Water Blasting: What Is It Good For?
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Water may be the single most amazing substance on our green planet. It covers the majority of the earth’s surface, sustains the life of plants, animals, and humans, and serves a seemingly endless list of other purposes—from putting out fires to washing pollutants off our roads every time it rains. Water blasting harnesses the properties of H2O for applications that have only been possible with the invention of specialized equipment. We’d like to introduce you to a few of those applications—maybe one of them is just what your facility needs.Surface PreparationThere’s a lot more to road construction than what you notice as you drive past the orange barrels. Using a jackhammer to remove old concrete from a bridge’s surface, for example, creates violent vibrations that cause “micro fractures” and compromise the strength of the entire structure. Water blasting at high pressure, though, can accomplish the same job without causing vibrations.We often use the same process to prepare surfaces in industrial settings when it’s important to avoid the vibration, force, and loud noise associated with mechanical demolition equipment.CleaningAmazingly, while water is capable of stripping concrete off a roadway, it is also able to remove debris from delicate equipment without causing any damage to it. Water blasting is a very popular cleaning method when boiler tubes, precision equipment, and other sensitive items are involved. It takes a great amount of experience and skill to calibrate water pressure and choose just the right nozzles to remove debris completely without damaging underlying surfaces.Other ApplicationsWater blasting also shows up in excavation, when a team needs to dig in an area without harming buried power lines, gas mains, or other utilities. There are a number of highly specific applications where high pressure water is useful, such as weld preparation for x-ray and removal of polymers and resins. Contact us today to see how the amazing properties of pressurized water can benefit your company.

Press Contact

• Emily Martin
• Marketing Manager
• 100 N. Main Street
• Sumter, SC 29150
• (803) 773-8005
• emartin@thompsonind.com