The Basics of Airless Spraying of Disinfectants

Using a dedicated airless disinfectant sprayer is the fastest way to provide complete coverage of disinfectant materials on surfaces to meet chemical dwell time requirements. This article will help explain how airless sprayers work and provide a baseline for understanding how the power of airless spraying provides the most productive way to properly disinfect, sanitize and deodorize spaces.

Airless spray atomizes, or breaks up, liquid disinfectant materials into small droplets without the use of compressed air. In an airless system, with a fluid path that has been properly designed and built with materials compatible for use with chemicals found in most disinfectant materials, the liquid disinfectant is pumped under high pressure through a spray tip. The tip size and pressure is what determines the material flow rate. The tip also creates the fan pattern.

In airless spray, the fast moving high-pressure liquid stream provides the energy necessary to overcome the fluid’s viscosity (resistance to flow) and surface tension (a force that bonds the surface of a liquid together) to form a fine spray.

In the depiction of spray from a gun, high pressure forces fluid through a small nozzle (spray tip). The fluid emerges as a solid stream (sheet) at a high speed. When the solid stream hits the air, it becomes disrupted. This disruption breaks the fluid into fragments initially, then ultimately very small droplets that form the spray pattern.

(A) Spray Tip

• Controls the amount of fluid sprayed by using different orifice sizes
• Orifice shape determines the spray pattern.
• Graco LP spray tips are recommended for disinfecting applications to provide better control and the ability to quickly blow out clogs by reversing the position of the tip

(B) Motor & Drive System

• A heavy duty system that drives the pump

(C) Pressure Control

• Used to regulate the fluid pressure delivered from the pump

(D) Pump

• Delivers a steady stream of high pressure fluid through the hose to the spray gun

(E) Gun

• Acts as the on/off valve for the material

Dedicated airless disinfectant sprayers provide an easy and economical way to properly apply disinfectants and effectively disinfect, sanitize and deodorize surfaces. Professional contractors prefer to use airless sprayers to disinfect spaces for several reasons, the most popular being:

• Speed: Airless spraying of disinfectant materials is faster than spray bottles, pump sprayers and electrostatic sprayers so more jobs are completed in less time.
• Coverage: Airless sprayers produce an even coat of disinfectant while providing the most consistent coverage on all types of surfaces.
• Versatility: Airless sprayers can be used for a wide variety of disinfecting, sanitizing and deodorizing jobs, including interior and exterior jobs, and can easily be transported from jobsite to jobsite.

It is important to consider how much faster airless spraying is compared to other methods. Equally important is how airless spraying delivers consistent coverage when spray-applying disinfectants, even over rough or more ornate surfaces with different angles – allowing you to finish jobs faster with less labor.

Read this article to learn more about proper spraying techniques when using an airless sprayer to apply disinfectants.