The Best Cleaning Products for Hard to Remove Residues 

Posted on by CE3S

It is important to find the right cleaning solution for your needs, but it can be difficult to find products that are tough on hard to remove residues. Removing stubborn adhesives, coatings, flux residues, and other common byproducts of the industry can be a challenging task. We’ve rounded up some of our top product recommendations–designed to make your job easier—helping you clean quickly, reduce waste, and keep your space contaminant-free.

Why is an excellent, reliable cleaning process so critical? 

According to our partners at MicroCare, unclean components can lead to costly consequences—rejects, scrapped boards, wasted materials, lost production time for rework, and a spike in returns or warranty claims. Beyond the financial impact, dirty circuit boards pose serious technical risks, including poor solder connections, dendrite growth, increased electrical noise, and even complete board failure. 

Common Types of Hard-To-Remove Residues 

  • Flux residues 
  • Solder pastes and stencil residue 
  • Adhesive & epoxy residues 
  • Particulate & oxidation residues 

Factors to Consider Choosing Cleaning Products 

There are many key elements to think about when selecting the best cleaning product for a project. Here are a few of the most important factors to consider: 

  • Type of residue 
  • Material compatibility 
  • Safety & ESD compliance 
  • Regulatory considerations 
  • Critical cleaning for medical devices 

Recommended Cleaning Products 

Swabs & detailing 

  • Ideal for tight spaces and great for delicate components. 

Stencil cleaning solutions & tools 

  • Made for cleaning in SMT processes. 
  • Reduces defects and ensures accurate paste deposition. 

Cleaning pens & spot cleaners 

  • Useful for precision application in small or sensitive areas. 
  • Easy application for spot cleaning. 

Cleanroom wipes 

  • Made for controlled environments.  
  • Best for surface contaminants like flux residues and particulates. 

Brushes & applicators 

  • Useful for manual scrubbing of residues. 
  • Choose appropriate bristle materials for ESD and material compatibility. 
  • One of our featured partners, MicroCare suggests the TriggerGrip four-step cleaning system for PCBs. The unique Trigger Grip attachment helps eliminate waste and deposits the cleaning product directly to where you need it. Their recommended process entails: 
  1. Wet- Wet residues with solvent 
  1. Scrub- Scrub with a brush 
  1. Rinse- Rinse away with solvent 
  1. Dry- Dry with a wipe, or air 

Compressed air & vacuum tools 

  • For removing particulate contaminants before cleaning. 
  • Non-contact cleaning solution. 

Sterile & Critical Cleaning Supplies 

  • Designed to perform in sterile environments. 
  • Great for removing particulates, chemical residues, and oils/greases. 

How can CE3S help connect you to the right products? 

CE3S carries a variety of cleaning solutions that can help you tackle hard to remove residues. We offer: 

  • Swabs 
  • Cleanroom wipes 
  • Compressed air dusters 
  • Stencil wipes & wipe rolls 
  • Cleaning pens 
  • Brushes 
  • Sterile products 
  • ESD cleaning tools 
  • Fiber optic cleaning tools 
  • High absorbency wipes 
  • Chemical offerings – degreasers, flux removers, dusters, surface cleaners, etc. 
  • And customized cleaning products 

Final Thoughts 

While it can be difficult to remove stubborn residues, there are plenty of products that can clean them easily and efficiently. By browsing our selection of cleaning solutions, you can find the right product to tackle your most challenging contaminants. Contact CE3S at sales@ce3s.com to explore our customized solutions and cleaning products.