Degreaser is one of the most widely used categories of commercial solvents. That’s why there are literally thousands of degreaser solutions you could buy. While having a wide range of options is never a bad thing when it comes to solvent selection, all of the choices eventually have to be narrowed down to one. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some helpful criteria that your company or organization can use to narrow the search for commercial degreasers.
Solvent Grade
Degreasers tend be formulated with three types of end users in mind: industrial users, commercial users, and residential users. Because commercial degreasers tend to deliver more cleaning power by volume than residential grade degreasers that are used in the home, make sure that your search only focuses on commercial grade degreasing solutions.
Degreasing Application
If you need a degreaser for a specific type of degreasing operation, such as degreasing energized motors, this can also help you refine your choice. For example, for cleaning an energized motor, you would ideally want a degreaser that is non-flammable (i.e., no flashpoint), has a dielectric formulation, evaporates quickly, and leaves behind no residue.
VOC Content
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may be “organic”, but this doesn’t mean that they’re safe to use in large quantities. Commercial degreasers that have high VOC content can cause short-term and chronic health problems due to incidental and prolonged exposure, respectively. Avoiding high VOC content helps workers stay healthy, and thus supports business productivity.
EPA Measures
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to regulate the large-scale use of hazardous chemicals, announcing upcoming regulations well in advance, so companies and organizations have time to phase out dangerous chemicals. If a degreaser contains a chemical that’s slated to be regulated by the EPA, be sure to remove it from your list of solvent options.
Container Options
In what types of containers do you need a commercial degreasers: aerosol, hand wipes, spray bottles, etc.? In addition, what size of container do you need (aerosol bottles or large, aerosol cylinders, for example)? If a supplier doesn’t offer commercial degreasers in the types of containers you need, it provides another way to narrow your options and choose the best.
Custom Formulation
If after days of searching online for readymade commercial degreasers, you simply can’t find a solution that meets all of your requirements, you may be in the market for custom formulated degreasers. Unlike readymade solvents that are formulated to meet a wide variety of solvent needs, custom blended solvents are designed to meet the specific needs of a single customer.
Shopping For Degreasers?
Whether you need an eco friendly commercial degreaser for general cleaning applications, specific degreasing operations, or both, Ecolink can supply the solution you need, and provide it in a formulation that minimizes negative impact to your workers and the environment. For assistance selecting the right commercial degreaser for your cleaning requirements and safety needs, please call us today at (800) 563-1305, or fill out the contact form on our website.
4 Steps to Choosing Safe Degreasing Agents
/in Degreasing Agents/by Industrial DegreasersThe safety profile of a degreaser can be interpreted in several ways. In this entry, we take a look at four of the most important ways to assess whether a degreaser is “safe” for your degreasing operations, and where the operations take place: how the solvent is applied, its flashpoint, the density of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in the solvent, and solvent-associated safety measures that are already in place in the environment where degreasing solvents are applied.
The first step in choosing safe degreasing agents is identifying degreasers that are formulated to be used for your specific degreasing applications. For example, if you need to degrease energized electrical equipment, such as motors or switchgear, you should use a degreaser that has a strong, dielectric formulation that minimizes the risk of electrical shock. All degreasers are made for degreasing, but not all of them are formulated for the same degreasing applications.
Choosing degreasers that have high flashpoints or are inflammable is always a good idea. Even if your degreasing applications don’t involve obvious heat sources that could cause low flashpoint solvents to combust, there is still the issue of fire safety in the solvent storage area. Degreasing agents that have no flashpoint don’t contribute to damage that building fires cause, and they can usually be stored safely alongside combustible materials in the solvent storage area.
HAPs are considered “hazardous air pollutants” due to their negative impact on the environment and/or human health. HAPs can be volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or synthetic chemicals; what practically all of them have in common, however, is the creation of short-term and long-term health consequences in workers who regularly apply solvents that contain HAPs. Degreasers that have an exceptionally low level of HAPs or no HAPs can be found in our online store.
If implementing a degreaser that contains no HAPs currently isn’t an option, the degreaser you use may still be relatively safe for workers to apply if the work environment has measures in place to protect against human exposure to HAPs. These measures include: special exhaust hoods at work stations where degreasers are applied, air filtration systems designed to remove airborne contaminants, and high-level personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers who apply the degreaser.
Need Safe Degreasing Agents?
Regardless of why you need to implement safe degreasing agents, Ecolink can provide the solutions you need in the form of readymade solvents or custom solvents that are formulated for your unique degreasing requirements. We offer degreasers that are designed a variety of applications, have a high flashpoint or no flashpoint, and contain no HAPs. We even offer free solvent samples, so you can see the benefits of a degreaser in action before you buy.
