at access and containment
Hose run, compressor position, what needs masking, and where the contaminant is collected. For food and electrical jobs the containment plan takes longer to settle than the blasting does.
The comparison
What the alternatives actually do
- Solvent and degreaser
Trades the deposit for a residue, plus ventilation and waste to deal with, and it is hard on the finish.
- Hand scraping
Fine on a patch, hopeless on a machine, and the blade leaves its own evidence.
- Media blasting
Effective and indiscriminate. On soft metal or a finished surface it does damage you then have to fix.
- Pressure washing
Forces water where water should not go, looms, bearings, seams, and then the job stops while it dries.
- Dry ice
The deposit shrinks away from the surface it is stuck to and releases. The ice is gone before it can do any harm.
What the job is like to stand next to
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.
Dry ice is carbon dioxide in solid form. It is non-toxic and leaves no residue, but it does displace oxygen in an enclosed space, so ventilation is part of the setup rather than an afterthought.
Expect noise. Everybody inside the working area wears hearing protection, us included.
Why us
Why people call us back
- We clean up after ourselves
Nothing of the blasting media remains, so the only cleanup is the dirt itself, and that is ours to handle.
- Firefighter owned and operated
Giancarlo and Kenny both came out of the fire service, and the discipline that job demands is the discipline this one gets.
- You speak to an owner
The person who picks up is the person doing the work. Nothing gets lost between the quote and the job.
- We will tell you no
Some jobs want a different method. We would rather say that up front than discover it on your machine.
- We test before we commit
Unfamiliar material gets a hidden test patch before anything visible is touched.
- The rig comes to you
Compressor, hose and operator arrive at your shop, plant, driveway or dock. Nothing needs to be transported to us.
Send us the job.
A short description and a location is enough to start. Add photos if you can. You will speak to an owner, not a scheduler.