Industrial Cleaning Product Facts
Industrial cleaning is a difficult job made easier with the correct cleaning product. No individual product can take care of all industrial cleaning problems or needs. The most commonly used products are safety solvents, aqueous industrial degreasers, drain cleaners and defoamers, as well as acid and caustic cleaners. Each of these products is sold by a number of different manufacturers, with each manufacturer often naming the products by a distinctive name or combination of letters.
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Safety Solvents
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Safety solvents are widely used throughout industry for cleaning electrical components and motors. At times, they are also used to degrease metal that cannot be exposed to water. The name comes from the fact that they can be used safely without worry of fire or shock from electrical equipment while the equipment is in operation. The production of the product known as 1,1,1-trichloroethane was stopped in 1995 because of environment and health concerns. Instead, other safety solvents such as perchloroethylene, trichlorethylene and methylene chloride, which have been found to be safe and for both humans and the environment when used properly, have became the safety solvents of choice.
Aqueous Industrial Degreasers
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Aqueous industrial degreasers are water-based cleaners used in industry for general cleaning and degreasing. Butyl degreasers have effective cleaning and degreasing ability; when diluted with water in appropriate ratios, they are economical as well. Non-butyl degreasers are alcohol-based and do not clean or degrease as well as butyl but are an acceptable alternative, especially for glass that needs to be cleaned because butyl will etch glass. A third type of aqueous cleaner, d'Limonene, is made from the oil of citrus rind and has excellent cleaning and degreasing properties. Although d'Limonene is environmentally safe, it is not economical and is susceptible to market fluctuations in price.
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Drain Cleaners
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Although drain cleaners made with d'Limonene do a good job of cleaning grease from drains, they are not effective at removing other industrial drain clogs. The most effective products for cleaning industrial drains contain either sodium hydroxide or sulfuric acid. Sodium hydroxide combined with small bits of aluminum will clean drains by not only creating heat to melt grease, but also by cuttting through clogs as the aluminum reacts with the sodium hydroxide and water. Sulfuric acid is economical to use, efficiently dissolving debris and grease, but gives off an odor of rotten eggs. Bacterial enzyme drain cleaners do not work quickly but do an excellent job in an ongoing drain maintenance program to prevent odors and stoppages.
Defoamers
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Industrial water treatment facilities have problems with foam buildup made up of gas bubbles, hydrophobic particles and surfactants. A buildup of foam can cause slip hazards, clog filters and cause pumps and instruments to lock up. Merely spraying a fine mist of water over the foam can control some foam problems. But others need to be treated chemically to dissolve the foam and allow the natural purification of the wastewater. Defoamers using silicone to break down and inhibit foam work best when mechanically dripped into the waste stream. Organic defoamers do not contain any silicone and will not affect any metalworking or papermaking processes.
Acid and Caustic Cleaners
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An important concern when it comes to cleaning is pH. Problems caused by a low pH need to be solved by cleaning with a caustic, high-pH cleaner, and alkaline problems can be solved by using low-pH or acid products. Phosphoric acid is effective in cleaning soap scum. Citric acid and acetic acid work well in removing hard water deposits and rust stains. Muriatic acid is hazardous in that it can burn the skin but is an effective masonry cleaner. Lime deposits can be easily removed with a product containing 9 to 25 percent hydrochloric acid. Caustic cleaners work well in cleaning burnt-on carbon deposits from commercial ovens and equipment.
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