Unlike other blast media, dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide (CO2) at a temperature of -78.5 °C. Dry ice blasting uses 3 mm dry ice pellets, which are accelerated in a pressurised air stream and subsequently directed at the surface to be cleaned.

The dry ice freezes the dirt on impact, then rapidly sublimates while the CO2 gas removes the frozen dirt without causing damage or abrasion to the surface. Because of the temperature difference between the dry ice particles and the surface being treated, thermal shock occurs during the process. This causes a breakdown of the bond between the two dissimilar materials.

The dry ice pellets are accelerated up to 300 m/s (1,080 km/h) by the compressed air and then blasted onto the surface to be cleaned. The second part of the cleaning process is the impact with high kinetic energy.

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