Recommend cotton swabs

[Bud]

I've been using these MG Chemicals cotton swabs for PCB cleaning for long time, but they are somewhat hairy. What other brands can you recommend?

https://www.amazon.ca/MG-Chemicals-Precision-Cleaning-Double/dp/B008OA83R0

[helius]

Other brands to consider (in North America) could be Techspray and Chemtronics.

[RayRay]

I have a different solution for you, you could just use this spray instead:
http://www.dx.com/p/anti-electrostatic-cleaner-spray-4607
Then you wouldn't need to worry about messy cotton residue.

[mmagin]

Not as narrow of a point, but I like these a lot:
http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/cleaning-products-for-electronics/cleaning-accessories/swabs/chamois-swabs-810-810d

[helius]

Scrubbing boards with cotton buds is one technique, but it can also be done differently. Another approach is to lay a paper towel (such as a KimWipe) on the board, spray it with cleaner, and brush over it with a horse hair brush, like the TechSpray 2020. They also make ESD conductive brushes but that may not be necessary depending on your climate.

The chamois swabs linked above are not very absorbent, which is a problem for flux removal. But they are very good for cleaning battery and switch contacts, with a little dab of polishing compound or jeweler's rouge.

[Bud]

I want it for spot cleaning, not the entire board.

[Bud]

Does anyone know what product Louis Rossman uses in his iThingies repair videos? Those heads look damn good under the microscope.

[Bud]

Wrap the tips with KimWipe?

This may help in certain cases but is somewhat awkward in general . Thanks for the idea.

[james_s]

I usually just use a toothbrush with a dab of dish soap and rinse it off in the kitchen sink. If I want to wash the whole board I use a dollar store dish brush (not the same one I use on the dishes) followed up by a rinse with alcohol or distilled water and then set it by a heat vent for a few days to thoroughly dry. If I'm in a hurry I set the oven to 160F and bake for an hour or so. Sounds a bit brutal but with some care it's safe and effective.

[Kuro]

Since cotton swabs are also used in medicine, and I cannot believe loose cotton hairs are desirable in wounds and such, I wonder if the swabs sold for medical purposes would be tighter wound and better quality?

[elecman14]

You can get a swab like tool with a foam end like a sponge.  A search for "sponge swabs" should point you in the correct direction. 

Example:

[oldnewb]

I've ordered swabs from McMaster-Carr that have worked well.  The low-lint, tapered-tip variety are good for board touch-up; anything more than a 1/8" tip is too big for densely-populated boards.  The cotton tip on these has a tight weave.  There's no fuzzy "corona" when they're new.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#71035t31

(The Internets have conflicting reports as to McMaster-Carr's willingness to ship to Canada.  YMMV.)

[mmagin]

Since cotton swabs are also used in medicine, and I cannot believe loose cotton hairs are desirable in wounds and such, I wonder if the swabs sold for medical purposes would be tighter wound and better quality?

In natural fibers there are different sizes of 'staple', i.e. the fiber length, the longer staple cotton is generally what would go into better quality fabric, at least, because it's longer wearing.  Not sure if any of that kind of grading happens in this stuff.

In my limited experience I haven't had cotton swabs used medically where they'd leave fibers in a wound though.

You can get a swab like tool with a foam end like a sponge.  A search for "sponge swabs" should point you in the correct direction. 

Example:

Compared to the chamois swabs, I hate how easily those fall apart, but I admit they may be nice for gentle cleaning.

[MacMeter]

You can get a swab like tool with a foam end like a sponge.  A search for "sponge swabs" should point you in the correct direction. 

Example:

Exactly what I was going to suggest, use em once and toss. You'll find a HUGE selection of these kinds of things in the ladies department in drug stores, makeup and nail departments!

[jpanhalt]

Since cotton swabs are also used in medicine, and I cannot believe loose cotton hairs are desirable in wounds and such, I wonder if the swabs sold for medical purposes would be tighter wound and better quality?

For collecting specimens, particularly for culture, synthetic swabs are used almost exclusively.   Dacron from BD BBL (aka Culturette) used to be the standard in the US.  Other synthetics are also used.  Cotton is not used.

In surgery to absorb blood/fluid cotton gauze used to be the standard.  Today it may be something else, like a non-woven material.

For cleaning boards, I use a toothbrush with synthetic bristles or an old fashioned "acid brush" with natural fibers.  I generally buy in bulk from Torrington Brushes ( https://www.torringtonbrushes.com ).  Then, depending on the situation, I use Kimwipes or drain on ordinary paper towels.  Compressed air lightly applied helps.

[coppercone2]

Hi! Since I work as a medical examiner, I have tried a lot of types of cotton swabs in my work. So I am, to some extent, an expert on this issue, lol. To clean printed circuit boards in your place, I would try foam swabs or other cotton swabs from this site. I usually buy such consumables because they have high-quality goods at low prices. As a bonus, with such a cotton swab, you can do an express test for covid, which is very relevant now, lol. But seriously, look for what you need on this site. They have great products at low prices.

Well that sure is interesting. I never knew about the wild world of swabs

I use moleskin or bamboo cotton ones.

Don't underestimate stiff brushes either (take a pointy nylon brush and cut it short to like 2mm) for agitation of substrate prior to swab pickup. When the bristles are very short you can kind of 'scale'/scrape things like dried up flux thats in a small puddle of alcohol so there is less rubbing required for pickup, then clean the brush by wiping it on a dampened rag. Causing the contamination to 'fracture' makes cleanup alot easier.


Can you tell us about various swab types? The website has a whole slew of stuff.


For instance, what is foam covered cotton for? Does the cotton work to absorb liquids better ?
Whats microdenier? Whats the difference between knitted and non knitted?

A 'choice for use' table/catalog would be nice.

And can you tell me about what swabs are good for alcohol, I like the micro-q-tips from Caig but once you dip em in alcohol or deoxit it seems pretty easy for the cotton to come off the stick when you are scrubbing.

[Bud]

I could not find on that web site what i want, which is 6 inch wooden shaft with double low lint cotton tips...