Ice blasting is an industrial cleaning technology, like sandblasting or pressure washing. However, ice blasting uses 1/10th of the water compared to pressure washing and is more aggressive. Unlike sandblasting, there is much less airborne contaminants during blasting and much less resultant waste to clean up after blasting. Regular (wet) ice is more accessible, can be made onsite and is much cheaper than dry ice, while being more aggressive for blasting. Waste capturing and containment is, in general, much easier than with competing technologies.

This makes it ideal for situations where excessive water usage, high levels of airborne contaminants and/or environmental contamination is unacceptable. This includes cleaning in enclosed spaces, regions with water scarcity, hazardous material removal, such as lead paint or asbestos abatement, and cleaning near environmentally sensitive areas.

In general, ice blasting technology is at its best cleaning off thick grease, loose/primerless paint, biological growth, dirt and mud, resins, nuclear decontamination, and hazardous material abatement, among others.

Regular (wet) ice is the only blast media that uses all three physical phases to advantage during blasting: its solid phase knocks off contaminants with maximum impulse, as well as scrubs the surface, its liquid phase dissolves and washes away ionic compounds, as well as helping to suppress dust, and its vapor phase evaporates, leaving behind minimal residue and dampness.

Much of the ice melts on impact and becomes a mist around the work area, making blasted off particulates damp and heavy, dragging them to the ground and leaving low levels of airborne contaminants. Due to minimal water usage and evaporation from impact energy, the only waste left behind is a neat, slushy pile of easily captured contaminant in a tarp placed beneath the blast zone.

Read our recent blogs and articles about ice blasting: https://www.coulsoniceblast.com/blog

Comparison of Ice to Dry Ice