Choosing Antiseptic Wipes for a Specific Process

In general, there are three broad categories of antiseptic wipes: non-woven wipes, woven or knitted flat wipes, and swabs. To choose the correct wipe for the job first consider, the absorbency needed for your contamination, then think about the contamination you are cleaning.  

Absorption is usually expressed in milliliters of water or alcohol absorbed by one square meter of the material. Some antiseptic wipes work well with solvents or lacquers but will not absorb water. For example, polyester is petroleum-based, so polyester wipes easily absorb gasoline, oils or grease. Cellulose wipes are good for water-based contamination.

In general, fabric wipes tend to be more absorbent, stronger and durable. Although they may be more expensive to buy, they generally work out to be less expensive to use. Paper wipes are often used in applications in which re-contamination cannot be allowed, such as in electronics and medical applications, and are usually single-use disposables.

Believe it or not, cleanliness of the antiseptic wipe is also crucial to the end result and is measured in particles per square meter. Cleanliness is inversely related to absorbency; the cleanest antiseptic wipes may be less porous and unable to absorb as much, while more absorbent materials may leave fibers or residues.

This article comes from pfonline edit released
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