Cleaning Soot on Circuit Boards

Q: We have some pc boards that have soot from being in a building that caught fire. The boards were not damaged by heat and the only issue is the soot covering. We were hoping to use our ultrasonic cleaner to clean them. Do you have a product that will remove soot and can be used in an ultrasonic cleaner?

A: For cleaning soot on circuit boards safely, we recommend our Detergent 8® Low-Foaming Ion-Free Detergent.  It contains no chelating agents, halides or conductive metal cations such as sodium.  It excels at cleaning circuit boards, where even the slightest ionic residue is a problem.  It will also remove rosin based solder flux.   It can certainly be used in an ultrasonic tank.

I would recommend a starting with a warm 3% solution followed by thorough rinsing. This detergent can also be used for low foaming applications including washers and spray cabinets.  For a more powerful emulsifying option, Alconox® Powdered Precision Cleaner.  As it is not ion free, a very thorough rinse would be needed.

To request these or any Alconox Inc. detergent for free, please complete the questionnaire at Get Sample. For more information about any one of our Alconox Inc. detergents, consult the technical bulletin for each product. Or click here to access each of our detergent’s Safety Data Sheets.

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