What is the difference between degreaser and cleaner?

In the industrial and institutional cleaning world, a degreaser is defined simply as a chemical product
that removes grease. However some all-purpose cleaners may also remove some grease.
Degreasers are a subset of cleaners, so all degreasers are cleaners but not all cleaners are
degreasers.

What is vapor degreaser operation? It can used to remove Oil or grease?

Vapor degreaser is one contained unit that heats the solvent to boiling and the "vapor" takes
the oil, grease or other contaminant from the metal part into solution removing the soil
completely. Also, the solvents used have low surface tension, so they penetrate complex
geometries easily while being highly evaporative so the drying is almost instantaneous.

What is Alkaline Cleaning?

Alkaline cleaning refers to a soap and water solution where the soap has an
alkalinity to it and is referred to more generally as "aqueous cleaning." Aqueous
cleaning entails an initial wash of the parts in the alkaline/water bath, then typically a
water rinse bath, then sometimes a spray rinse bath and then finally some kind of
drying step.

Aqueous Cleaning uses water with surfactants, detergents, emulsifiers, inhibitors,

anti-foaming agents, PH buffers and many other additives to the water wash bath to
removed contaminants from your parts.
Water Based Degreasers Vs. Solvent Based: 4 Benefits
February 4, 2017/in Ecolink News/by Industrial Degreasers
Degreasers are some of the most commonly used industrial cleaners in the world. Until machines stop needing grease
for lubrication and other purposes, the supply and demand for industrial strength degreasers will remain high. But that
doesn’t mean you’re locked into using one of the two basic degreaser formulations: water based or solvent based.

If You Have the Option to Choose…

Many organizations use water based degreasers or solvent based degreasers because that’s what the degreasing
application calls for. However, some organizations use solvent based cleaners for practically everything, simply
because they use them for most things. If you’re in this position, using water based degreasers for jobs for which they
would be a good fit — and provide proper efficacy — could have some important advantages, four of which we list
below.
1. Better Compliance With Regulations

There’s one similarity among degreasers whose ingredients the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates: The
ingredients are solvent-based. Water based degreasers have an inherent advantage in the environmental safety
department: Chemically, water has an ultra-high safety profile.

2. Simplification of Degreaser Storage

Too many solvent degreasers to name have a flashpoint. Sometimes, the flashpoint is high; and sometimes, it’s low. But
it typically registers at a specific temperature during testing. Water, as we know, is used to extinguish fires — a
characteristic that generally makes water based degreasers safe to store in terms of fire hazard.

3. Can Help Reduce Operating Costs

Lots of solvent based degreasers contain chemicals that have a high evaporation rate and shouldn’t be inhaled. Also,
some solvents cause skin irritation on contact. When these variables are in place (They have less of a tendency to be
present with water based degreasers), the need to operate an air filtration system that snags airborne contaminants,
and the need to provide high-level personal protective equipment (PPE), can increase operating cost.

4. Can Help Reduce Degreaser Disposal Costs

Spent water based degreaser may still go in the waste trap, but removing it from the trap could be less expensive than
removing a solvent based degreaser. The more precautions and processes a waste removal provider must take to
safely handle chemicals, the higher the waste disposal bill.

If you have an area where degreasing operations are performed, and the spent cleaner that hits the waste trap is
solvent based, you could potentially reduce waste disposal cost by using a water based degreaser instead.

Interested in Water Based Degreasers?

Compared to implementing a solvent based degreaser, using a water based product can deliver four benefits, among
others: better compliance with official chemical regulations, simplification of degreaser storage, reduced chemical
mitigation costs, and reduced operating costs.

To find out if eco friendly water based degreasers are a good option for your degreasing applications, call us today at
(800) 563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. For over 25 years, we’ve provided stock and custom
cleaners that have amazing efficacy. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing how we can help with
degreasing!  
4.6 Solvent Degreasing
4.6.1 General1,2
Solvent degreasing (or solvent cleaning) is the physical process of using organic solvents to remove
grease, fats, oils, wax or soil from various metal, glass, or plastic items.
The types of equipment used in this method are categorized as
1. Cold cleaners,
2. Open top vapor degreasers, or
3. Conveyorized degreasers.
Non-aqueous solvents such as petroleum distillates, chlorinated hydrocarbons, ketones, and
alcohols are used.
Solvent selection is based on the solubility of the substance to be removed and on the toxicity,
flammability, flash point, evaporation rate, boiling point, cost, and several other properties of the
solvent.
The metalworking industries are the major users of solvent degreasing, i. e., automotive,
electronics, plumbing, aircraft, refrigeration, and business machine industries.
Solvent cleaning is also used in industries such as printing, chemicals, plastics, rubber, textiles, glass,
paper, and electric power. Most repair stations for transportation vehicles and electric tools use
solvent cleaning at least part of the time.
Many industries use water-based alkaline wash systems for degreasing, and since these systems
emit no solvent vapours to the atmosphere, they are not included in this discussion.