Five Cleanroom Supplies You Should Always Have
If cleanrooms are an important part of your business, you understand the need to maintain them to a high standard. A shortage can slow your operations and compromise the quality of your products.
What makes that frustrating is how cheap most of the culprits are. Here are five cleanroom items you should always keep track of.
Replacement Filters
Filters are essential to keeping the cleanroom free of dust and other particles. Not having replacement filters on hand can compromise your cleanroom operations and standards. It’s always a good idea to have backups in stock, including HEPA, ULPA, and pre-filters.
Pre-filters. Depending on your classification, these get swapped every couple of months. Gowning rooms burn through them faster, and ungowned people bring in far more particulate than gowned ones do. The pre-filters catch the difference, so it's important to keep enough for 1 or two full changes.
HEPA and ULPA. It is important to keep 1 or 2 on hand in case they need to be changed after inspection. Having replacements available in your facility allows you to be ready in case of an emergency.
Cleanroom wipes
Cleanroom wipes are not paper towels nor shop rags. They are made from lint-free material and pre-saturated with solutions that won't leave anything behind. This allows for cleaning the room without contaminating it.
Wipes get consumed at a steadier rate than anything else on this list, which makes them easy to plan around. Set a standing reorder with your supplier, then keep a buffer on top of that in case a shipment is delayed or doesn't show up.
Sticky mats
Sticky mats sit at the entrances and exits, pulling dirt, dust, and debris off shoes and cart wheels before any of it travels farther in. They only work while the top layer is still tacky, so pull sheets on a schedule instead of waiting for someone to notice.
Keeping a log of when mats get changed is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of introducing contaminants to your cleanroom.
Gowning Material
Bunny suits, hoods, gloves, masks, and booties are mandatory for entering a cleanroom, so a gap in one size is effectively a gap in all of them. All the sizes should be stocked, not just the mediums.
Establish a protocol for monitoring supplies, such as having your employees notify the purchasing manager when the last box is opened. So that new stock can be ordered right away, ensuring that there are no shortages.
Cleaning Solutions
Having cleaning solutions available is crucial for maintaining the purity and efficiency of your cleanroom. These solutions should be residue-free, non-toxic, and non-volatile to ensure optimal performance.
The same rule as gowning applies here. When someone is down to a single bottle, that should be the sign to inform the purchasing manager. Not when the bottle is half or nearly empty. By following this protocol, you can ensure that your clean room has the necessary supplies to operate.
