Any Questions?

Dry ice blast cleaning accelerates solid CO₂ pellets at supersonic speeds through a pressurised air stream. On impact, three things happen simultaneously: the pellets deliver a kinetic strike that initiates mechanical shear on the contaminant; the extreme cold (-78.5°C) causes the contaminant to embrittle and lose its bond with the substrate; and the pellet sublimates — transitioning instantly from solid to gas and expanding 800-fold, physically ejecting the fractured contaminant from the surface. The result is a clean surface with zero moisture, zero chemical residue, and zero secondary media left behind.

Yes — it's one of the few cleaning methods that is. Dry ice is entirely non-conductive, so it can be used safely on energised or recently de-energised electrical equipment including motors, switchgear, control panels, generator windings, and PCB boards. Because the process is also completely dry, there's no risk of moisture-induced short circuits or insulation degradation — the two most common hazards associated with conventional cleaning methods applied to electrical assets.

No. CO₂ pellets have a Mohs hardness of approximately 1.5 to 2.0 — significantly softer than virtually any industrial substrate, including aluminium, stainless steel, mild steel, composite materials, and timber. The process removes contamination without profiling, abrading, or altering the surface beneath. Mirror-polished mould cavities, laser-engraved anilox rolls, historic stone facades, and delicate copper windings can all be cleaned without surface damage — something abrasive methods cannot achieve.

Yes. The CO₂ used to manufacture our dry ice pellets is food-grade and approved by the BRC, HACCP, FDA, and EPA. The process introduces no water, chemicals, or secondary media into the production environment, and independent research confirms that cryogenic blasting effectively decontaminates surfaces against major foodborne pathogens including Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli. Equipment can be cleaned and returned to production without the extended drying cycles that wet sanitation methods require.

Dry ice cleaning is safe, but we do set up an exclusion zone around the equipment being cleaned to minimise risk. The process is loud, often over 100 dB, the threshold for double-layer hearing protection to be worn (AS/NZS 1270:2002, Class 5). In confined areas there is also a risk of increased CO2 saturation, and we manage this risk in line with the WorkSafe Victoria Confined Spaces Compliance Code.

The contaminant delaminates with the thermal kinetic shock, and is broken up further by the continuous dry ice stream. What’s left is dry and can be removed with an industrial vacuum cleaner.

Pressure washing relies on high-volume water at high velocity — which is effective on some surfaces but introduces significant risks on others. Water forced into sealed bearings, electrical connectors, and control systems causes corrosion and failures that can appear weeks after the wash. Dry ice blast cleaning removes the same contamination without any moisture, making it safe for electrical components, sensitive machinery, and surfaces where water ingress would cause damage. The two methods serve different purposes and are often complementary rather than competitive.

Abrasive blasting works by mechanically wearing away the contaminant — but it also progressively wears the substrate beneath it, profiling metal surfaces, eroding sharp parting lines, and leaving abrasive media embedded in crevices, vents, and bearing housings. Dry ice blast cleaning removes contamination without any abrasive contact with the substrate, preserving dimensional tolerances, surface finishes, and delicate geometries that abrasive methods would damage over time. For precision tooling, food-contact surfaces, and electrical equipment, abrasive blasting is not a practical alternative.

Minimal. Because dry ice sublimates completely on contact, the only material remaining after cleaning is the dislodged contaminant — which is typically dry and straightforward to vacuum or sweep away. There's no blast media to collect and dispose of, no contaminated water to contain and treat, and no chemical residue requiring neutralisation. This significantly reduces post-clean labour and eliminates the secondary waste disposal costs that other methods generate.

It varies significantly depending on the asset, the contaminant, and the degree of buildup — but as a general comparison, dry ice blast cleaning consistently outperforms manual and chemical methods on time. A planned maintenance clean that would take a 10-person crew several days manually can often be completed by two operators in a fraction of the time. For specific applications, we're happy to provide a realistic time estimate based on what you're working with.

