FAQ

General

Q. How can I obtain test data that is not on the ITW Texwipe Datasheet?

Texwipe submits its products to rigorous testing to ensure products meet performance and contamination criteria, including absorbency, surface resistivity, particles, fibers, nonvolatile residues and ions, all of which are reported on the product datasheet. If you have need for other test performance data, please contact your sales representative.

Q. How did Texwipe get started?

It all started in 1964 when Mr. Edward Paley invented a product to solve a problem that no one could see. The problem was microcontamination -- minute particles that were creating errors on the disk and tape drives of the burgeoning mainframe computer industry. In developing the first low-lint cloth for cleaning computer equipment, Mr. Paley also created a company and invented an industry. Today, Texwipe is a worldwide leader in contamination control. We're solving problems related to surface contaminants and microbes in cleanrooms, manufacturing plants and biotech labs. We're working with the leaders in the high-technology industries to apply our expertise in ever expanding ways. We're the best in the business -- the business we began. Click About Us above to learn more about Texwipe.

Q. Where are your headquarters and manufacturing facilities?

Texwipe is headquartered in Kernersville, NC (USA), with European headquarters in The Netherlands and Asian headquarters in China. Our manufacturing sites are in Kernersville, NC (USA), China and the Philippines.

Click here to obtain address, phone and e-mail information. Click About Us to learn more about the company.

Q. What is ITW CC doing for Texwipe?

ITW-CC is currently working in 2 cleanrooms. One dedicated to the fully-automated wiper production; one with a filling-line for the pre-wetted wipers and for all the custom made products for our customers.

Q. What is Vertex?

Vertex® cleanroom wipers are made from 100% polyester material with a sealed edge processed on Texwipe’s fully automated Vertex® manufacturing system. Vertex® process advanced cleanroom wiper manufacturing technology takes wipers to the highest level in the industry.

Customer Service

Q. Can you provide me with a list of distributors that sell your products?

For information about distributor(s) in your area, please contact your local Texwipe sales representative.

Q. How can I get a sample of your product?

Contact your local sales representative to request product samples.

Q. How can I place an order with you?

You can contact our customer service emailing texwipe@itw-cc.com or calling us +31 88 1307 410.

Q. How can we obtain case size and weight of a product?

Please contact Customer Service or local distributor for that information.

Q. I have a unique product requirement. Can you develop a custom product?

Yes, Texwipe develops custom products. Please call your local sales representative to discuss your product requirements.

Wipers

Q. What is a non-woven wiper?

Texwipe offers a variety of cleanroom wipes: dry wipes, pre-wetted or pre-saturated wipes, non-sterile and sterile wipes, industrial and laboratory wipes to meet the strict requirements of pharmaceutical, bio-medical, and medical device, semiconductor & microelectronics, healthcare, aerospace, aviation & defense, laboratory, nutraceuticals/food, print, and automotive industries.

Nonwoven fabric is a fabric-like material made from staple fibre (short) and long fibres (continuous long), bonded together by chemical, mechanical, heat or solvent treatment.

For the bonding Texwipe uses the hydroentagle process: this is a bonding process which uses fine, high pressure jets of water which penetrate the web, hit the conveyor belt (or "wire" as in papermaking conveyor) and bounce back causing the fibres to entangle.

Q. Which material is the cleanest?

Man-made material (Polyester, Nylon, Polypropylene etc.) is cleaner than natural material (Cotton, Cellulose etc.) The cleanest material is Polyester. Our clean room wiper families include polyester sealed-border and sealed-edge wipers for the most critical environments and a variety of cut-edge wipes for less critical areas. Texwipe’s wipers are tested for fibers, particles, ions, residue and endotoxin to ensure exceptional cleanliness for consistent quality and high performance.

Q. What's the difference between knitted polyester and microdenier/microfiber?

For wipers made from knitted polyester Texwipe is using yarn-filaments thicker than ten micrometeres. Microfiber (or microdenier) is synthetic fiber finer than one denier, having a diameter of less than ten micrometres. The most common types of microfiber are made of polyester, nylon, polyamid etc. Specific characteristics are softness, toughness, absorption, water repellence, electrostatics, and filtering ability.

Q. Which testings is Texwipe doing for sterile wipers?

Additional to the normal testings for particles, NVR, Ions and more, Texwipe is doing special tests for sterile products which are needed for a complete validation: Bioburden, Endotoxins.