For assistance with choosing safer degreasers that offer as much degreasing power as your current solutions, please call us today at (800) 563-1305, or use the contact form on our website. We look forward to supporting your cleaning operations with safe degreasing agents.
Solvent Replacement: What is a Safe Parts Washer Solvent?
/in Parts Washer/by Industrial DegreasersWhen we think of a “safe” parts washer solvent, we often conceive of the solvent regarding its safety for human use, particularly use by workers who apply the solvent in industrial settings. However, while human safety should be a primary concern when choosing a parts washing solvent, there are three others areas of concern that quantify safety in additional ways; namely, the impact of the solvent concerning business productivity, the environment, and the law.
The impact of a parts washer solvent on workers’ health is inextricably tied to business productivity in an industrial environment where manpower is crucial for work processes. Many solvents that emit hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) are scientifically proven to cause negative short-term and long-term health effects, which take employees off of the work floor — if only temporarily — and complicate maintaining business productivity, much less increasing it.
High-level personal protective equipment (PPE) and special air filtration systems can help mitigate the risk. But purchasing and maintaining these resources can be quite costly in itself. Implementing a safe parts washer solvent that requires low-level PPE — or no PPE, as the case may be — and doesn’t emit hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) that are found on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) list of banned and regulated chemicals is the preferred solution.
A truly safe parts washer solvent is also one that doesn’t expose companies and organizations to legal liabilities for violating emissions caps for reportable chemicals. Some users find themselves in a catch-22 situation with the washer solvent they use: The solvent works perfectly for the cleaning operation, but it can’t be used insufficient quantities without incurring fines. The solution is bad news for the environment and, by extension, bad for company finances.
Incurring EPA enforced fines for emissions violations is one way that chemically unsafe parts cleaner legally jeopardizes the financial well-being of the end user. A second way that the user is placed in financial jeopardy is through the occurrence of workers compensation claims and chemical injury lawsuits that are brought in the wake of exposure to the offending element.
If chemical injury lawsuits are brought, damage to the user’s public image could cause additional financial fallout by complicating business relationships with customers and partners. Today, green business solutions are in, and solutions that jeopardize human health and the environment are out. Now more than ever, the eco friendliness of a company’s practices impact business.
Need a Safe Parts Washer Solvent?
If you use a parts washer solvent that could cause problems for your outfit in the ways above, the solvent isn’t the safest choice for the health of workers, the state of the environment, or company finances — all of which interconnect. If you use a solvent that poses these risks, Ecolink can provide a stock or custom parts washer solvent that mitigates or eliminates the problems.
To get started on implementing a safe parts washer solvent, please call us today at (800) 563-1305, or contact us here. We look forward to hearing from you!
Replacing an nPB Vapor Degreaser: Commonly Asked Questions
/in N-Propyl Bromide/by Industrial DegreasersnPB — also known as n-propyl bromide and 1-bromopropane — is not the preferred degreasing solution it once was. Fueling the changeover from nPB vapor degreaser to vapor degreasers that have a better safety profile is evidence that nPB exposure can seriously, adversely affect the health of those who use it. If you use an nPB vapor degreaser, and you have questions about replacing the toxic solvent, the answers below can help.
Why is nPB exposure now considered so dangerous?
Like other toxic degreasing solvents, nPB’s toxicity is established by several years of scientific research. Based on the research, the EPA added nPB to “the list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986 and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) of 1990.”
Does the EPA consider nPB to be a hazardous air pollutant?
As of the date of this blog entry, the EPA has not placed nPB on the official list of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). However, as quoted above, nPB is a reportable chemical under the EPCRA, with the EPA having determined that “1-bromopropane meets the EPCRA section 313(d)(2)(B) criteria because it can reasonably be anticipated to cause cancer in humans.”
What are specific health problems that nPB causes?
Health issues from nPB exposure are generally categorized in one of two ways: acute or chronic. Common acute health issues are: dizziness, mental confusion, respiratory distress and temporary paresthesia. Common chronic health issues are: neurological damage, cancer (based on animal studies), permanent paresthesia, and difficulty walking (due to paresthesia).
Will a safer solvent offer the same degreasing power?
The answer depends on which solvent you choose as a replacement for nPB. With that said, there’s a nice selection of safer, environmentally preferred vapor degreasers that offer the same efficacy as nPB. In many cases, former nPB users can simply “drop in” these nPB replacements, and quickly carry on with the vapor degreasing progress, as usual.
Will a safe replacement for nPB cost more than nPB?
