Preparing a Maintenance Checklist for your Washing Equipment

Q: Why is it that scale could form inside our washer equipment?
A: Scale usually forms due to mineral buildup, which often comes from the use of hard water in your system. Hard water has high contents of salt and minerals, which can form these layers of scale over time. It could also come from the residues you are cleaning. Oils & greases, as well as flux or other contaminants, contain organic compounds which, when mixed with your cleaning chemical, could generate soil residues that accumulate and form layers of sludge or scale-type formations on the surfaces of your tanks or tubing.
Q: How can we prevent scale from forming? Is there something that can be done to avoid it in the first place?
A: If the scale is being formed due to hard water, then switching to treated or softened water could help mitigate or eliminate the formation of the scale. Some companies use Deionized Water, which is water filtered through a Mix Resin Bed and Activated Carbon, leaving ultrapure water, but this adds cost to your process since you would have to replace those filters regularly. Another option is the use of Reverse Osmosis treated Water, which has a similar impact in eliminating organic content from the water. On the other hand, if the buildup is coming from the residue type you are removing in your cleaning process, there is not much we could do to prevent the formation. In those cases, we would recommend that you schedule a deep cleanup on a more regular basis to prevent thick
layer formations which end up taking a longer time to remove.
Q: How often should we perform/schedule a deep cleaning process like the one described?
A: If you confirm that you are having scale buildup and are in no position to prevent it by switching to a pure or ultra-pure water supply, then this process should be done at least once per quarter. If you have a low scale formation, then the deep cleanup could be more spaced, once or twice per year.