Compressed Air for Cleaning

Our bottling and packaging lines use compressed air for cleaning the conveyors and equipment. Is this normal? The manufacture of the equipment recommends this practice but my previous experience is that compressed air is never used for cleaning. Air pressure is 30psi. Does anyone else use this practice?

 I have a client that is a botting company and they only use compressed air to blow off stuff - but that is not the way they clean.

We use compressed air for dry cleaning of our conveyors and equipment during change overs. This is very normal.

But a cleaning & sanitation is totally a different program, air compressors are not sufficient on this.

Do you have a guard on the end of the compressed air wand to prevent stuff from blowing back at the operator?

We use compressed air only occasionally and then only for areas that are not near food contact surfaces; e.g. palletizers some distance away from bottling lines where wood pallets jam up the rollers.  Recommend you make sure your air is clean via testing.  Lots of good information in this website about that.  No sense to clean with dirty air.  Also, use backdrops if there is any possibility of what it is you are blowing about could contaminate your product.  Compressed air or water when used indiscriminately and in a high-volume approach can cause as many issues as it resolves.  Finally, compressed air does not actually clean the surfaces.  You will need a cleanser to do that.  It removes a lot of rough particles and larger stuff.  Air will not clean or sanitize but it can be an aid when used carefully and properly.