Industrial Cleaning Services

Industrial Cleaning Services

SET brings over two decades of industrial cleaning services experience to pharmaceutical, food, chemical production and utility industries. We perform the following industrial cleaning services:

Confined Space Entry Cleaning of Silos, Process Tanks and Bulk Storage Tanks

SET cleans hundreds of silos and storage bins each year. Our industrial cleaning services for confined spaces range from a simple brush down and vacuum, to removal of gross amounts of loose contaminants, to pressure washing with an approved detergent pre-spray, to air-chiseling and jack hammering to remove heavy product build-up.

SET's industrial cleaning services crews routinely clean tanks, tank cars, process vessels, and chemical reactors that contain an assortment of chemicals, including various acids, caustic sludges, formaldehyde, phenols, miscellaneous lubricating oils, etc. Depending on the type of materials being removed, SET can perform "bench tests" to determine the safest and most efficient approach to that particular product. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) levels for this type of work range from Level "A" protection down to Level "C". When decontaminating all types of tanks, we can contain and dispose of all the waste that is generated during the industrial cleaning services process.

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Industrial Cleaning Services for Overhead Structures, Ceilings and Walls

When it comes to industrial cleaning services or decontaminating, SET will take the best approach to meet our customer's needs. Should an area need to be washed to remove a particular contaminant or be "prepped" for painting, SET personnel will first meticulously seal off all of the water sensitive equipment throughout the work area with our mask and seal system to help prevent water damage. We will then pre-spray the affected surfaces with an appropriate detergent designed to help solubilize the soil present. For those areas where mold is present, we will utilize a bleach/detergent pre-spray to help kill the mold growth. The soiled surfaces will then be pressure washed with high pressure heated water up to 3,000 psi. The resultant washwater can be removed with industrial vacuums and contained for disposal, as required.

For those areas that have a heavy dust build-up, such as foundries, pressrooms, baler rooms, etc., our industrial cleaning services team will vacuum those areas to remove the nuisance dust accumulations that are present. Should the work area have immediate access to a truck or loading dock, we can utilize our diesel-powered, trailer-mounted Hurricane vacuum unit with HEPA filtration, where we run a "trunk line" into the work area and then manifold off into smaller vacuum lines, as required. For remote areas, we will use smaller air-venturi or electric turbine industrial units with HEPA filtration, as needed.

To access the upper elevations in both of the above, our industrial cleaning services personnel will often use a combination of articulating booms and scissors lifts. When operating this type of equipment, our personnel wear all of the required fall protection, as per OSHA guidelines governing this type of work.

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High Capacity Vacuuming - Sludge Removal

SET utilizes its fleet of trailer-mounted vacuum units, or high vacuum trucks for removing sludges. SET can transfer sludge into any configuration container, from a 55-gallon drum to 30 yd³ vacuum boxes. SET's technical support team uses their vast waste management experience to ensure waste sludge that is being removed from the customer's facility is correctly characterized, approved into the appropriate disposal facility, and logistically able to be removed the same day of the work event.

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Facility Closures and Decommissioning

With SET's integrated approach to managing hazardous and non-hazardous materials, we can bring the talents and resources of our various operational groups within the company to follow the most stringent closure guidelines. SET has extensive experience in removing and decommissioning plating lines and performing chemical decontamination of facilities, including PCB's, Mercury, TDI (toluene diisocyanate), cyanides, pesticides, solvents and other contaminants, as well as removing bio-hazards from the workplace.

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Equipment Cleaning

SET industrial cleaning services crews can work around the clock during plant shutdowns to help minimize costly downtime for equipment. Our cleaning methods range from hydroblasting (3,000 to 10,000 psi) large pieces of equipment, such as mill stands, presses, etc. in heavy industry; to the meticulous hand cleaning of sensor-laden equipment in the food industry. For those situations where abrasive blasting techniques are required, our technicians minimize the blast media to the greatest extent possible to help lower potential disposal costs. For equipment that is heavily encrusted, we use air chisels or jack hammers to remove the material. For water-jacketed equipment or pipe lines, our technicians can re-circulate acid or caustic solutions to help dissolve encrusted material.

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Baghouse Cleaning and Filterbag Change-out

SET routinely serves many of our customers with their baghouse needs — often on short notice! Our trained technicians carefully remove the old filterbag/cage assemblies, vacuum and/or air-chisel product build-up out the housings, and then reinstall new filters. Depending on the contaminants involved, we will contain the filters and miscellaneous solids in DOT drums for off-site disposal.

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HVAC Ductwork Cleaning

Our approach to cleaning ductwork is specifically tailored to each industry we serve. In heavy industry where the systems are used to exhaust welding fumes or other airstreams with heavy solids build-up, we usually have to cut access ports in the ducting and then air-chisel hardened deposits to vacuum them out.

When cleaning the vast majority of ductwork in light manufacturing, we will utilize our HEPA vacuum assisted rotary brush system specifically designed for ductwork to remove the gross amounts of the loose dust and dirt present. On some occasions, we may opt to use our "viper" clean sweep system on larger diameter ductwork to remove contaminants. With this approach, we only need to create a 2" diameter opening in the ductwork for an access port.

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PCB Decontamination

SET has successfully performed PCB decontamination for utilities, industry and educational institutions for over 25 years. SET project managers are able to employ a combination of the following strategies:

  1. PCB contamination delineation (porous and non-porous surfaces)
  2. PCB sampling and analysis
  3. Chemical extract
  4. Scarification
  5. Demolition (if necessary)
  6. PCB transportation and disposal
  7. Regulatory agency reporting and notifications
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Contact Us

Speak to an SET Environmental representative today about our Industrial Cleaning Services.