REUSABLE CONTAINER CLEANING SYSTEMS
DUNNAGE, TOTE, BIN & TUB WASHERS
Get reusable containers clean and back into circulation. Better Engineering builds automated tote washers, bin washers, dunnage washers, and pallet washing systems around your container sizes, soils, throughput, and handling requirements.
66 years
Designing Cleaning Systems
25,000 +
Machines Sold Worldwide
0 Solvents
100% Aqueous Cleaning
100%
Engineered In-House in Joppa, MD
WASH IT. REUSE IT. KEEP IT MOVING.
Totes, bins, pallets, trays, tubs, and dunnage move through production facilities all day. With every trip, they can collect oils, grease, food residue, dirt, labels, biological contaminants, and other debris from production, storage, and transportation.
Manual cleaning creates another job between use and reuse.
Better Engineering automates that process with industrial tote washers, bin washers, dunnage washers, and pallet washing systems engineered around the containers being cleaned and the rate they need to move through the facility.
Depending on the application, containers can be processed in compact batch-style cabinet washers or continuously through conveyorized tunnel systems. Wash, rinse, sanitizing, blow-off, and drying stages can be configured around soil, cleanliness requirements, and the production environment.
MATCH THE WASHER TO YOUR CONTAINER FLOW.
| System Type | Process | Best Fit |
|---|---|---|
| Cabinet Washer | Batch | Mixed container sizes, lower-to-medium volume, limited floor space |
| Tunnel Washer | Continuous | High-volume tote, bin, pallet, tray, and dunnage cleaning |
| Custom Container Washer | Application-specific | Oversized containers, unusual geometries, specialized handling, or unique cleaning requirements |
A facility cleaning several container types throughout the day may benefit from the flexibility of a cabinet-style container washer. Higher-volume operations can use a continuous tunnel system to move totes, bins, pallets, and dunnage through automated cleaning stages at production speed.
For example, one Better Engineering conveyor system was engineered to clean varying sizes of automotive totes, bins, dunnage, and lids at more than 300 containers per hour, using adjustable rail supports for fast changeovers and improved drainage.
See the Cyberjet in Action
Watch totes, bins, trays, pallets, and dunnage move through automated wash, rinse, and drying processes built to replace repetitive manual cleaning.
BUILT FOR CONTAINERS THAT KEEP COMING BACK.
Logistics & Distribution
Automotive & EV
Food & Beverage
Pharma & Biotech
General MFG
CLEAN. RETURN. REUSE.
Reusable packaging only works if containers get from dirty to clean and back into circulation fast. Automated cleaning cuts the time your team spends washing, so they can keep production moving.
Clean More Than Totes
“Tote” means something different from one facility to the next.
That is why the cleaning system starts with what actually moves through your operation.
Better Engineering systems can be configured to clean:
- Plastic totes and reusable plastic containers
- Bulk bins and parts bins
- Dunnage trays and inserts
- Tubs and bulk containers
- Plastic pallets
- Trays and dividers
- Lugs and crates
- Baskets
- IBC totes and tanks
- Material-handling containers
- Returnable transport packaging
- Production racks and carts
Container dimensions, openings, ribs, handles, nesting features, and orientation all influence how cleaning solution reaches the surfaces and how water drains afterward.
WASH. RINSE. SANITIZE. DRY.
Reusable containers don’t all come back with the same contamination.
A dunnage washer used in an automotive facility may need to remove oils, grease, labels, and production debris. A food-processing tote may need to address organic residue and sanitation requirements. Distribution containers may carry dirt and debris accumulated through repeated handling and transport.
Depending on the application, systems can incorporate:
- Heated aqueous washing
- Recirculated rinsing
- Fresh-water rinsing
- Sanitizing stages
- Blow-off
- Heated drying
- Filtration
- Oil removal
- Automated chemical dosing
- PLC/HMI process controls
- Data recording and reporting
The process is configured around what is on the container, how clean it needs to be, and what happens to it next.
Resources for Operations & Plant Leaders
Case studies and engineering guides built around the decisions you’re actually making — capital spend, compliance, uptime.
TOTE, BIN & DUNNAGE WASHER FAQS
What can a tote and bin washer clean?
Better Engineering systems can clean plastic totes, bins, tubs, trays, dunnage, pallets, crates, lugs, reusable plastic containers, IBCs, dividers, inserts, racks, carts, and other returnable material-handling equipment.
Can one washer handle different tote and bin sizes?
Yes. Systems can incorporate adjustable guides, custom racks, fixtures, and other handling features for different container sizes. A Better Engineering automotive system, for example, uses adjustable rail supports to accommodate different totes and bins with rapid changeovers.
Can Better Engineering tote washers wash pallets?
Yes. Pallets are one of the reusable packaging formats Better Engineering’s tunnel washing systems can clean. Conveyor systems are particularly useful for high-volume pallet washing systems where pallets need to move continuously through cleaning and drying.
Can a container washer include sanitization?
Yes. Depending on the application, Better Engineering container washers can incorporate sanitizing stages along with washing, rinsing, blow-off, and drying. This is particularly relevant for food, pharmaceutical, and other hygiene-sensitive applications.
Can tote washers remove labels and adhesive residue?
Container washers can be engineered around labels and other soils, but the required process depends on the label material, adhesive, dwell time, temperature, chemistry, and mechanical cleaning action. This is an application I would recommend validating through parts testing rather than promising universal label removal.
How do I choose the right tote, bin, or dunnage washer?
Start with the container dimensions, number of containers that need to be cleaned per hour or shift, soil type, cleanliness requirements, drying requirements, available floor space, and how the containers are currently handled. Those factors help determine whether a batch cabinet, continuous conveyor, or custom container washing system makes the most sense.
SHOW US WHAT YOU NEED TO CLEAN AND HOW FAST IT NEEDS TO MOVE.
Send us your tote, bin, tub, dunnage, or pallet dimensions along with your soil type, required throughput, cleaning requirements, and current handling process. We’ll help determine the cleaning stages, system configuration, and material handling needed to return reusable containers to circulation.