IBC cleaning

For businesses cleaning between 5–50 IBCs per week, outsourcing to a specialist cleaning company is expensive while manual cleaning is time-consuming, water and energy intensive and inconsistent.

SNP's IBC Cleaning Kit provides a practical, economical solution for in-house cleaning, delivering a controlled, repeatable process that reduces contamination risks and improves workplace safety.  

The challenge

We understand that process operatives and process managers, whatever their industry, require timely process completion, safety, continuous process improvement and process control whilst keeping under budget. So how does the IBC Cleaning Kit help manage your IBC cleaning process?

What the IBC Cleaning Kit delivers

The inaccessible surface at the top and corners of the IBC tank present a cleaning challenge and opportunity for bacterial growth leading to contamination of products and the surrounding environment. Companies often rely on full-time operatives to undertake a laborious non-repeatable manual cleaning process using equipment such as pressure washers. Where numerous IBCs need cleaning every week, the scale of the challenge and hidden costs can multiply.

Our customers have left their pressure washers for other one off external surface cleaning tasks. Taking advantage of our simple-to-use IBC kit has helped them automate the cleaning process, allowing for the quick, safe and effective cleaning of IBCs. 

In addition, they were able to obtain outcomes that impact their business:

- Reducing contamination risks from uncleaned residue in unreachable areas
Taking control over risks of contamination, the IBC kit offers a repeatable and complete 360° cleaning performance businesses can rely on.

- Redeploying staff to high value tasks
With current pressures in industry, we understand the importance of deploying staff to high value tasks. Our IBC Kit, in addition to its thorough cleaning performance, enables the operator to step away, liberating valuable resource time to engage with high value tasks for the business. 

 

- Improved Safety 

Enabling the operator to step away from the hazards associated with IBC cleaning when comparing with basic pressure washing systems. Operators are potentially exposed to splash-back spray which could contain harsh chemical residues or detergents. In addition, the operator must move around the IBC while managing the pressure washer hose and work from height leading to trip or from-height risks. Our IBC kit empowers operatives to set up and step away, significantly reducing the likelihood of such risks. 

- Leak hazard is a key IBC reported hazard especially when containing hazardous chemicals

One of the contributing factors is the wear and tear of IBC tank wall. In comparison to the manual Jet pressure washers, our 360° cleaning nozzles have sufficient impact power to remove the toughest of industrial stains without causing wear on the IBC tanks. 

- Return on investment

Typically, our customers see a return on investment within 3-5 months. Aside from the financial return on investment our customers have benefited from, as noted above, improved operation safety, redeployment of staff to higher value operations and reduction in contamination.

Kit components


Operation

The SNP IBC Cleaning Kit is simple to operate: once the system is set up, it can run without constant supervision, allowing staff to focus on other tasks. The kit comes complete with all necessary components for in-house cleaning, and its hygienic construction makes it suitable for applications requiring high levels of cleanliness. Using the Orbitor Eco powerful rotary jet nozzle, an IBC can be thoroughly cleaned in under five minutes, while the controlled water flow of 58.3 L/min at 5 bar ensures full internal coverage for a consistent and effective clean.

Summarised Benefits of the IBC Cleaning Kit

  • Automated 360° internal cleaning of IBCs

  • Removes even stubborn residues efficiently

  • Reduces the risk of product contamination from imperfect cleaning

  • Minimises wear on IBCs, helping prevent damage or leaks

  • Reduces water consumption compared to manual cleaning

  • Provides a consistent, repeatable cleaning process

  • Supports safer working conditions by reducing the need for staff to enter tanks

Further reading

What are the 4 main problems with manually cleaning IBCs?


Manually cleaning IBCs is a common practice in many businesses, but there are some significant issues with cleaning IBCs in this way.

LABOUR INTENSIVE

Firstly, it's labour intensive. There’s an opportunity cost to the business. If employees or operators are spending time cleaning out IBCs, there's likely to be more productive things they could be doing in the business. This labour cost shouldn’t just be factored in as the hourly cost of labour, it should be factored into the value of what those people could be doing if they weren't spending time cleaning IBCs.

HEALTH & SAFETY ISSUES

Depending on the residue being cleaned out, this factor varies greatly. Manually cleaning out an IBC is unpleasant, particularly when the contents of the IBC are harmful or foul smelling. There can be some potential health and safety issues to consider.

POOR ACCURACY

Manual cleaning relies on a human being, being able to do the job thoroughly. It can be difficult to notice missed spots, particularly if the residue isn't very visible.

 Often humans will miss bits because small amounts of residue may remain or may not be seen, and this could be a potential source of contamination when the IBC is reused. Again, it depends what the situation is, what the substance is in there, and how critical it is to get them thoroughly cleaned.

ACCESSIBILITY

The entry point to the IBC is normally through the lid, and this is where the cleaning action is done. The upper corners of the IBC are quite difficult to clean, and if a jet washer, power washer or a hose is trying to be used, it can be tricky to reach those parts. This can lead to poor results or a lot of time and effort being used to clean those hard-to-reach areas.

These 4 problems can all be solved by having an automated IBC cleaning kit with a 360° cleaning head that goes into the IBC and cleans it efficiently.

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