Heritage & Stone Cleaning Equipment

Clean Heritage & Stone Without Over-Abrasion or Loss of Detail

Remove suitable contamination, build-up and selected coatings while maintaining greater control over the original material beneath.

Discuss Your Application See Why It Works
✓

Non-abrasive cleaning media

✓

Dry process

✓

Test-led approach

Heritage & Stone Controlled cleaning of a heritage stone surface
Preservation Comes First Surface-led system assessment
The Restoration Challenge

Heritage Surfaces Leave No Room for Guesswork

Age, texture, detail and condition all influence the method.

Once cleaning begins, any loss of original material may be irreversible. The process must remove what is unwanted without unnecessarily altering what needs to be preserved.

01

Aggressive Pressure

Excessive pressure can erode softer material, scar the surface or remove original detail.

Irreversible surface loss
02

Abrasive Blasting

An overly aggressive media can remove more than the contamination and permanently alter the finish.

Texture and detail at risk
03

Chemical Cleaning

Chemicals can react with historic materials, cause staining or leave residue within porous surfaces.

Unwanted reactions and residue
04

Manual Cleaning

Hand cleaning detailed stonework can be slow, inconsistent and difficult to control across larger areas.

High labour and variable finish
!

You’re not simply trying to clean the surface. You’re trying to preserve its material, character and detail.

A More Controlled Method

Why Dry Ice Blasting Works

Dry Ice Blasting uses non-abrasive CO₂ pellets and adjustable system settings to provide a controlled approach to suitable heritage and stone-cleaning applications.

01

Non-Abrasive Media

Dry ice pellets do not introduce a hard abrasive media against the original surface.

02

No Water Saturation

The dry process avoids driving water into porous stone, joints and historic masonry.

03

Reach Detailed Areas

Clean intricate, textured and uneven surfaces that are difficult to treat consistently by hand.

04

Minimal Secondary Media

Dry ice sublimates on impact, leaving no spent blasting media across the work area.

05

No Harsh Cleaning Chemicals

Reduce reliance on chemical-heavy cleaning methods and their associated residue.

06

Adjustable and Testable

Pressure, pellet flow and nozzle selection can be tested and adjusted for the specific surface.

Clean what needs to be removed without automatically introducing water, chemicals or hard abrasive blasting media.

Enquire About the System
Potential Applications

Where Dry Ice Blasting May Fit

Used where preservation matters as much as cleaning and the original surface cannot simply be replaced.

01

Historic Stone Façades

Assess contamination and build-up across external stone elevations and architectural surfaces.

External stone
02

Historic Masonry

Clean selected brick and masonry surfaces where water saturation or hard abrasion is unsuitable.

Porous materials
03

Decorative Stonework

Reach carvings, mouldings, joints and detailed areas that are difficult to clean consistently by hand.

Intricate details
04

Monuments & Features

Assess suitable monuments, memorials and architectural features where material preservation is critical.

Surface assessed
05

Soot & Surface Build-Up

Target suitable atmospheric deposits, soot, carbon and accumulated surface contamination.

Contamination removal
06

Selected Coatings & Residue

Test selected coatings, residues and deposits to determine whether controlled removal is achievable.

Test area required
i

Historic and listed structures may require conservation input, listed-building consent or approval from the relevant authority. A representative test area should always be completed before wider cleaning.

Surface-Led Assessment

The Material Determines the Method

We assess the substrate and its condition before recommending any equipment configuration.

  1. 01 Identify

    Understand the Material

    Identify the stone, masonry, finish, age and conservation requirements.

  2. 02 Inspect

    Assess Its Condition

    Review deterioration, softness, previous repairs and the type of contamination present.

  3. 03 Test

    Complete a Test Area

    Start with conservative settings and assess the cleaning result before wider application.

  4. 04 Recommend

    Define the Correct Setup

    Recommend the appropriate system, settings and next steps based on the test.

✓

Every recommendation is based on the material, condition and required finish—not a generic cleaning specification.

Before Wider Cleaning

Why a Test Area Matters

Heritage surfaces can vary across the same building. Weathering, repairs, previous coatings and differences in material condition can all affect the cleaning response.

A test area allows the cleaning effect, surface response and final appearance to be assessed before any wider commitment.

Discuss a Test Application
01

Confirm Surface Response

Check for erosion, marking or unwanted visual change.

02

Confirm Cleaning Performance

Assess whether the contamination releases effectively.

03

Agree the Desired Finish

Confirm how much patina or historic character should remain.

04

Record the Settings

Document the system configuration for repeatable work.

Heritage & Stone FAQs

Questions Before You Enquire?

Key considerations when assessing Dry Ice Blasting for historic, fragile or irreplaceable materials.

Ask About Your Surface
Will Dry Ice Blasting damage the stone? +

Suitability depends on the stone, its condition and the selected settings. Dry ice is non-abrasive media, but pressure, pellet flow and thermal response still need to be assessed through a test area.

Is it too aggressive for heritage work? +

It can provide a controlled option for suitable surfaces, but it is not automatically appropriate for every historic material. The least aggressive effective setting should be established through testing.

Can it remove coatings or staining? +

Some coatings, soot and surface deposits may respond well. Results depend on their composition, thickness, bond and the condition of the underlying surface.

Will it change the appearance of the material? +

Any cleaning can reveal colour variation, historic repairs or differences in weathering. A test area allows the expected appearance to be reviewed before wider cleaning.

What residue is left after cleaning? +

The dry ice sublimates and leaves no spent blasting media. The contamination released from the surface must still be collected and managed appropriately.

Can it be used on a listed building? +

Cleaning a listed building may require consent and input from a conservation professional or the relevant authority. Approval should be confirmed before work begins.

Heritage Surface Assessment

Tell Us What You Need to Clean

Send us details of the material, contamination, condition and desired finish. We’ll explain whether Dry Ice Blasting may be suitable and recommend the appropriate next step.

Material-specific advice Test-area guidance System recommendation
Start the Assessment

Protect the Surface While Addressing the Contamination

We’ll review the material and application before recommending any equipment setup.

Enquire About Your Application No obligation. Surface-led guidance.