December 1st, 2009 by rhondap

Dealing with a fire is a devastating and overwhelming experience where recovery and restoration is often times an emotional, time-consuming and expensive process. Whether it’s a home or a business that catches fire, the physical and financial stress can have a damaging impact on families, careers and businesses.

Although a fire can wipe out all of a family’s belongings and personal items or destroy a business, restoring the property to new condition and eliminating damage caused by soot, smoke and odor is possible.

Restoring a property to pre-fire condition and removing damage caused by the fire and subsequently water used to put out the flames, is a job best left to the experts that have experience, resources and tools to handle the job.

Consider soot, a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. The particles have electrical charges that cause them to stick together with grease and oil acting as adhesives. By using a standard blasting solution that is abrasive and harsh to the surface, you are actually adding to the level of dirty contaminates and caused by fire and soot.

Breathing soot is hazardous to the lungs and general health; in fact, a New England Journal of Medicine study published in 2007 found that breathing common urban air pollution, including soot, is much deadlier than previously thought.

At SodaBlast Systems, we are constantly amazed on a daily basis how well sodablasting works to repair properties, remove damage and restore lives touched by fire.

Sodablasting is ideal for removing smoke and soot damage from brick, concrete, stone, wood and more – the neutralizing properties tackle nasty smells, toxic residue and soot associated with fire, absorbing the lingering odors without causing further damage to the site.

Sodablasting is a non-abrasive, chemical- and toxin-free process that is friendly on the environment, contractor and property.

September 9th, 2008 by SB Editor

You already know the SodaBlaster is a great tool for graffiti, auto restoration, food equipment cleaning, boat hull maintenance and fire, flood and mold remediation. But the efficiency of a SodaBlaster is not limited to typical jobs and routine situations. SodaBlast Systems is proving to be the best solution, no matter how unique the problem.

An independent contractor who uses a SodaBlaster was hired for a very unusual job. There was a 108 year old farmhouse whose attic had entertained the town on Friday nights by hosting dances many years ago. Unfortunately, the latter owners had neglected the house, and bats had moved into the attic… so many bats that inches worth of their excrement had to be shoveled out. Contractor Jim Riehl was hired by the renovation company to Dry Ice blast the attic, in hopes of removing the remaining bat feces. Here are Jim’s words:

“The floor boards were still discolored and smelled of the urine and feces (I get some of the loveliest jobs!) Anyway, I set up for ice blasting with my compressor putting out 120PSI and running all 100′ of blast hose up the outside wall of the home and through the attic window. The renovation company guys and owners were standing around watching the set up with great anticipation. As we blasted with the fan nozzle, the ice had only a good affect on the floor board, not poor but not great. Also, during the 5 hours of blasting the hose became as rigid as a steel pipe about 20 minutes into it and stayed that way for the duration of about 2 hours. What a pain in the ‘you know what’.”

“I then ran 75′ of air line up to the blaster and used just the 20′ blast line. It still got as rigid as a pipe and had only a slightly better affect on the floor. We finished about 1/2 of the 1,500 ft in those 5 hours. Embarrassed again, as I told the restoration company and the owner it would take about 4 hours to blast the entire attic floor, and I was basing that on twice the time it would take to soda blast it. We quit and went home. I went back myself 4 days later after I flew a trip and soda blasted the other half of the floor myself in 1 hour! In fact, I spent another 30 minutes re-blasting the dry ice side to remove the smell!”

Dry ice blasting took almost 5 times as long and did not take care of the smell like Soda Blasting did. This is because not only is baking soda an excellent cleaner, but it also absorbs odors (this is why you may have seen a box of baking soda in an old fridge). SodaBlasting is the best solution to any cleaning problem.

If it can blast away years of stain, stink and residue from bats, imagine what it can do for your project! For more information visit SodaBlastSystems.com

August 23rd, 2008 by SB Editor

Over time machinery is bound to get greasy, dirty, and dusty. For most companies this is of little concern. Grease, dust, and dirt aren’t a huge problem when you’re manufacturing ornamental Garden Gnomes. In a food plant, however, these same issues occur with machinery that helps produce, convey and package food. So how do you erase grease and grime, prevent bacteria growth and still keep your food product cleaning-chemical free?

SodaBlast Systems LLC has a line of products that are perfect for the cleaning of any machine or surface in a food plant. The SodaBlast Method:

• Is easy to use
• Is environmentally friendly
• Removes particulates & contaminents
• Prevents biofilm intrusion
• Fixes pest harborage areas
• Cleans grime, smoke and grease problems

Sodablasting uses pressurized air to propel the blasting media at a high speed, which effectively strips off contaminants. The blasting media used in SodaBlast Systems is a type of specially processed baking soda, which is FDA/USDA and Kosher approved. The blasting media (SodaClean “Maintenance Plus”) is also GRAS, so it can be used without worry in a food plant. On top of it’s excellent cleaning properties, baking soda is also a natural deodorizer, and is soft enough to not damage equipment. Since SodaClean is non-toxic and has no effect on the environment, its use helps prevent an unfavorable Environmental Impact Report.

Cleaning with SodaBlast Systems is the most efficient and cost effective, safe and environmentally friendly solution for food processing plants and equipment. To find out more go to http://www.foodequipmentcleaning.com/.

Click here to learn more about the Soda Blasting Process.