What is dry ice blasting?

Dry ice blasting (CO₂ blasting) is a non-abrasive, non-conductive industrial cleaning method that uses solid CO₂ pellets accelerated by compressed air. Pellets sublimate on impact, leaving no secondary waste — only the original contaminant for disposal.

Is dry ice blasting safe on electrical equipment?

Yes. CO₂ is a non-conductive dielectric medium, so dry ice blasting is the preferred method for cleaning de-energized switchgear, motors, transformers, MCCs, generators, and bus ducts per NFPA 70E procedures.

Is dry ice blasting food-safe?

Yes. CO₂ is FDA, USDA, and EPA approved for cleaning food contact surfaces. No chemicals, no water, and no abrasive media are introduced.

Does dry ice blasting damage the substrate?

No. Dry ice is non-abrasive and does not erode steel, aluminum, paint, rubber, wood, or concrete when used with correct nozzle and pressure parameters.

How does dry ice blasting compare to sandblasting and pressure washing?

Unlike sandblasting, dry ice leaves no grit residue and does not erode substrates. Unlike pressure washing, dry ice introduces no water — no dry-out time, no rust, no electrical hazard, no contaminated runoff.

What areas does Dry Ice Blasting Of America serve?

All 48 contiguous United States, with planned outage support available to all 50 states. Standard scheduling within 1–2 weeks; emergency outage support within 24–72 hours. Call (866) 648-0030.

How quickly can DIBA mobilize for a power plant outage?

24–72 hours for emergency HRSG and power generation outages. Same-week mobilization for standard scope across the 48 contiguous states.

What is the typical ROI of switching to dry ice blasting?

Most customers see 40–80% reduction in downtime, 25–60% lower cleaning labor, and elimination of secondary waste disposal. Typical payback is 3–12 months with Year 1 ROI of 150–400%.

generator cleaning

Dry Ice Blasting for Generators & Electrical Machines

Generators fail on contamination as often as they fail on wear. Oil mist bonds airborne dust into a conductive film across windings, collector rings, and bus work, and that film tracks. Dry ice blasting removes it without water, without solvent, and without abrading insulation.

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Traditional options are all compromised. Solvent wiping is slow, only reaches what a hand can reach, and raises flammability and ventilation issues around insulation. Water washing means a drying cycle, megger testing, and the risk that moisture stays trapped in a slot for months. Grit is unthinkable near windings.

CO₂ blasting is dry and non-conductive, so it can be used across stator end-turns and wedges, rotor bodies and retaining rings, collector and slip rings, brush rigging, exciters, bus bars, and generator enclosures. The pellets sublimate to gas, leaving only the loosened contamination for vacuum recovery.

Crews work to your electrical safety program: de-energized and locked out by default, with arc-flash assessment, PPE, ventilation, and continuous CO₂ monitoring where the work is inside an enclosure or pit. Because there is no drying window, the machine can be re-tested and returned to service as soon as the area is cleared.

What We Remove

Oil mist and dust films on windings and end-turns
Carbon dust from brushes and collector rings
Conductive tracking deposits on insulation
Grease on bearing housings and brush rigging
Coal, ash, and process dust in generator halls
Corrosion products and atmospheric salts

What You Get

Restored insulation resistance and reduced tracking risk
No moisture introduced into windings or slots
No abrasive damage to insulation systems
Immediate return to service — no drying cycle
Cleaner surfaces for PD testing and visual inspection

Sequence

How a generator cleaning Job Runs

01Confirm de-energization, LOTO, and grounding with your electrical authority
02Assess insulation condition and select pellet size, pressure, and standoff accordingly
03Mask sensors, terminations, and any surface excluded from scope
04Blast with continuous vacuum recovery and CO₂ monitoring
05Release the machine for electrical testing with no drying delay

Also Called CO₂ Cleaning

Maintenance teams search for this work as generator cleaning, dry ice blasting, CO₂ cleaning, CO₂ blasting, dry ice blast cleaning, carbon dioxide blasting, and cryogenic cleaning. They all describe the same process — solid CO₂ pellets in compressed air, with no water, chemicals, or abrasive media, and no spent media to dispose of afterward.

