Rinsing Machine Media Pros and Cons
Both automatic and semi-automatic rinsing machines can use a variety of rinse media. Whether inverting bottles over a rinse basin or hand placing containers on rinse nozzles, different types of rinses will work better for certain products or projects and each type of rinse media can offer different benefits to different packagers. For a majority of rinsing projects, one of the following four methods will be used to clean bottles of dust and debris.
Water
Rinsing machines are basically broken down into two different categories, wet rinsers and air rinsers. Wet rinsers can use a variety of different liquids, but water is probably the most common. A blast of water can loosen and wash contaminants out of a variety of different bottle types and sizes. Water is inexpensive, easy to get rid of after the wash and, with some products, will not have an effect on a product if some water residue remains after the rinse.
Product
For those packagers that worry about cross-contamination or watering down of product, the actual product may be used for rinsing bottles. Some distillers will use their own spirits to rinse bottles prior to the fill, removing debris while ensuring no other liquids enter the bottle prior to the fill. Unlike water, however, using product can cost more money, in that product that would otherwise be sold must now be considered waste.
Other Liquids
Other cleaning or sanitizing products may also be used for a rinse for projects with special needs. Sanitizing liquids or cleaning liquids will work just like water, cleaning containers with a blast of liquid. Of course, these liquids will sometimes need to be handled carefully when disposed of after being used for the rinse.
Air
Probably the most popular method of rinsing bottles today is a liquid-free rinse, also known as the air rinse. Instead of blasting the inside of bottles with a liquid, clean air works in the same way, loosening debris once bottles are inverted and depositing the debris in a waste reservoir. The obvious benefit that air rinsers have over wet rinsers is the lack of waste product, other than the debris coming out of the bottles during the rinse, which makes this machine an efficient choice for many projects.
One version of the air rinser also allows bottles to stay on the conveyor, rather than invert over a basin, to allow the rinsing of heavy, large or oddly shaped bottles that may be difficult to flip.
To learn more about container cleaning equipment, or any of the packaging machinery manufactured by Liquid Packaging Solutions, simply browse the product categories found along the left side of each page of the LPS website.