Metrology – Concepts in Practice

Preceding blogs on metrology have introduced some basic concepts which can serve as food for thought.  Today, I would like to give you a couple of examples of the practical application of the concepts discussed so far in industrial cleaning applications. Monitoring Contaminant Removal – Everyone wants to know how long it takes for a …

Rinsing – Better Rinsing Using Less Water

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 …

It’s Time To Talk About Water – Again

The blog It’s Time To Talk About Water discussed the variations in water from different sources.  Today’s blog is the start of a series on how to purify and prepare water for use in cleaning and rinsing applications. Water from municipal and other sources may have characteristics that are deleterious to a variety of processes.  Many of …

Cleaning – Solvents – So What’s Different Now?

Previous blogs discussed the demise of solvents after the Montreal Protocol.  Today, in the US at least, solvents are coming back prompting the reader to ask, “What Has Changed.”  First of all, there was never any real argument that solvents did, and still do, a good job of cleaning in many, many applications!  Are there aqueous and other alternatives …

Cleaning Process – Preventing Oxidation During Cleaning and Rinsing

Rust is a potential problem whenever ferrous parts are being cleaned.  There are several options available to prevent or eliminate rusting both during and after the parts cleaning process.  Steel will rust if it is exposed to oxygen and moisture as discussed in the blog Some Things You Should Know About Rust. Although iron oxide (rust) gets …

Cleaning – Solvents – The Phoenix Stirs!

In the period immediately following the signing of the Montreal Protocol, virtually every manufacturing facility using solvents for cleaning was faced a critical decision.  The three basic options were – Discontinue unnecessary cleaning operations altogether. Upgrade or replace existing solvent-based cleaning systems to reduce solvent emissions. Switch to cleaning using water-based chemistry. Surprisingly, the first option, eliminating …

Cleaning Process – Rinsing – Preventing Carry-Over

A dedicated reader has requested that the blog address rinsing in more detail.  Rinsing ranks high on the list of process steps that are often not given their due attention in the specification of an overall cleaning process.  Many specifications just say “rinse” and nothing more.  In fact, rinsing is a secondary cleaning step intended to remove residuals left …

Cleaning – Chemistry – What Happened to Solvents?

Most cleaning today is based on aqueous (water based) technology.  Wash, rinse and dry cleaning has become the norm.  But, for those of you who are new to the cleaning industry and don’t know, Chlorinated and Fluorinated solvents were the cleaning “benchmark” for many years.  Virtually every manufacturing facility cleaned something using a vapor degreaser with …