Industrial Cleaning 101: What are the Types of Solvents?

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Simply put, solvents are substances that dissolve other substances. In chemistry, this property of solvents is used to create complex formulations that are made for specific uses.

Although cleaners that contain solvents vary widely in terms of applications and effects, most industrial solvent-based cleaners are made from one of three types of solvents: oxygenated, hydrocarbon, and halogenated. Below, we look at their basic characteristics to help inform your cleaner purchase.

  1. Oxygenated Solvents

These types of solvents are formulated by extracting key elements from chemicals to create a cleaner that has the desired consistency and effect. More often than not, oxygenated solvents deliver exceptional purity (i.e., 99.0% to 99.9% pure), which supports their efficacy.

Near the end of the production process, oxygenated solvents undergo refinement that removes infinitesimal particulates, excess water, and other elements that would compromise the cleaner’s power and/or safety. Because the impurities can be predicted by the chemical process used to create the solvents, they can be produced quickly, which contributes to their affordable price.

The major types of oxygenated solvents are alcohol, glycol ethers, ketones, esters, and glycol ether esters.

  1. Halogenated Solvents

These types of solvents undergo a chlorination process that gives them similar qualities, especially in terms of aroma, distillation range, flash point, and density. Many halogenated formulations also share the same color. One of the primary differences among this class of solvents is the volume of liquid dissolved to create the desired formulation.

For users, one of the most immediately notable distinctions between halogenated and hydrocarbon solvents is that the former commonly have a highly pungent aroma. Regardless of formulation, halogenated solvents consist of chlorinated hydrocarbons.

  1. Hydrocarbon Solvents

These types of solvents are known for their complex composition, especially compared to oxygenated solvents. In addition, unlike halogenated solvents, hydrocarbon solvents tend to differ significantly in terms of aroma, distillation range, flash point, and density.

Because they vary widely in the elements they contain, halogenated solvents are commonly created as custom solvents, which are formulated to match the needs of a narrow range of users or a single user. There are two main types of hydrocarbon solvents: aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons.

Choosing Solvent Cleaners

Unless you have a formidable knowledge of the chemistry behind solvent cleaners, selecting solvent cleaners based on the solvent they contain can be difficult. For most users, the optimal way to select a cleaner is to consult a manufacturer of stock solvents and custom solvents.

Contact Ecolink Today

Ecolink is an experienced provider of environmentally safe and environmentally preferred industrial cleaners. We focus on making solvents that are safer for humans and the environment than previous generations of industrial cleaners. When you get a cleaner from us, you’re virtually guaranteed to never need a replacement due to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.

To inquire about our products and services, please call us today at (800) 563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We look forward to helping you identify the right types of solvents for industrial cleaning!

Solvent Solutions: Options for Reducing Harmful Chemicals

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It’s a common situation at many organizations that have industrial solvent cleaning needs: Solvents containing harmful chemicals are used for business-critical cleaning operations, but they are used at the expense of potentially harming workers and the environment.

In this entry, we look at five options for reducing harmful chemicals during industrial parts cleaning operations — or reducing the capacity of the chemicals to cause harm — with options listed from most to least preferable based on cost, effectiveness, and overall feasibility.

  1. Switch to Non-Toxic Solvents

The best option for reducing harmful chemicals is replacing solvents that contain them. Ecolink can tell you precisely which chemicals to avoid, and why. As a general point of reference, focus on avoiding solvents containing chemicals listed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Lists of Lists.

  1. Use a Sealed Parts Washer

Using a sealed parts washer that doesn’t emit fumes is another good option, as long as your soiled parts can fit in the unit. Exposure may can further reduced if you can use a parts washer that recycles a single application of solvent, making it usable for multiple cleaning cycles.

  1. Use Personal Protective Equipment

If there’s no way to avoid Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) from a critical cleaner, putting a barrier between workers and HAPs in the form of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is the next best option. High-level PPE is expensive, but so is paying workers comp claims and settling chemical injury lawsuits.

  1. Operate an Air Filtration System

Air filtration systems that are specially designed to snare airborne contaminants can dramatically reduce HAP density in the air of the work environment. But it’s a strategy you should combine with others in this list to achieve a high level of protection. Combining targeted air filtration with PPE, for example, may all but eliminate the threat.

  1. Clean Parts in Sealed Glove Box

In industrial cleaning circles, the term “sealed glove box” refers to a relatively small, sealed glass unit that has built-in holes through which laboratory grade gloves can reach inside, and manipulate objects. A sealed glove box could be used to increase safety when cleaning with toxic substances. However, the cleaning operation would be slow, and laboratory grade glove boxes can be quite costly.

