Jobstory - Surface maintenance Industrial bakeries

The problem

In accordance with the latest hygiene regulations a new industrial bakery utilised stainless steel 1.4301 for most of their equipment. It is a very popular material for food processing plants.

But what happened next? A hydrochloric acid was used to remove dirt from ceramic and wall tiles as well as from the grouting. Not a good choice with regards to stainless steel. The result was that within a few days the stainless steel surfaces started turning rust-red – in other words, they were starting to corrode.

Attempts to clean the surfaces with oil-based products and other cleaning material failed. A second attempt with commercially available cleaning products also had no success. Then Pelox was contracted to remove the corrosion from the equipment and restore the former stainless steel shine.

The solution

Pelox Special-Cleaner Plus 3000 was applied manually with a special sponge. Approximately 3kg cleaning product were used for about 150 m² of stainless steel surface. After an application time of 15 – 45 minutes at a room temperature of about 25 °C the surfaces were rinsed with water and then towelled dry.

The excellent results were emphasised by the fact that the surface showed absolutely no traces of the cleaning process.

Left: One can clearly see the corroded stainless steel surfaces and the lack of shine. Right: After the cleaning procedure the original stainless steel shine was restored.