800.992.9302
ASHRAE 188-aligned cleaning and disinfection of open-circuit cooling towers across Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton. Confined-space-certified crews, Legionella sampling integrated, and a protocol engineered to clean the tower without damaging the fill media. Founded 1960. $1,300 minimum engagement.
Cooling tower cleaning is the systematic removal of biofilm, scale, sediment, and organic matter from the basin, fill media, drift eliminators, nozzles, and distribution system of an evaporative cooling tower — followed by a documented disinfection cycle aligned with ASHRAE 188 water management practices and Cooling Technology Institute guidance.
Cooling tower cleaning is distinct from chemical water treatment. Treatment dosing manages water chemistry on an ongoing basis; cleaning is physical removal plus disinfection, performed on a scheduled cycle. A well-treated tower with no physical cleaning still harbors shielded biofilm that chemistry can't reach — which is why tower cleaning sits on a separate calendar from dosing.
Service-Tech's cooling tower crews operate across Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton serving industrial plants, hospitals, data centers, large commercial buildings, and food / pharmaceutical facilities.
Water-treatment chemistry alone cannot fix these five documented risks. Physical cleaning + disinfection is the only solution.
Cooling towers are the #1 outbreak source for Legionnaires' disease. Physical cleaning + disinfection is the only way to remove biofilm sheltering Legionella from biocide.
Scale and biofilm on fill media drop the tower's cooling capacity and raise chiller-plant kW draw by 10–25%.
Clogged drift eliminators cause drift carryover, aesthetic complaints, and property-boundary disputes.
ASHRAE 188 and several state / municipal programs now require documented cleaning and a water management plan.
Physical deposits shield water from biocide, forcing the chemistry program to dose harder at higher cost while still missing sheltered biofilm.
Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, MetroHealth, OSU Wexner, Nationwide Children's, OhioHealth, Kettering Health, Premier Health — Ohio's highest-risk Legionella exposure profiles.
Central Ohio data-center cluster. Chiller efficiency is a direct operational KPI, so tower cleaning is scheduled on tight cycles.
Industrial manufacturing: automotive, steel, chemical, plastics. Process-load cooling has uptime requirements that push cleaning outside typical seasonal windows.
Large commercial office, mixed-use, and institutional campuses with 500-ton+ chiller plants.
Food and beverage and pharmaceutical production with documentation that integrates with GFSI / cGMP audit trails.
Large campuses — Ohio State, Case Western, University of Dayton, Wright State — with central chiller plants serving multiple buildings.
Every cooling tower cleaning follows the same nine-step protocol, calibrated per tower size, cell count, and fill condition.
LOTO on fans and pumps, confined-space entry plan for the basin, CO monitoring where required, and ASHRAE 188 scope confirmation with the facility's water-management-plan owner.
Bypass and drain the tower; temporary cooling or scheduled downtime coordinated with the facility. Multi-cell towers are cleaned cell-by-cell so the other cells carry the cooling load.
Sediment and scale removed via vacuum trucks and manual scraping. Confined-space-certified crews enter the basin; retrieval system ready.
Controlled pressure-wash PVC fill at fill-safe distances and pressures. Where scale is bonded, replacement is recommended rather than aggressive cleaning. Service-Tech's protocol is designed to preserve PVC integrity.
Eliminators inspected and cleaned or replaced. Drift carryover is a boundary-dispute and Legionella-transport risk.
Nozzles cleaned or replaced; hot-deck inspected for clogs that create uneven water distribution and accelerated scaling.
ASHRAE 188-aligned protocol. Chlorine or peroxygen-based disinfectant with documented contact time and concentration held per the plan.
Water chemistry verified; pre-operational Legionella sample taken per the client's water management plan. Sampling chain-of-custody delivered.
Cleaning log, disinfection records, sample chain-of-custody, and compliance documentation delivered in a format ready for the facility's water-management log and ASHRAE 188 review.
ASHRAE 188 sets a practical baseline of twice-annual cleaning. Additional triggers for out-of-cycle cleaning:
A test result above the facility's water-management-plan action level forces immediate clean + disinfect per ASHRAE 188. Service-Tech can mobilize within 1–2 business days for exceedance response.
Visible contamination on fill, eliminators, or basin walls indicates cleaning is overdue. Chemistry adjustments alone won't reach it once biofilm has formed.
A noticeable drop in chiller efficiency or tower approach temperature is a direct scale-and-biofilm signal. Cleaning typically recovers 10–25% of lost capacity.
Bonded scale, UV degradation, or mechanical damage — STC can scope cleaning and fill replacement on the same mobilization.
ASHRAE 188 documentation review, hospital Joint Commission prep, or local-authority inspection may require documented cleaning records on a tight window.
Most projects are priced by scope after a site walk because tower size, cell count, fill condition, and disinfection scope vary considerably.
Cost drivers: tonnage, cell count, fill media condition, basin access and confined-space requirements, disinfection protocol depth, Legionella sampling scope, and scheduling window. Spring start-up and fall shutdown windows book weeks in advance. A Service-Tech estimator will walk the tower and return a fixed-price proposal — typically within 1–2 business days.
