How to Prevent Leakage When You Spray

This happens a lot. A caller tells us their Slide aerosol leaks as they spray. One of the first things we ask is for the caller to send us a picture.

That’s when we see it. The aerosol tip is not the original can tip. We subsequently find out the user lost the original tip, so they put on a tip from a different can.

Another tip may fit, but it won’t work.

You might be surprised at how much work goes into selecting the right tip and valve for an aerosol. Spray pattern, flow rate and product formulation are all part of the decision tree to use the best tip and valve.

What spray pattern do we want?

Tips come in a variety of spray patterns – cone patterns, streams and patterns in between, patterns for large particles to small. So depending on how the delivered active ingredients are to perform, the spray pattern is important.

What flow rate is best?

The manufacturer also wants to regulate how much product comes out and how fast. For example, Slide Products’ Mold Cleaner 4 comes out in a powerful stream. The goal is to have it deliver a strong stream, quickly flooding the mold surface and power washing it clean. If you continue to depress the tip the can will quickly become empty.

Alternatively, Slide Products’ EconoMIST^® has a much slower flow rate. Only a measured amount of mold release needs to be applied on the mold surface, and done so in a particular pattern.

What valve and tip works for the product formulation?

The various solvents and propellants used in the product formulation are also taken into consideration when selecting the tip and valve. For example, acetone and heptane require different valve gaskets. If you have acetone in an aerosol with a valve gasket that would be used for heptane, the acetone will cause the product creep around the gasket and it will escape out of the valve before it gets to the tip.

Different tips are available, but know that the manufacturer has selected the particular valve and tip based on how they want the product to perform. Switching tips may not give you the spray you expect.

Learn more about mold releases, cleaners and rust preventives