Pipe cleaning removes contaminants from pipes used in various industries. It is critical for proper functioning and may require specialists and machinery. Mechanical and chemical methods are used, and fouling can cause serious problems, including public safety risks. Specialty services operate in hazardous environments with trained workers.
Pipe cleaning is the removal of contaminants from the inside of pipes used in heating and cooling systems, chemical processes, food production and other activities. Machinery is available for this task and it is possible to hire a specialist firm to perform pipe cleaning services. It is critical to the proper functioning of many systems and may be part of routine maintenance or required maintenance tasks, depending on the type of system the pipes are being serviced on. With food and pharmaceutical manufacturing, for example, sterile conditions are critical, so cleaning the tubes isn’t optional.
Some forms of pipe cleaning require the company to take the system offline. Technicians will take the time while the system is idle to thoroughly clean all pipes and inspect the system for signs of trouble and various problems that may arise. Another pipe cleaning can be done while the system is powered up. For example, in a power company, a cooling tower might have a cleaning cycle that allows for chemical removal of debris inside the pipe while the tower is still operating.
Mechanical means of cleaning pipes may involve brushes, water jets and other scrubbing tools. Chemicals can also be used, which may be necessary in cases where the materials adhere tightly to the edges of the pipe. Cleaning can remove combustion byproducts, algae, bacteria, food debris and other materials that build up along a pipe over the course of its use. In heating and cooling systems, for example, some algae and bacteria can thrive and could eventually foul the pipes so they can no longer be used.
Scale, or the buildup of deposits inside pipes, can cause serious problems. In the manufacturing of food and pharmaceutical products, fouling could introduce contaminants that spoil entire batches and pose a risk to public safety. In the manufacture of chemicals and other products that may not need to meet stringent safety standards for sale, scale can still spoil the products or cause them to malfunction. Fouling can also completely block pipes, shutting down a system until the problem can be fixed.
Specialty pipe cleaning services can operate in environments such as nuclear power plants, biological research laboratories, and other facilities where fouling could include potentially hazardous materials. Special training is required for these settings to reduce the risk of injury and illness to workers cleaning pipes. Other services offer more general cleaning in environments where specific safety training is not required.
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