Our Process

How a generator cleaning Project Runs

Every project follows the same disciplined sequence — scoped to your facility, your safety program, and your shutdown window.

1. Site Walkdown & Scope
A specialist reviews your equipment, contaminants, access constraints, shutdown window, and safety requirements — by phone, video, or on-site walkdown.
2. Plan, Quote & Schedule
You receive a written scope of work and quote. We coordinate JSAs, lockout/tagout, hot work, confined space, and any plant-specific safety paperwork before mobilization.
3. Mobilization
Our crew arrives with diesel air compressors, blasting equipment, hose, PPE, CO₂ pellets, and supporting tools. Most projects are fully self-contained — no plant utilities required.
4. Cleaning & QC
Trained operators clean in place using non-abrasive dry ice. We work in shifts to match outage windows and document progress as we go.
5. Walkthrough & Turnover
A final walkthrough confirms results with your team. We leave the work area clean — no grit, no media, no slurry to dispose of.

Why Dry Ice Blasting

Why Facilities Choose This Method

Dry — No Water

CO₂ pellets sublimate on impact. No water intrusion into bearings, electrical components, or insulation; no drying time before restart.

Non-Abrasive

Helps protect tooling, fins, gaskets, and finished surfaces that grit blasting would profile or pit.

Non-Conductive

Suited for cleaning around electrical components when paired with proper LOTO, PPE, and clearance procedures.

No Secondary Waste

Only the removed contaminant needs to be collected. No spent blast media, no slurry, no chemical wash water.

In-Place Cleaning

Most equipment can be cleaned without disassembly — reducing labor, downtime, and re-commissioning risk.

FDA-GRAS CO₂

CO₂ is recognized by the FDA as Generally Recognized as Safe under cGMP, supporting use on food-zone equipment by trained operators.

Equipment & Surfaces We Commonly Clean

Conveyors, augers, and rollers
Motors, pumps, gearboxes
Robotic cells and end-of-arm tooling
Injection and compression molds
Heat exchangers and tube bundles
Switchgear, MCCs, transformers
Generators, rotors, stators
Turbines and inlet houses
Bakery ovens, mixers, fillers
Tanks, vessels, and structural steel

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Is dry ice blasting safe on generator windings?

Yes, with correct parameters. Dry ice is non-abrasive and non-conductive, and the process introduces no moisture. Settings are reduced for aged or brittle insulation, and any winding with visible mechanical damage is assessed before blasting rather than blasted first.

Can you clean energized equipment?

The media is non-conductive, so it is physically possible, but most sites — and our default — require de-energized, locked-out work with an arc-flash assessment. We follow your electrical safety program, not a generic one.

Do we need to megger after cleaning?

Your testing regime does not change. The advantage is that you can test immediately: there is no drying window to wait out, which is usually where water-based cleaning costs you a shift or more.

Does the process remove insulation varnish?

Not at working parameters. Dry ice lifts contamination bonded on top of the varnish rather than attacking the varnish itself, which is exactly why it is preferred over solvent and abrasive methods on rotating electrical machines.

Does dry ice blasting damage equipment?

Dry ice blasting is non-abrasive. Solid CO₂ pellets are much softer than sand, walnut shell, or soda media. The cleaning action comes from thermal shock and the kinetic effect of sublimating pellets — not abrasion. When operated correctly it removes contaminants while leaving the underlying substrate intact.

Can equipment stay in place during cleaning?

Yes. The dry, non-conductive process allows most equipment to be cleaned in place — including production lines, motors, robotics, switchgear, and turbines — provided proper lockout/tagout and clearance procedures are followed.

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