CLEANING METHODS
Cleaning is broadly achieved through mechanical action and/or solvent action; many methods rely on both processes.
- Washing, usually done with water and often some kind of soap or detergent
- Pressure washing, using a high-pressure stream of water
- Abrasive blasting, typically used to remove bulk material from a surface, may be used to remove contaminants as well
- Acoustic cleaning, the use of sound waves to shake particulates loose from surfaces
- Ultrasonic cleaning, using ultrasound, usually from 20–400 kHz
- Megasonic cleaning, a gentler mechanism than ultrasonic cleaning, used in wafer, medical implant, and industrial part cleaning
- Carbon dioxide cleaning, a family of methods for parts cleaning and sterilization using carbon dioxide in its various phases
- Dry cleaning of clothing and textiles, using a chemical solvent other than water
- Flame cleaning of structural steel with an oxyacetylene flame
- Green cleaning, using environmentally friendly methods and products
- Plasma cleaning, using energetic plasma or dielectric barrier discharge plasma created from various gases
- Sputter cleaning, performed in a vacuum by using physical sputtering of the surface
- Steam cleaning, in both domestic and industrial contexts
- Thermal cleaning, in industrial settings, involving pyrolysis and oxidation
- Wet cleaning, methods of professional laundering that avoid the use of chemical solvents