Joyce For proper operation, the ESD protective smock must be laundered periodically. Your smock supplier will make recommendations on cleaning. Points are: * Launder the smock in cool or warm water, tumble dry with low heat or hang dry. * Use only non-ionic softeners and detergents when laundering. Liquid detergents are better than dry, because they cake less and cause less frictional wear. * Do not use bleach. * If you use home machines, run additional rinse cycles. * Use a "pony" (under 200 pound capacity) industrial machines. * Don't use heavy industrial laundry machines, because they beat and wear out the fabric too much. * Keep laundering heat below 120°F, because the carbon-suffused mono-filament nylon is sensitive to heat. [We prefer no machine / air drying, but that's too expensive and cumbersome.] * Don't ask employees to launder their smocks, especially if you have guys working for you. [Asking someone who doesn't wash his hands in the rest room to wash his little blue smocky-walky is an enterprise fraught with danger.] All ESD smocks lose ESD properties after many launderings and can be used unknowingly. And even though some smock suppliers offer warranties as long as two years or seventy-five launderings, ESD garments will eventually wear out. So, include periodic checks in your compliance verification plans to help determine when smocks should be replaced. ESD TR 20.20 Handbook, Paragraph 5.3.13.3.1.8 [do those very nice ESD people have enough subparagraphs, er what?] Periodic Testing states words to the effect, "To maintain process control, it is imperative that the garment be tested per ESD STM 2.1. The point-to-point and sleeve-to-sleeve resistance test should be made." ESD STM 2.1 is a point-to-point and sleeve-to-sleeve resistance test ("recommended electrical resistance range is 1 x 10^5 ohms to 1 x 10^11 ohms"). * Point-to-point resistance test: We do not do ASTM D257 Surface Receptivity. It is too tricky. [See linked ESD Magazine article] We do a surface-to-surface test with two 5-lb. probes and a megohm meter [electrometer] [as you monitor the resistance of your flooring]. With this test, the resistance can be checked across seams or from point-to-point on the same section of the garment. * Sleeve-to-sleeve resistance test: We use a megohm meter [electrometer], hang the garment on a wooden hanger to isolate it in air, and attach "jumper cable clips" [that have a wide contact area] to each sleeve. For more on smock qualification and on-going testing: * Look here: http://www.esdmagazine.com/eosesd/smocks/smocks.htm * ESD Program Management: A Realistic Approach to Continuous Measurable Improvement in Static Control; Theodore Danglemayer; Kluwer Academic Publishers; ISBN: 0412097818; 2002 [Klein-Wassink of ESD Programs] Dave Fish ----- Original Message ----- From: "joyce" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, May 09, 2003 8:40 AM Subject: [TN] Esd coat cleaning requirement > Guys, > Moving to research significantly reduce the brain power of mine. Does > any of you kindly lead me to the ESD labcoat cleaning requirements? Any > leads regarding the cleaning vendor in Toronto Canada area is > appreciated. > Best regards, > Joyce Koo > > --------------------------------------------------- > Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e > To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in > the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet > To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) > To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest > Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives > Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm for additional > information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 > ----------------------------------------------------- > --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 -----------------------------------------------------