4 Common Cleanroom Contaminators

Published by Harmony Lab & Safety Supplies on Jan 09, 2024

Maintaining a cleanroom environment has unique challenges because it’s constantly exposed to several contaminants. Identifying your leading sources of contamination is critical to stabilizing your company’s particle count. While these sources may vary from one organization to the next, the most common contaminators tend to be similar across most industries.

Here, we discuss four of the most widespread culprits of contamination in cleanroom environments, along with strategies for combating each source:

Cleanroom Operators

 While they’re likely the most highly trained in reducing contamination, operators tend to be the leading source of it in cleanroom environments. Employees can compromise their particle count by neglecting to wear cleanroom apparel to maintain their cleanroom environment. 
Consider how an operator who just left the building for their lunch break might contaminate an environment by failing to wear the proper shoe covers, face masks, or other protective apparel. Frequent reinforcement of procedures and the availability of necessary disposable resources can help prevent operator contamination.

HVAC Systems

Inadequate air volume or velocity can impact your environment, exposing it to a rising number of particles. Even if your cleanroom is stable, it’s possible that HVAC systems working below capacity could be pulling in particles from nearby non-cleanroom environments and contaminating your critical areas. 

To prevent HVAC-related contamination, make sure you’re following the prescribed maintenance schedule for your HEPA filters. A general rule of thumb is to have your pre-filters replaced at least twice yearly.

Supplies 

Wipes, gloves, and cleanroom esd swabs can help or hurt you in controlling contaminants. If you’re not using the proper shoe covers, you could increase ESD risks instead of limiting them. The same goes for the gloves and wipes you select. 

Make sure that the supplies you choose are intended for use at your cleanroom level. For instance, wipes made from a polyester/cellulose blend are ideal for cleaning spills in controlled environments, and many are available for settings of varying classes. 

There are contaminant-reducing gloves explicitly designed for cleanrooms. Using cleanroom paper, pens, and notepads, intended for use in cleanrooms, is also helpful for reducing particle generation.

Cleaning Procedures 

Maintaining a regular cleaning schedule is imperative in cleanrooms, and without strict adherence to procedures and programs, your risk for contamination increases substantially. In addition to scheduling airborne particle counts, regular inspections should also be performed on work surfaces and in critical places. Also, while general cleanings should be performed frequently, you should be following follow deep cleanses to keep particle and bacterial counts down.

From cleanroom pens to wipes and apparel, Harmony Lab & Safety has everything you need to help control contamination in your company’s cleanroom.