If you’re a reader of this blog, you most likely deal with solder paste, flux, or some other messy material. How can you keep these materials off of you working surfaces?
Step 1) Clean before you make a mess.
Most of us share labs with other people. I hope you trust your fellow co-workers as much as I trust mine - but DO NOT trust that they have sufficiently cleaned your equipment and working surfaces. To keep a clean lab, you need to do at least a quick wipe down of your area before bringing out the chemicals.
Step 2) Keep containers closed and open containers covered.
This step is easy. Yeah, you might think that nothing in your lab is going to fly into the open jar of solder paste on the workbench, but why risk it - and why have it exposed to air?
Step 3) Get movin'.
Most people clean around equipment, but rarely under it or behind it. In the event that you do drop something like a screw or spring around your equipment, let's hope you don't also find 5 years of dust bunnies!
Step 4) Make it easy for others to clean up too.
Getting people to keep a workplace clean is much easier if they don't need to waste their time looking for cleaning items. Keep the supplies in a central area and make sure they are stocked. IPA and some lint-free rags are great for cleaning paste and flux off surfaces, and should not be harmful to most surfaces in the lab.
Do you have some ideas to share?
Solder Basics