Swabs and Applicators

The head of a foam swab with degrade, tackify and breakdown around 275°F. The polypropylene handle will melt around 320°F. A better option to resist the degrading effect of the high temperatures is a polyester swab head on a nylon handle such as 51353, 51121 or 52121. 52121 would probably be the best, because it’s 6 inches long which keeps more safe distance between the hot mold and the user. It should be able to handle temperatures approaching 500°F.

Yes, Chemtronics offers a full line of ESD swabs. They include foam, knit polyester, or knit microfiber heads with static dissipative handles. The proprietary handle material has surface resistivity of 1.0 x 10_10 ohms/sq, and will dissipate 99% of (5 kV) charge in 0.5 seconds. This avoids static generation, and can dissipate a charge when the user is grounded.

No, cotton bud swabs (aka Q-tips) can’t be considered lint-free. Cotton tends to lead behind threads and particulates. Open cell polyurethane foam swabs are a common, very clean replacement for cotton. If harsh solvents are being used on the swabs, or even more cleanliness is needed, knit polyester or microfiber swabs are an excellent choice.

While cotton bud swabs (aka Q-tips) are commonly used for all kinds of precision cleaning, foam swabs are commonly used to reduce contamination from cotton threads and particulates. Foam swabs are usually made of open cell polyurethane for maximum cleanliness and absorbency.

Sterile swabs are free from bacteria or other living microorganisms. Common methods for sterilization include autoclaves, ETO (ethylene oxide gas), and Gamma irradiation. Sterile swabs are generally used for biological sample collection to avoid sample contamination, and for medical use to avoid infection.