Q. What's the benefit of pre-wetted wipers?

Advantages: convenient and easy to use. They save time - Eliminate finding and filling squirt bottles,
Reduce number of steps to clean a device. They save money - Minimize hazardous waste, Reduction of alcohol usgae. They improve safety - Reduce VOC emissions,
Minimize exposure to alcohol vapors. Eliminate handling of flammable liquids, Reduce potential for solvent spills, Reduce the potential for accidents.

Q. I need a special wiper which is not available on your website.

At Texwipe we are working closely with the users of our wipers to find the best solution. We can customize lots of the parameters to meet the specific demand (wiper size, number of wipers per bag, specialty packaging requirements, custom presaturation etc.) Contact us in The Netherlands.

Q. How Many Passes With a Cleanroom Wipe Will Get a Surface Clean and Sterile?

Texwipe cannot provide specific recommendations regarding how many swipes/passes of a wiper on a surface will make the surface clean or free of microorganisms.The main reason for this is each situation where wipers are used is different and has many variables, each of which will have an impact on the outcome of any cleaning. Contact us for further information

Q. What is a Low Endotoxin Cleanroom Wipe?

A low endotoxin cleanroom wipe has a guaranteed endotoxin limit of <20 EU/device – <0.5 EU/mL. This is especially important when you read the FDA Guidance for Industry: Pyrogen and Endotoxins Testing.

Q. How do I fold a wiper for a proper use?

These are the steps that you should follow to fold a cleanroom wiper:

1- Hold the wiper in mid air. Take the wiper by its edges and fold in half, during the folding action the wiper should not be place in any surface.

2- Fold the wiper in half again, creating four cleaning faces.

3- Work from the cleanest areas to the dirtiest area in long, overlapping unidirectional strokes. Each face of the cleanroom wiper will be used for one time.

Mops

Q. Which mop can I use for isolator cleaning?

For Isolator cleaning you can use the MiniAlpha Mop or the Small Clipper Mop. Please see also our "Isolator Cleaning Guide" and the TechNotes ITC-1 "Cleaning of Compounding Aseptic Isolators (CAIs) and Class II Biological Safety Cabinets (BSCs)"amd ITC-2 "Cleaning of Pharmaceutical Isolators". You can view them here.

Swabs

Q. What are the differences between normal cleanroom swabs and cleaning validation swabs?

The head material gets a special treatment during production to reduce the TOC-level for the TOC-swabs and to reduce the background disturbtion for the HPLC-swab. All sampling-swab-handles have a notch for an easy break-off into the vial. Click here to learn more about swabs validation.

Q. Why is the handle of the ESD-swabs different?

These handles are made from a different material ( Stat-Rite®) to avoid static charge. The static dissipative plastic alloy used to make the handles is inherently static dissipative. It contains no additives, coatings or surfactants so it functions at any level of humidity and it is very resistant to solvents even acetone.

Q. Where can I get more information about the cleaning validation sampling procedure?

Please download our TechNote "Swabs for Cleaning Validation in Pharma" and our "Swabbing guide". For more information or a workshop/online-training please contact your regional sales manager.

Q. I need a special size which is not in your standard portfolio - can I get a customozed swab and whom should I contact?

Custom swabs - At Texwipe® we understand that the best swab for your application may be something unique. We can create a custom swab for your specific application. Please, contact your regional sales manager.

Quality

Q. Is there a quality difference in products from USA, Asia and Europe?

No, Texwipe implemented a global quality system which is valid for every factory

Q. How can I get CoA, CoC, CoI, regulatory certificates?

After registering, you can download the Certificates analysis, compliance, irradiation, regulatory from our Texwipe website.

Q. Do Texwipe products expire?

The only products that have a shelf life or expiration date are presaturated wipes, bottled solutions, and sterile products.

Others

Q. Which adhesives are used for Texwipe labels?

Texwipe cleanroom labels are constructed of durable face stocks coupled with acrylic based adhesives to create a reliable, chemical resistant label for critical environments and applications. Texwipe's cleanroom labels are cleaned and packaged in a controlled environment.

Q. Can I get custom cleanroom labels - and whom should I contact?

Yes, that's possible. Please contact your regional sales manager or our sales support team in NL.

Applications

Q. Can I find lint-free wiper?

There is no absolute lint-free wiper available worldwide. Lint-free is always a subjective view of expectations according to the point of use of the wiper. Minimizing the risk of contamination by the wiper is key. We can help you to find the best product according to your need. Please contact us for more information.

Q. Which products are suitable for the food industry?

Texwipe offers NSF certified products which are allowed to clean surfaces which are in direct food contact, they can be TX4409, TX8723, NSF certificates. Please contact us for more information.