Are Your Wipers Lint Free Or Low Lint?

Are your wipers lint-free or low lint?

There are many grades and types of controlled environment wipes on the market, each with inherently different properties and levels of releasable fibers. Post-processing effects these performance attributes, and new fiber optic technologies offer users new options.

For reference, "fluff-free" means visually inspecting the wiper surface for no visible lint. However, upon closer inspection, every fabric has some level of fuzz. When zoomed in, there will be huge differences between fabric types and grades.

Typically, nonwoven wipes are produced by hydroentangling millions of short fibers together to form a substrate. This creates a strong bond, but under stress, the short fibers break and are released as "lint" onto the application surface. This is especially true for wipes containing cellulose. Since they are used wet, the cellulose is likely to remain on your surface when enough force is applied. These staple fiber nonwoven wipes are properly considered "low lint" and should be used in low-risk general applications where appropriate.

Historically, "lint-free" wipes consisted of continuous strands of synthetic yarns such as polyester, nylon, or polyester/nylon microfiber that were knitted or braided to provide excellent mechanical strength. The edges must be sealed (ultrasonic or laser) when cutting to prevent the fiber from falling off during use. After building the "grey" material, a post-processing cleanroom wash with ultrapure water removes any releasable contaminants and fibers from the wiper surface; it provides lint levels and the cleanest intrinsic purity. These synthetic wash wipes have been the primary choice for "lint-free" cleaning of critical surfaces. Natural materials (cellulose, cotton) cannot be considered as they inherently continue to release fibers. The disadvantage of these synthetic materials is that they are hydrophilic,