Deferred cooling tower cleaning creates five documented risks that typically cost more than the cleaning itself:
Regulatory investigation, potential facility shutdown, civil liability, and brand damage. The 2015 NYC outbreak: 138 cases, 16 deaths — traced to cooling towers. Hospital Legionella events make news.
Directly higher energy cost for the same cooling load. For a 500-ton chiller plant, the efficiency loss from deferred cleaning typically pays for many years of cleaning in lost kW alone.
If a Legionella claim arises and ASHRAE 188 documentation is absent, carriers routinely deny or delay coverage. Documentation is the compliance artifact that protects the asset.
New York, New Jersey, and several cities require cooling-tower registration and periodic inspection. Insurance carriers and hospital accreditation boards effectively enforce ASHRAE 188 in Ohio.
When cleaning is deferred across multiple seasons, fill media can fail structurally during operation — a no-warning event that takes the tower offline and requires emergency fill replacement at a premium.
Nineteen straight years of safety recognition from the National Air Duct Cleaners Association. The dominant vendor-qualification criterion at Ohio's hospital campuses, data centers, and federal procurement offices — the three highest-risk Legionella customer profiles in the market.
Service-Tech has provided industrial cleaning services from Cleveland since 1960 — 62 technicians and estimators across Cleveland (65+ years), Columbus (45+ years), and Dayton (45+ years). Four things distinguish our cooling tower cleaning program.
Service-Tech's protocol reaches the biofilm sheltering Legionella from biocide without destroying PVC fill. Over-aggressive cleaning is the single most common way competitors force owners into $20,000–$60,000 unplanned fill replacements.
Basin interior work is confined-space entry. Service-Tech runs its own certified team with retrieval protocols. Many regional competitors subcontract or decline confined-space scope — which disqualifies them from hospital and data-center work.
Nineteen consecutive NADCA Safety Awards. Safety performance is the dominant vendor-qualification criterion at Ohio's hospital campuses, data centers, and federal customers.
Cooling tower cleaning bundled with rope access for fan deck inspection, dry ice blasting for heat exchanger banks, and commercial air duct cleaning for building HVAC — all on the same mobilization. Rare in the Ohio market.
Trusted by Ohio's Hospitals, Data Centers & Industrial Leaders
Service-Tech dispatches cooling tower crews from three Ohio operating centers. Each serves a distinct hospital, data-center, and industrial tower base. Call 866.215.7150 to reach the regional dispatch.
A sample of named Service-Tech clients whose facilities include cooling towers STC has cleaned or currently maintains:
Service-Tech's cooling tower protocols and documentation are built around the authorities that govern Legionella risk management and cooling-tower maintenance.
Legionellosis risk management standard for building water systems. STC cleaning records plug directly into the facility's water-management plan.
ashrae.org →Cooling Technology Institute — industry body for cooling tower design, operation, and service. STC practice aligns with CTI guidance for fill-safe cleaning.
cti.org →Federal public health authority on Legionnaires' disease. Service-Tech's disinfection protocol reflects CDC environmental remediation guidance.
cdc.gov/legionella →OSHA 1910.146 confined-space entry on all basin work. GSA Federal Supply Schedule #GS-21F-0032U qualifies STC for federal cooling-tower work including VA and DoD facilities.
osha.gov →Yes — extensively. Service-Tech has delivered cooling tower cleaning across Ohio since 1960, from our Cleveland headquarters (65+ years, ~100,000 total jobs), Columbus service center (~25,000 jobs), and Dayton service center (~25,000 jobs). Cooling tower cleaning specifically is deployed most often at hospital campuses, data centers, and large commercial chiller plants.
Service-Tech's cooling tower cleaning carries a $1,300 minimum engagement, which covers crew mobilization, equipment, disinfectants, and on-site work. Most projects are priced by scope after a site walk. Call 800.992.9302 for a fixed-price quote after a site survey.
For planned work, crews typically mobilize within 1–2 business days of confirmed scope. Spring start-up and fall shutdown windows are booked weeks in advance, so for seasonal ASHRAE 188 cleaning we recommend scheduling 4–6 weeks out. A single-cell ~500-ton tower is typically 1–2 days of crew time.
Service-Tech has won 19 consecutive NADCA Safety Awards. All supervisors and foremen are OSHA-certified, and crews follow standard protocols for lockout/tagout, confined-space entry, hazardous communication, respiratory protection, and PPE. Service-Tech maintains a Drug-free Safety Program.
Service-Tech's protocol reaches the biofilm shielding Legionella from biocide without destroying the PVC fill. The most common way competitors damage fill is high-pressure water direct-on-fill, caustic solvents, or wire-brush scraping — forcing the owner into an unplanned $20,000–$60,000 fill replacement. Service-Tech's sequence uses calibrated manual agitation, controlled pressure washing at fill-safe distances, and chemical treatments that lift biofilm without degrading PVC.
Yes — aligned with the client's ASHRAE 188 water management plan. Service-Tech handles chain-of-custody to the client's chosen laboratory. Sampling timing is documented per ASHRAE 188 guidance and delivered in a format ready for the client's water-management log.
Call Service-Tech for a site walk and fixed-price quote — ASHRAE 188-aligned, fill-media-safe, and documentation-ready for your water management plan.
