Parts Washing and Safety: Is Your Company at Risk?

Parts cleaning is a routine industrial activity, but the chemicals, equipment and methods used can introduce avoidable health and safety risks. Reviewing the process can help businesses reduce exposure, improve control and support safer operations.

What makes parts washing a safety consideration?

Oil, grease, swarf and other contaminants need to be removed during manufacturing and maintenance. However, traditional cleaning can involve solvents, corrosive chemicals, flammable liquids, cloths and manual effort, creating risks during both use and storage.

The risks of manual cleaning

Cleaning with rags, solvents and manual scrubbing can take considerable time and may expose operators to splashes, vapours and repetitive physical tasks. Inadequate cleaning can also create quality or maintenance problems later in the production process.

Can water-based cleaning provide a safer alternative?

Water-based, non-flammable cleaning solutions can replace traditional solvents in many applications. Safetykleen offers a range of aqueous cleaning solutions designed to remove different contaminants while reducing VOC exposure and flammability risks.

Control storage and waste as well as cleaning

Safety is not limited to the cleaning cycle. Storing large quantities of new or used chemicals can create additional site risks. A managed cleaning service can provide the machine and cleaning solution while arranging regular maintenance, fluid replacement and waste collection.

Build safety into the cleaning process

A safer parts cleaning process considers the chemical, machine, operator, storage arrangements and waste route together. Training and regular equipment maintenance can further reduce risk and help maintain a consistent cleaning standard.