Cleaning Large Boilers

Cleaning & maintaining boilers can be an afterthought to many people, especially facilities that use boilers in a non-industrial capacity. But what happens when a boiler gets dirty?

Like most industrial equipment & machinery, boilers don’t run efficiently when they get dirty. Scale & mineral buildups occur over time which leads to increasing inefficiencies and, eventually, malfunctions or shut downs.

Dirty non-industrial boilers used for heating can make optimally heating a location nearly impossible. More energy is required to run a dirty boiler at desired temperatures, leading to more expensive electricity bills. Prolonged neglect can even lead to a boiler breaking down, which may require a replacement.

So, what can be done to keep boilers running optimally?

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Check Your Boilers

The first thing you need to do if you think a boiler might be running poorly is to check the boiler itself. This may sound like an obvious step, but it’s something that is overlooked far too often! Make sure there are no obvious functional obstructions to the boiler and that everything is running smoothly & quietly.

If nothing is obvious and you still think the boiler is underperforming, it may be time to take a look inside.

• Call a professional. Make sure anyone checking your boiler knows what they are doing!
• Turn off all electricity. Any electricity connected to the boiler, boiler room, or other nearby equipment should be completely turned off.
• Wait. Boilers run hot! After the electricity is turned off you may have to wait a few hours before the boiler can be looked at safely.
• Check air filters, combustion chambers, pipes, and any other critical components of your boiler.
• Smaller boilers with minimal scale or sediment may be able to be cleaned with a wire brush and industrial cleaner.
• If the scale or buildup is too hard for a wire brush to take care of, it may be time to look at industrial descaling with a circulation system.

Easily Clean Large Boilers

Cleaning boilers in a residential setting can be easily handled by a licensed professional. Residential boilers are not a large job and usually don’t require ‘regular’ maintenance (ie you don’t have to clean your boiler annually). Commercial or other non-industrial boiler cleaning, however, may need some specific things.

One of the easiest and most efficient ways to clean a boiler is to use a heavy duty or industrial descaler with a circulation system. The best descalers are able to remove scale buildups and other undesirable blockages that accumulate inside boilers. Circulation systems allow a repeated flow that removes the blockage over a short period of time without damaging the boiler.

Boilers can greatly vary in size, making the hardest part of descaling figuring out how much to use. Luckily most manufacturers of industrial descalers have information or charts on how much of a particular descaler you may need.

RYDLYME The World’s Leading Biodegradable Descaler

For more than 80 years, RYDLYME has been the most trusted brand for removing scale from boilers, cooling towers, heat exchangers, condensers, chillers, and so much more. If you have further questions pertaining to the effectiveness of “The World’s Leading Biodegradable Descaler,” RYDLYME, please feel free to contact our main office.