Shopping for Non-Toxic Chemicals?

If so, Ecolink is a great destination to find them. There are lots of options for reducing harmful chemicals from industrial cleaners, but replacing them with safer cleaners is the most effective by far.

This is what we help companies do, providing stock and custom solutions that have as much cleaning power but a better safety profile than many old generation solvents. Before purchasing, request a free product sample to see how well one of our solutions really works — no strings attached.

To get started on reducing harmful chemicals by replacing toxic cleaners, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We look forward to helping you improve chemical safety in the workplace!

 

Tips for Selecting Medical Cleaning Solvents

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Hospitals and health centers often use autoclaves to clean medical equipment. However, because autoclaves use high-temperature, high-pressure water to perform the cleaning operation, they’re only appropriate for equipment that doesn’t have electrical circuitry, such as surgical instruments and certain types of durable medical equipment (DME).

Most medical equipment that can’t be cleaned in an autoclave can’t be cleaned in a general parts washing system for the same reason: It would be ruined by water. Instead, the equipment must be cleaned manually, which brings us to the subject of this entry: selecting safe, effective medical cleaning solvents. Below are four tips that should inform your selection.

  1. Contains No HAPs

Sick people go to hospitals and health centers in hopes of getting better. The last thing they need is to have their health outlook complicated from inhaling hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) that vaporize at room temperature and circulate easily on standard airflow. If at all possible, the medical cleaning solvents you use should be free of HAPs. You can find a list of known HAPs in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) List of Lists.   

  1. Leaves No Residue

Solvent residue on medical equipment is bad news for two reasons: The residue can attract dirt, and create a vicious cycle in which the equipment must be cleaned ever more frequently; and, as a corollary, the dirt the residue attracts could pose health risks to patients, especially if it contacts sutures or open wounds.

There are plenty of no residue cleaners for electrical equipment on the market, so cleaner residue isn’t something you should have to contend with. When selecting a solvent, be sure its specifications state in no uncertain terms that the cleaner leaves behind no residue.

  1. Contains a Dielectric

Do you need to clean medical equipment while it remains energized? If so, the medical cleaning solvent you use should contain a dielectric, which impedes the flow of electricity from one point to another. Cleaning energized equipment with a non-dielectric solution could cause the solvent to ignite and/or deliver a major electrical shock to the solvent user. When cleaning energized equipment, it’s also ideal to use a solvent that has no flashpoint.

  1. Evaporates Quickly

Solvents that evaporate quickly offer three advantages: sitting moisture that could cause oxidation is eliminated, little to no solvent enters the waste trap, and the turnround time for cleaning procedures can be reduced, as no drying is necessary. As long as the solution is free of HAPs, the faster it evaporates after soils are removed, the better.

Need Medical Cleaning Solvents?

If so, check out our lineup of eco friendly solvents of before you make a purchase. We carry stock solutions that are highly effective as medical cleaning solvents, while posing little to no chemical injury risk to workers or patients. We can also create custom solvents that are tailored to your precise requirements.

To inquire about our medical cleaning solvents, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. Our chemists and product specialists and ready to answer your questions and take your order.

 

Understanding Cleaning Solvents: What is a Volatile Solvent & are there Other Options?

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By technical definition, volatile solvents are substances that demonstrate a high degree of volatility in one or more contexts for one or more reasons. A volatile solvent can be classified in several ways, including: the agent in its formulation that causes volatility, whether the agent is manmade or organic, and the potential problems that the volatility is known to cause.

In this entry, we look at a particular class of volatile solvents, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), defining what they are and discussing what can be done to limit the negative repercussions of their volatility to help protect human health, particularly in industrial work settings, where an unusually high volume of volatile solvent is used in a given period of time.

What Are Volatile Organic Compounds?

Volatile organic compounds — a term that is typically shortened to the initialism “VOC” — are organic chemicals that have a high evaporation rate at room temperature. For example, the VOC formaldehyde, which is frequently found in commercial paint, has a boiling point of –2 °F. This means that the chemical will rapidly evaporate when the paint can is opened or the paint is sprayed onto a surface using mechanical pressurization equipment or an aerosol solution.

