How to Dry Clean Food Production Equipment

In food production, cleanliness is paramount to the success of their business. Fortunately in the United States, we have access to powerful cleaners and clean water for sanitation.

However, water isn't always the best answer for cleaning equipment that handles dry goods. Mix water with chocolate, peanut butter, or whey powder and you've got a big mess that ruins machinery and could negatively impact the bottom line, dramatically.

"Brushing and scraping are common dry cleaning techniques," according to Evan Reyes, Goodway Technologies' Product Specialist for the food industry. "However, both of those methods are time-consuming and don't effectively clean hard-to-reach areas.

For those tough-to-reach spots, many food processors rely on compressed air. "But you're just blowing powder and debris from one place to another," Evan explains.

The best solution is to remove the food particles in a controlled manner. That's why food processors turn to Goodway for two state-of-the-art solutions. Goodway's industrial vacuums and explosion proof vacuums with built-in HEPA filters remove dry powders from both, flat and hard-to-reach surfaces with safe and powerful performance. Goodway offers a full array of optional attachments. "We also custom manufacture attachments for specific applications," Evan explains. "If you can see it, you can reach it with a Goodway vacuum.

Goodway's industrial vacuums are especially good at removing allergens, such as nuts, soy and wheat, from food processing surfaces." With our HEPA vacs, nothing is going to get back into the air. They also have excellent sanitary design for easy cleaning, to limit any cross contamination."

Of course, some equipment will have stuck on, or greasy particles that can't be removed with a vacuum. In these cases, Goodway's GVC-18000 Dry Vapor Steam Cleaner is the food industry's go-to solution for tougher jobs.

The GVC-18000 heats water to 290°F to create a water vapor with only 5% moisture content. "That means it's safe to use around screws, bearings, electronics and sensitive robotics," Evan says.

Many food processors use a multi-step dry vapor cleaning process. They begin with brushing and scraping to remove the bulk of the food matter. Then they use Goodway's HEPA vacuum to reach where a brush can't. They follow up with the dry vapor steam cleaner to remove any stuck on particles, degrease and more. Then they finish the cleaning with a spray, or wipe-on sanitizer.

"That's the basic procedure," says Evan, "But every facility is different." That's why at Goodway, we're as much consultants as we are salesmen. We'll help to design the best solution for you, whether it includes Goodway equipment, or not.