What Does Dry Ice & Abrasive Blasting Cost?

Dry Ice & Abrasive Blasting PricingPolar Clean dry ice and abrasive blasting services provide effective solutions for a variety of industrial cleaning challenges in a wide array of settings – from removing clogged catalyst from the inside of petrochemical reactors to maintaining the cleanliness of food and pharmaceutical production lines.

Some projects come with a layer of added difficulty for which the Polar Clean team has specialized training and certifications. Others require customized containment planning or priority scheduling. Material costs can also vary depending on location.

Many factors go into the pricing of our services. Actual costs also must take into consideration cost savings that can be achieved by using methods that are faster, require no collateral cleanup or material reclamation, or that can be done with minimal or no downtime. As a result, dry ice and abrasive blasting projects can range from thousands of dollars for simple projects to millions for elaborate restoration and other large-scale projects.

How much does Polar Clean dry ice blasting and abrasive blasting cost?

“It depends” is the short answer, but there are some quick rules of thumb we tell our potential clients:

  • Blasting type: Abrasive blasting with soda or crushed glass are the least expensive in terms of equipment and media costs, but come with added costs of containment and clean-up. Dry ice blasting and sponge blasting cost more for media and equipment, but have a much faster clean-up process when the blasting is complete.
  • Dry ice blasting isn’t a budget solution, but it can be less expensive for cleaning a large surface area, complex equipment, or when water or typical sand-blasting media can’t be introduced.
  • Our pricing starts at about $5,000. Unfortunately, it won’t make sense for us to clean the undercarriage of your vintage Porsche or the brick around the fireplace in your living room. We’ve successfully completed several large, restoration projects for over $1M.

Blasting Pricing Factors

Here is an overview of factors that determine the overall cost of your blasting project:

Cost Determining Factors
Method Blasting methods range in cost from inexpensive soda blasting to higher-priced methods like sponge blasting and dry ice blasting, but the difference in cost by method is often outweighed by the collateral expenses. For example, while soda blasting is relatively inexpensive, water reclamation and disposal is not – particularly if there are hazardous waste considerations. Faster and water-free methods, like dry ice blasting, can also reduce the need for costly downtime. Learn more about the cost of dry ice blasting.
Media Blasting media ranges in price. Lower quality crushed glass, which starts around $0.25 per pound, is less expensive than materials like ice pellets or aluminum oxide, for example. Material costs can also differ by location.
Adherents Stubborn buildup, like layers of well-adhered paint or glues may require a combination of blasting types as well as additional time.
Scheduling Jobs that come with short deadlines may require added personnel or overnight scheduling, which can add to costs. Flexible scheduling, however, can also minimize the cost of production downtime.
Cleanup/Reclamation/Disposal Depending on the media used and buildup removed, added expenses can include the cost of water reclamation and hazardous waste disposal.
Labor Labor costs can also vary by locale as well as by safety requirements for specialized settings.
Setting Specialized settings like working at heights or in confined spaces adds cost in the form of scaffolding and other specialized equipment. It can also bring additional labor costs. For example, OSHA regulations mandate the use of additional technicians for ensuring the safety of work done in confined spaces.
Hazardous Materials Cleaning to remove hazardous materials like lead-based paint adds containment and disposal costs and may require additional labor as well.
Containment Considerations Containment design and construction – which must be customized for some settings – adds additional cost, but can also minimize time-consuming and costly cleanup.
Geography Our teams mobilize from Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Texas. Travel costs increase with distance from those locations, and we serve clients nationwide.

Few Things Are as Cost-Effective as Experience & Planning

At Polar Clean, our work is carefully planned and scheduled to minimize both time and cost while ensuring the highest quality results.

Additionally, our team’s expertise and training across specialized settings and industries leave us uniquely qualified to assess and manage projects in settings many blasting specialists will not touch.

Our reliable and effective blasting services help ensure the safety, efficiency and productivity in industries with little room for error including food and pharmaceutical production, petrochemical refineries and power generation plants, among others.