Concerning their origin, VOCs can be separated into two broad classes: biologically generated (i.e., naturally occurring) and anthropogenic (i.e., made by humans). Both classes of VOCs are widely used in industrial work processes, from painting, to degreasing, to the application of protective coatings. Examples of VOCs that are commonly used in industrial settings — or were commonly used before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulated their use — are:

  • Benzene
  • Chlorofluorocarbons
  • Chlorocarbons
  • Methylene chloride
  • Perchloroethylene
  • MTBE
  • Formaldehyde

Not all VOCs are as harmful to human health as others. For example, chronic exposure to benzene is strongly associated with cancer, whereas the biologically generated VOC myrcene has no such connection. However, when a VOC is harmful to human health but must nonetheless be used in industrial processes, the company or organization should implement a set of strict safety measures to protect workers from inhaling vapor from the substance.

Protecting Against Toxic VOC Exposure

Unlike exposure to destructive agents such as hydrochloric acid, which can cause immediate, permanent injury, persistent injuries from exposure to toxic VOCs often occur gradually — and the primary method of exposure that causes the injuries is well known: inhalation. Consequently, any work environment where a dangerous, volatile solvent is used should feature the following protective measures to help prevent workers from receiving health threatening injuries.

  • Ventilation system for filtering airborne contaminants
  • Personal protective equipment suitable for the level of exposure
  • Applying solvent in airtight cleaning systems if possible
  • Airtight solvent waste trap for preventing emissions

VOCs are sometimes misconstrued to be safe due to their organic nature, but this isn’t always the case. That is why it’s important to work with an experienced provider of industrial solvent solutions before you order a volatile solvent. If you need assistance selecting an industrial solvent for a specific cleaning operation or general cleaning, contact the solvent specialists at Ecolink today by calling (800) 563-1305, or refer to the contact page on our website.

 

Metal Industrial Solvents for Cleaning Stainless Steel: An Overview

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Stainless steel — of which there are many grades — is one of the most popular types of metal used in residential, commercial, and industrial operations. The are three reasons why: Stainless steel has a shiny, non-corrosive appearance that helps keep products and environments looking clean, the metal demonstrates excellent dimensional ability, and chromium in the alloy, which gives the metal its shiny appearance is remarkably corrosion resistant under normal conditions.

Cleaning Stainless Steel: Do’s and Don’ts

Large companies and organizations that have consistent metal degreasing needs look for solutions that produce the best results. At the same time, many entities use metal industrial degreasing solvents to great, positive effect. To show what we mean, consider the table below that highlights metal industrial solvents — both good and bad — to help you choose the right one.

 

What to Avoid Why Avoid It? What to Use Why Use It?
Chloride cleaners Bleach and chlorine cause pin holes to develop. Gentle soaps, mild ammonia, or detergent Routine cleaning and removing grease
Scouring pads These will scratch the surface, and require it to be restored. 3M Stainless Steel Cleaner Removing smudges and fingerprints
Hard water Can leave spots and deposits that harm stainless steel. Allchem Concentrated Cleaner, as an example. Removes stubborn stains and discoloration
Metal grinding / sandblasting This can be the first step for restoring an oxidized surface. Otherwise, it should be avoided Benefit and Super Clean, for examples. Surface restoration of stainless steel

The table above shows solutions that have a relatively long history of cleaning metal in one way or another. However, degreasing your parts and equipment is only a part of the equation. You should also consider the acute and chronic health effects your metal cleaning solutions have on workers — considerations that are only becoming more emphasized as the EPA and OSHA perform studies perform and refer to studies that paint solvents with toxic profiles in a bad light.

If you don’t pay attention to the EPA’s latest findings on solvents (e.g. nPB or n-propyl bromide), workers could experience dizziness, confusion, and slurred speech — just to name a few negative health conditions — that could compromise productivity, as well as lead to an increase in sick days taken, workers compensation lawsuits filed, and chemical injury lawsuits settled. Experiencing these fallouts on a regular basis could significantly reduce the bottom line.

In addition, neurological damage, unsteady walking, paresthesia, and permanently reduced earning capacity can happen to workers with long exposures times to toxic chemicals (usually at least a year) — and these are the cases that often lead to chemical injury suits.

Need Metal Industrial Solvents?

If you need metal industrial solvents that apply specifically to cleaning stainless steel, we offer a variety of environmentally preferred or environmentally safe solvents for cleaning unwanted accretions away from the chromium alloy that can be polished to a brilliant, almost mirror-like shine. Our solvents also ensure that your stainless parts and systems retain their dimensional stability, as they shine.

Please inquire, or order the products you need today, by calling (800) 563-1305, or use the contact form on our website, We look forward to helping you select the best metal industrial solvents for all of your organization’s one-time or ongoing cleaning needs.