Among the cleaning and sanitizing considerations, conveyor belts for food industries are perhaps the most challenging. Fortunately, there are some steam cleaning solutions for that.
No matter the industries, a conveyor belt system can be hugely useful. They are defined as the belt, rubber or metal that is continuously moving from one point to another. It is a convenient way to transport goods and other items rapidly in bulk.
Thanks to its many benefits, several sectors including the food industry utilize conveyor belts in the production processes. It can be integrated right at the beginning of the manufacturing process. It can also help to transport goods from one step to another, or at the end, to take them through the packaging process.
Challenges of Conveyor Belts for the Food Industry
Despite so many applications, the conveyor belt for the food industry poses some specific challenges. As it is usually fixed equipment that runs continuously in a production cycle, stopping and removing them to clean is not that viable. Moreover, transporting food ingredients and processed items, conveyor belts for the food industry can’t be cleaned using chemicals.
Even if you want to use a periodic process, it would mean stopping the entirety or parts of your production cycle. Using some chemicals for a deeper and quicker clean, on the other hand, can put a food plant into a collision course with the environmental regulators.
Steam Cleaning Solution for the Food Industry
With so many cleaning challenges, the conveyor belt in the food industry may become too complicated and too expensive to maintain. Thankfully, several steam cleaning solutions are available to deal with these challenges.
Steam cleaning, in itself, is a process that requires no cleaning liquids or detergents. It can be performed using heat and vaporized water. As germs and bacteria can not survive a stream of hot water at or around 140°, steam cleaners are perfect for cleaning and sanitizing food items. There would be no chemical to worry about, no possible contamination to safeguard against. As water vapours dry up pretty fast, steam cleaners can be the best solution to save time and money too.
Dry steam cleaners for conveyor belts are also great for the environment. They drain no harmful chemicals to the surroundings, helping food industries to remain compliant with the environmental regulations.
Types of Steam Cleaners Conveyor Belts
Several dry steam cleaning systems are available to be integrated with the conveyor belt for the food industry . These are:
Mobile Cleaners: Easy transportable to manually carry around and clean the belt where it is needed.
Semi-automatic Cleaners: A partially automatic system where the different phases of cleaning need to be set manually.
Automatic Cleaner: A fully automatic system that can carry out the entire process without the intervention of any operator.
Anyways, you should always look for a conveyor belt cleaner that is easy to assemble or disassemble. It should also come with an effective drainage system for residue water.