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Posted on: 19 December 2019

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are an integral component of most modern consumer electronics, and if you are involved in the electronics manufacturing business, you probably create thousands of these versatile components every year. However, printed circuit boards are delicate and must be properly and thoroughly cleaned before they are installed in the devices you manufacture; otherwise, microscopic particulate matter and other contaminants can badly damage a board's circuitry and cause your devices to malfunction.

A wide variety of cleaning agents can be used to clean printed circuit boards, but isopropyl alcohol is one of the most widely used. This unique cleaning solvent's popularity makes sense, as isopropyl alcohol has numerous advantages over other cleaners suitable for cleaning newly manufactured PCBs.

What are the advantages of choosing isopropyl alcohol to clean printed circuit boards?

Removes all types of contamination

Isopropyl alcohol is prized in the electronics manufacturing industry for its ability to remove virtually any contaminant from a newly made printed circuit board. This powerful solvent can remove corrosive salts, ethanolamines and even residual perspiration from the skin of your assembly employees, all without causing any damage to the PCB's delicate circuitry.

Isopropyl alcohol can also be used to remove ionic contamination from printed circuit boards, a common cause of printed circuit board failure. Ionic contamination occurs during the manufacturing process and is caused by residual particles on the surface of a PCB that retain an electrical charge. if these ions come into contact with moisture, a chemical reaction occurs that can fatally damage the contaminated circuit board. Isopropyl alcohol effectively removes these charged ions.

Dries quickly and cleanly

Isopropyl alcohol dries extremely quickly once applied, and it does not leave behind any spots or surface residue that can cause some printed circuit boards to malfunction. This allows you to fit newly created PCBs into your electronic products almost as soon as they have been cleaned since you will only have to wait seconds for the alcohol to dry. 

Is inexpensive

Isopropyl alcohol is relatively cheap and easy to manufacture, and its sheer popularity in the electronics manufacturing industry means demand is consistently high. Isopropyl alcohol is therefore very inexpensive and can be acquired easily and cheaply in bulk to supply manufacturing operations both large and small.

Miscible in water

Isopropyl alcohol is highly miscible, meaning it forms a consistent, homogenous solution when mixed with water. This can be very helpful for cleaning certain types of PCB that benefit from being cleaned with an isopropyl alcohol and water solution rather than pure alcohol.

Learn more about using isopropyl alcohol 100 today.