How Industrial Hydroblasting & Power Cleaning Preserve Your Facility

August 19, 2024

For essential industries like food production, heavy manufacturing, power plants, ethanol, pulp/paper and more, productivity is paramount to business success. Taking the time to ensure production equipment is thoroughly cleaned might seem prohibitive, but with the right industrial cleaning methods, you can keep operations on track while extending the life of your equipment. Failing to do so can have disastrous repercussions for your business. For the safest, most efficient solution, industrial hydroblasting protects your equipment, people, reputation and budget by reducing risks and costs all around. Explore the potential of automated hydroblasting and industrial power cleaning to improve facility maintenance procedures and efficiencies.

What Is Hydroblasting?

Hydroblasting—or high-pressure water blasting—uses specialized industrial spray equipment to target surfaces with a powerful water blast. Chemical-free and non-caustic, hydroblasting is a highly effective and precise industrial cleaning method to care for critical equipment.

Traditionally, hydroblasting requires technicians to manually guide the water stream to the target area. Today’s technology, however, allows for automated hydroblasting to remotely control various hoses and nozzles. Through this technique, trained technicians aim the hydroblasting equipment without having to enter confined or tricky spaces. With enhanced precision and automation capabilities, hydroblasting is the ideal solution for countless industrial cleaning applications, including process piping, facility walls and flooring, production equipment, vehicles, storage vessels and more.

How High-Pressure Water Blasting Compares To Traditional Industrial Cleaning Methods

One of the biggest differences—and benefits—of high-pressure water blasting compared to other industrial cleaning methods is the absence of chemicals. Using a pure water stream protects your facility from fire hazards and contamination. In turn, enhanced safety enables faster, more efficient service with minimal downtime.

Solutions like sandblasting, manual cleaning and chemicals all carry their own risks. But with the additional control automated hydroblasting provides, your facility has more flexibility for maintaining your equipment without interrupting operations or introducing hazards to the job site.

Sandblasting

Like hydroblasting, sandblasting creates a powerful, targeted blast to clean and polish industrial surfaces, except this process uses high-speed compressed air to shoot sand at target areas. As a dry blasting method, sandblasting is abrasive and may speed up wear and tear on equipment compared to water blasting, which is non-abrasive and leaves no residue behind. An added risk to be cautious of with sandblasting is dust particles lingering in the air; in a worst case scenario, excess dust in an industrial facility can create dangerous breathability conditions and even ignite fires.

Manual Cleaning

Time-intensive and inefficient, manual cleaning methods pose a high risk for a low reward. The intricacy and precision required to thoroughly clean a variety of industrial equipment—both inside and out—can’t be achieved with traditional techniques like dusting, wiping down or sweeping. Focus on business-critical operations and outsource industrial power cleaning needs to a trusted partner who can offer cost-effective solutions while ensuring every square inch of your facility remains clear for safe performance.

Chemical Solutions

Aside from obvious cross-contamination concerns, chemical cleaning techniques are often inefficient and invasive. Depending on the equipment in your facility, disassembly may be required to soak individual parts in a chemical solution. Unnecessarily difficult and dangerous, chemicals can’t compete with the peace of mind industrial hydroblasting provides in terms of safety and continuity.

Dry Ice Blasting

Dry ice blasting follows essentially the same process as sandblasting, except it depends on dry ice particles made up of CO2 as the cleaning agent. Unlike sandblasting, dry ice blasting leaves no particles behind. For intricate cleaning needs where water isn’t an option—such as electric equipment, mold removal, paint and spray booths, printing dryer and drum fans and food-grade environments—dry ice blasting is your next best bet for a fast and residue-free cleaning solution.

Power Washing

While the power washing process is a similar concept to industrial hydroblasting, hydroblasting requires advanced equipment, close attention to detail and high pressures that should be supervised by a professional. Typically, power washing equipment doesn’t exceed 3,500 PSI, while hydroblasting equipment is rated for pressures up to 40,000 PSI. Professional hydroblasting equipment has the horsepower required to swiftly solve industrial cleaning needs.

Automated Hydroblasting

The ultimate industrial cleaning method, automated hydroblasting allows technicians to access and spray equipment from any angle, hands-free. Using 3D technology, trained professionals can remotely control the hydroblasting equipment to position a strong water stream at target areas to eliminate grime, grease, rust, paint and corrosion. Automating the high-pressure water blasting process enables full cleaning coverage so nothing slips through the cracks.

Manually manipulating high-pressure hydroblasting equipment is an unnecessary risk that’s eliminated by streamlining the technology. Flexible hoses and rotary spray tools can easily be maneuvered remotely to reach difficult areas like heat exchangers, condenser tubes, duct work, exhaust stacks and process fans without the need for additional labor and manpower. Automated hydroblasting gives industrial cleaners a superior level of control to safely navigate various cleaning needs and provide consistent care across all areas. For precarious industrial environments where there’s no room for error, automated high-pressure water blasting is the best way to give every item in your facility the attention it needs to maintain optimal performance.

Why Automated Hydroblasting Is The Best Cleaning Solution For Your Facility

Automated hydroblasting minimizes the release of hazardous particles into the air and eliminates the need for confined-space entry, meaning the majority of your operations can continue with little to no interference. Cleaners can get the job done much more efficiently knowing risks are mitigated at every step.

At HK Solutions Group, our technicians undergo extensive training with our hands-free hydroblasting technology. We ensure accuracy and efficiency by remotely controlling our high-pressure water blasting equipment, which—thanks to our automation capabilities—can reach pressures up to 40,000 PSI without missing a beat. Because automated technology isn’t dependent on physical labor, we can easily adjust our approach to apply the appropriate amount of pressure for each area without having to pause and reset. But efficiency just scratches the surface of the many benefits industrial hydroblasting provides. Other reasons to request hydroblasting as your preferred industrial cleaning method include:

• Chemical-free
• Minimally invasive with little to no downtime required
• Extends equipment longevity as a preventative maintenance solution
• Non-abrasive & reduces wear and tear on equipment
• Fast and cost-effective
• Environmentally friendly
• Uninterrupted control for maximum coverage and efficiency
• Less labor-intensive
• Safer to operate in volatile environments

Contact HK Solutions Group To Learn More About Our Automated Hydroblasting & Industrial Power Cleaning Capabilities

HK Solutions Group is a full-service industrial partner not only for automated hydroblasting but also for ongoing waste management and vacuum truck cleanup services. When you work with HK for industrial power cleaning, you can count on us to keep your facility safe, pristine and compliant. Call our team at (515) 283-0500 to learn more about our industrial capabilities, or contact us online to get started with superior industrial cleaning solutions.

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