Clean Source, The Official Journal of the Cleaning Lady and the Rocket Scientist

Volume XXIII, Issue 5 - July 2026

Whatever you are concerned about – improving cleaning processes, keeping the product clean, failure analysis – stop worrying! Give us a call. We’ll help sort it out efficiently.

“I attended the Parts Cleaning Conference [the Hands-On Workshop] in Columbus on July 7th… I would highly recommend the class to other people.”

Alex Hemmelgarn, Manufacturing Engineer, Crown Equipment Corporation

Feature Article

“Keep it Clean”

Barbara Kanegsberg and Ed Kanegsberg

Call it parts cleaning, surface prep, precision cleaning, residue removal, or critical product cleaning - manufacturers think about three steps for most cleaning processes—wash, rinse and dry. That’s not enough! Cleaning means removing unwanted material and achieving the correct surface attributes for your application. As soon as the cleaning process is complete, product surfaces interact with the environment; the product becomes contaminated. Therefore, after wash, rinse, and dry, there is a fourth step. Let’s term this fourth step: keep it clean.

Keeping the product clean involves protection during storage, handling, and shipping. What environment does the part need to be in? It depends on the materials of construction, on the product, on what it will be used for, and on what contaminants might interfere with production, coating, and functionality.

The most effective approach is to do surface finishing immediately after cleaning.

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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Where was the in-crowd the week after July 4^th?

San Tropez? Mais non! Malibu? Big Negatory, dude! The Jersey Shore? Fuhgeddaboudit! The in crowd was in Columbus Ohio at the One-Day, Hands-On Parts Cleaning Workshop, and then at the Parts Cleaning Conference. On behalf of the Product Quality Cleaning Workshop teaching team of Prof. Darren Williams, Tommy Gilpin, Ed Kanegsberg, and Barb Kanegsberg, we want to thank Gardner Business Media for hosting the Parts Cleaning Event. We want to thank the 15 enthusiastic and involved sponsors. Above all, we want to thank the participants. The one-day workshop was particularly memorable, mainly due to the over 5 dozen people who did the interactive exercises, did the experiments – and sometimes adapted and improved them! They also asked lots of great questions. What’s next? We’re getting feedback; we’re plotting plans. Stay tuned! Here’s a time-lapsed video of the day.

https://youtu.be/-BvJYANZVDA?si=NeYTFzas5282vdxy

BFK Solutions. – independent consultants and practical educators

Our decades of experience help you make productive decisions about your cleaning processes, your manufacturing processes, your business. Contact Ed and Barbara Kanegsberg with concerns about cleaning, surface quality, regulatory issues - we’ll get back to you and discuss your cleaning issue, whether or not we do a project together! Suggest a topic – we may write about it!