Yes, in two important respects. First, the CO₂ used to produce dry ice pellets is captured as a byproduct of other industrial processes — it's recycled rather than produced, meaning no new carbon is added to the atmosphere. Second, the process generates zero secondary waste streams — no contaminated water, no spent blasting media, no chemical runoff. For facilities with environmental compliance obligations or sustainability reporting requirements, dry ice blast cleaning replaces processes that generate significant regulated waste with one that generates almost none.

The process is effective across a very wide range of contaminants including carbon deposits, soot, char, grease, oils, wax coatings, cured resins, hot-melt adhesives, dried inks and varnishes, mould and fungal growth, biological residues, polymer off-gases, release agents, scale, rust films, and compacted soils. The thermal shock and sublimation expansion mechanisms are particularly effective on contaminants that have hardened, cured, or bonded strongly to the substrate — the types that manual and chemical methods struggle to remove completely.

Yes. Dry ice blast cleaning is not the right tool for every job. It's less effective on very soft substrates that may be affected by the kinetic impact, and on certain types of contamination where chemical action is genuinely required rather than physical removal. It's also not a rust removal method in the traditional sense — it removes surface contamination and scale, but won't restore heavily corroded steel to bare bright metal the way abrasive blasting will. We'll tell you upfront if your application is a better fit for a different approach.

Pricing depends on the asset, the contaminant, the accessibility of the area to be cleaned, and the scope of work involved. We don't publish fixed rates because a meaningful quote requires understanding what you're actually working with. What we can say is that when total cost is calculated — including downtime reduction, labour compression, elimination of secondary waste disposal, and extended asset life — dry ice blast cleaning consistently delivers a strong return compared to conventional alternatives. Contact us with a brief description of your application and we'll provide a straightforward estimate.

In most cases, no — and avoiding disassembly is one of the core operational advantages of the process. Machinery is cleaned hot, assembled, and in-place. This eliminates the labour cost of teardown and reassembly, the production time lost during those processes, and the risk of reassembly errors or component damage that manual handling introduces. For some applications, partial access may be required, but full disassembly is rarely necessary.

Dry ice blast cleaning removes mould spores, fungal hyphae, and biological residues from structural surfaces — including from within the pores and grain of timber where manual scraping cannot reach. Because the process introduces zero moisture, it doesn't create the conditions for secondary mould growth that water-based remediation methods risk. For mould remediation to be durable, however, the underlying moisture source causing the mould must also be addressed — the cleaning resolves the contamination, not the cause.

Preparation is minimal compared to most cleaning methods — which is part of the point. There's no need to wrap or mask electrical components, no cooldown period required for hot equipment, and no need to arrange water supply or waste containment infrastructure. We'll discuss access requirements and any site-specific safety protocols with you ahead of the job. For food processing environments, we coordinate around production schedules to minimise disruption.

We come to you. Our systems are fully mobile and designed for on-site deployment — which is particularly important for large or fixed assets that can't be transported, and for earthmoving and construction equipment that's most efficiently cleaned where it sits. Contact us with your location and we'll confirm serviceability and any applicable travel considerations.

The best starting point is a conversation. Describe the asset, the contaminant, and the outcome you need — we'll give you an honest assessment of whether dry ice blast cleaning is the right fit, and if it isn't, we'll say so. We'd rather build a long-term relationship based on honest advice than win a job that's not suited to what we do.

Yes — and it's one of the more common reasons dry ice blast cleaning is used. For regulatory audits, a thorough dry ice clean brings equipment to a standard that holds up to inspection, removes the biological harborage points that auditors flag, and does so without the chemical residues that food safety auditors scrutinise. For equipment resale, a complete clean reveals the true mechanical condition of an asset, presents it at a standard that commands stronger prices, and signals to buyers that the equipment has been well maintained.

Call us or send your question through on our Contact Form, we’d love to help!