TechNotes

Q. I am seeing a white powder around solder joints on PCBs.  Is this solder flux? We use Detergent 8 for cleaning. Do you know why this is happening and how to stop or remove it?
A. There are several ways of approaching this common issue of solder flux and its removal. For example, One way to fix this problem is to lower the temperature when soldering. In another scenario, a leading aerospace manufacturer studied putting potassium silicate (10 mL in 10 L) into the Detergent 8 bath to act as an inhibitor to stop the formation of these white salts.

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Q. We have glassware that contains adhesive and API dissolved in organic solvents. If we do not do additional organic rinses prior to the aqueous rinses we have issues. Is there any way we can avoid the organic rinses?
A. To avoid organic rinses, you can soak in a high emulsifying cleaner such as a 1% Alconox solution (1.25 oz/gal or 10 g/L) prior to aqueous rinsing. Ideally soak in a warm or hot solution for fastest and most reliable results. The emulsifiers in Alconox will emulsify the solvents and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). Be sure to rinse at the same temperature you are soaking at so you do not break the emulsion and redeposit the API or solvents. If you soak hot . . .

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Q. What cleaner does Alconox recommend for the decontamination of nuclear reactor cavities and related equipment?
A. Alconox recommends Detergent 8, a non-ionic, phosphate-free homogeneous blend of an alkanolamine, glycol ethers and an alkoxylated fatty alcohol for decontaminating nuclear reactors and related equipment including pipes, tools, and protective equipment.

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Q. We need to remove RMA solder flux on indium/lead soldered subassemblies. Most aqueous cleaners attack this solder. A. According to the Materials H

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Q: What types of Alconox, Inc. detergent would I use to clean a mold release agent? As an aside, is there any chance I could use the same detergent to also clean copper traces off a printed circuit board?

A: Yes! You may indeed be able to use one detergent in both these cleaning applications. But it will only work if the copper is not in the form of an oxide. Here’s why.

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A non-free rinsing cleaner might contain fragrances that were designed to deposit and leave a fresh scent, or it might contain corrosion inhibitors that are designed to deposit and leave behind an anti-corrosion film.

Alconox, Inc, cleaners are free rinsing detergents and do not leave deposits on substrates after rinsing.

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Q: We are looking for recommendations on how to remove adhesive residue left on medical devices after pulling off labels or tape. A. We are aware of many other customers using Detergent 8 to successfully remove different kinds of tough adhesive residues. We suggest using…

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Q: What can I use to replace hazardous acids below pH 1 cleaning?
A: Depending on exactly what you are using your acid cleaning to do, we may be able to help you.

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Q. What Alconox brands are EC 648/2004 compliant?
A. Alconox, Alcotabs, Citrajet, Detojet, Tergajet, Tergazyme. For more information about any one of our Alconox Cleaners, consult the specific technical bulletin for each product HERE. Or click here to access each of our detergent’s Material Data Safety Sheets. You can also request a free sample by completing the questionnaire at Get Sample.

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Adding bleach to Alconox and Liquinox detergents can be done to enhance the disinfecting and oxidizing properties of these cleaners. Adding oxidizing does bring one more cleaning mechanism to the cleaning process which can be helpful if you are trying to clean dyes, pigments, heavy burned on organic residues and other residues that are labile to oxidation. You can get some disinfection, but as we will explain, you need to clean a surface first before you disinfect.

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