Because nPB is relatively cheap to produce, there’s a good chance you’ll pay a bit more for a safe replacement. However, when you consider the financial toll nPB can take on an entity (increased sick days taken, workers compensation claims, chemical injury lawsuits, etc.), paying for a safe nPB vapor degreaser replacement can be the most cost effective option long-term.
Where can I find an nPB vapor degreaser replacement?
To inquire about our vapor degreasing solutions, or to place an order, please call us today at (800) 563-1305. You can also shop conveniently online. We look forward to providing you with a safe nPB vapor degreaser replacement.
Buying Commercial Degreasers: Tips For Refining Product Selection
/in Ecolink News/by Industrial DegreasersDegreaser is one of the most widely used categories of commercial solvents. That’s why there are literally thousands of degreaser solutions you could buy. While having a wide range of options is never a bad thing when it comes to solvent selection, all of the choices eventually have to be narrowed down to one. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some helpful criteria that your company or organization can use to narrow the search for commercial degreasers.
Solvent Grade
Degreasers tend be formulated with three types of end users in mind: industrial users, commercial users, and residential users. Because commercial degreasers tend to deliver more cleaning power by volume than residential grade degreasers that are used in the home, make sure that your search only focuses on commercial grade degreasing solutions.
Degreasing Application
If you need a degreaser for a specific type of degreasing operation, such as degreasing energized motors, this can also help you refine your choice. For example, for cleaning an energized motor, you would ideally want a degreaser that is non-flammable (i.e., no flashpoint), has a dielectric formulation, evaporates quickly, and leaves behind no residue.
VOC Content
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may be “organic”, but this doesn’t mean that they’re safe to use in large quantities. Commercial degreasers that have high VOC content can cause short-term and chronic health problems due to incidental and prolonged exposure, respectively. Avoiding high VOC content helps workers stay healthy, and thus supports business productivity.
EPA Measures
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to regulate the large-scale use of hazardous chemicals, announcing upcoming regulations well in advance, so companies and organizations have time to phase out dangerous chemicals. If a degreaser contains a chemical that’s slated to be regulated by the EPA, be sure to remove it from your list of solvent options.
Container Options
In what types of containers do you need a commercial degreasers: aerosol, hand wipes, spray bottles, etc.? In addition, what size of container do you need (aerosol bottles or large, aerosol cylinders, for example)? If a supplier doesn’t offer commercial degreasers in the types of containers you need, it provides another way to narrow your options and choose the best.
Custom Formulation
If after days of searching online for readymade commercial degreasers, you simply can’t find a solution that meets all of your requirements, you may be in the market for custom formulated degreasers. Unlike readymade solvents that are formulated to meet a wide variety of solvent needs, custom blended solvents are designed to meet the specific needs of a single customer.
Shopping For Degreasers?
Whether you need an eco friendly commercial degreaser for general cleaning applications, specific degreasing operations, or both, Ecolink can supply the solution you need, and provide it in a formulation that minimizes negative impact to your workers and the environment. For assistance selecting the right commercial degreaser for your cleaning requirements and safety needs, please call us today at (800) 563-1305, or fill out the contact form on our website.
Our HCFC based aerosol is discontinued – See what’s taking its place!
/in Chemical Substitution/by Industrial DegreasersOut with the Old, In with the New
SELECT FREE is a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-based solvent used in many electrical maintenance applications and has been known for its exceptional cleaning performance. SELECT FREE is designed to clean contacts, relays, and other critical electronic components. It was manufactured as a replacement for CFC-113 contact cleaners, but the time has come for SELECT FREE to step down. Ecolink has discontinued the sale and production of SELECT FREE due to the hazards associated with HCFC.
EPA Ban on HCFC
On January 1, 2010 the EPA placed a ban on production, import and use of HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b with exceptions. In 2015, updates included all HCFCs and exceptions were limited to refrigeration equipment. By the year 2020 the phaseout will be complete and the servicing of systems with R-22 will rely on recycled or stockpiled quantities.
Carry on with FluoSolv AP
With the HCFC ban, SELECT FREE was inevitably discontinued and replaced by FluoSolv™ AP manufactured by NuGenTec. The solvent FluoSolv™ AP is an effective cleaner for de-fluxing electronic assemblies and other intricate electrical parts. FluoSolv™ AP is ideally balanced to deliver performance and worker safety.
This product is recommended for use in modern vapor degreasing equipment or spray and wipe aerosol application. FluoSolv™ AP is a stable azeotropic blend that is easy to reclaim by a simple distillation process.
55 Gallon Drum | 5 Gallon Pail