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It is no secret that good cleaning followed by poor rinsing can be worse than not rinsing (or cleaning) at all.  A single-use rinse using a fresh water spray or a high flow rate or single use immersion rinse are often thought to provide the ultimate rinse.  These options, however, are often extremely expensive because they consume … Continued

OK, I may get into trouble here, but this is a subject that I think needs some discussion.  What about cleaning consultants? I know many people who are cleaning consultants and, in fact, I was one for a while myself.  There are good reasons for hiring a consultant when it comes to the specification of … Continued

Process testing in a cleaning laboratory is a typical and useful step in the development of an industrial cleaning process.  In most cases, test cleaning is performed in laboratories maintained by the suppliers of cleaning equipment and/or cleaning chemistries.  The goal of lab testing, of course, is to simulate a cleaning process to determine its effectiveness … Continued

A few days ago, I sat down to write what I thought would be a simple explanation of surface tension and how it is measured in the laboratory (a blog which will be published shortly if I can figure all of this out).  In doing the normal background research, however, I started to see contradictions … Continued

In recent blogs we have been talking, for the most part, about particles that are relatively large – ones you can see, touch and feel.  There is a world out there, however, that worries about particles that are very tiny.  I’m talking about particles that are smaller than tens of microns in dimension.  An earlier … Continued

Before we leave the subject of particles and particle counting, there are some things we need to touch on regarding “exceptional” particles.  In an earlier blog,  Particles That Don’t Count?, we discussed briefly some particles that may or may not count when it comes to analyzing the cleanliness of a part.  These and several other kinds of … Continued

“Hard” water contains minerals, usually Calcium and Magnesium, that form scale and soap scum.  In most cases, soft water is preferred to hard water in industrial cleaning.  In some cases it can mean the difference between success and disaster. Since its been a while since we last talked about water, you may want to review a … Continued

Next to water filtration and “softening,” de-ionization is probably the next most common water treatment.  Ions in water interfere with many cleaning processes and cause water spots on drying after rinsing.  The common measure of the amount of ions in water is “resistivity.”  The more “resistive” water is, the less ions it contains.  Water from a municipal … Continued

As discussed earlier, monitoring variables in a process is a critical part of Six Sigma.  The following are some examples of parameters that can be monitored in a cleaning process and some suggestions regarding how the monitoring can be done. Chemical Concentration – Chemistry (detergent, acid, rinse aid, etc.) is one of the most important components of the … Continued

This blog is in response to recently received reader questions regarding the best designs for baskets and fixtures used in ultrasonic cleaning applications.  The blog Reader Questions – Baskets for Ultrasonic Cleaning addressed previous questions.  Today’s question concerns the use of metallic fasteners in the construction of baskets and fixtures to hold parts for ultrasonic cleaning. The … Continued