Wash-Down System

The industrial environment has evolved over the years from the Spartan ill kept and often dangerous place it was, to the efficient, usually safety conscious and much cleaner workplace it has become. It is evident that the cleaning requirements required in industrial processes have the same driving forces of efficiency and economy employed in production methods themselves. In industries such as food processing, cleaning is vital for the health of employees and customers and as such has to be regular and specific to the premises and the type of product produced.

Wash Down System – What is it?

In any industry but particularly in the food and related products sector the need to clean the equipment and surrounding area is paramount. This cleaning has to be carried out in a systematic and thorough way to a strict timetable. The equipment employed for this work is normally a pressure washer which, by using detergents and sanitizers delivered via different attachments, effectively cleanses the work area ready for the next shift. The wash down system itself can be comparatively simple or quite sophisticated but it should be designed to suit the cleaning requirement.

Wash Down System – Types

A wash down system tends to be fixed as its uses are ongoing and regular. It may take the form of something as simple as a wall mounted cold water pressure washer where there is just a basic wash down requirement. A step up from that would be a static hot water power washer which could have its own internal boiler and be linked to a ring main system. The ring main, usually made of stainless steel, would have access points along it where cleaning lances could be attached. This type of wash down system is ideal for premises where one or two operators are carrying out the cleaning, but for larger wash down requirements a more sophisticated solution is required. A multi pump system provides an efficient and effective answer to the problems posed by the clean up in complex operations. By using pumps in series the system can be operated efficiently by one or two operators say during the day, and by many more at the end of the shift giving an effective cleaning regime when required. Specific lances are used for the different duties such as rinsing and the application of detergent, foam and sanitizer.

The best information on centralised wash down systems is available from B&G Cleaning, one of the country’s leading designers and suppliers.