You dirty dirty… It’s time to show off! What is the most extreme cleaning you’ve ever performed?
You use a solvent that is stronger than what you want to remove, but not so strong that it also removes the thing you’re trying to clean.
That’s the answer. Figure out what you need and wear PPE as necessary.
Aqua regia and safety squint!
Ngl I have mixed aqua regia to clean out my pestle and mortar in a lab course once. Shit went from uncleanable to clean really quick. H_2O_2 + conc. HCl is sufficient for most extreme cleaning needs tho.
Depends on what I’m cleaning for. Countertop? Just a basic surfectant and done. Bathroom? Diluted Bleach. Aerospace equipment? Assuming CRES, I’m first running the item through an ultrasonic cleaner with a mild detergent, then ultrasonically cleaning again with DI water, then passivating per AMS2700, Method 2 in a FOD protected area or low-grade clean room.
I’ve never used one myself, but autoclaves are a thing nobody’s mentioned yet.
Edit: it occurs to me that I have used one before, if sterilizing food with a pressure canner counts.
To quote an old teacher: “there hasn’t been a counter so dirty a little benzene can’t clean it!”
I had access to a laminar flow hood at work, so I cleaned the dust off my phone and installed a new screen protector inside it. That was the best screen protector installation I ever did. Being able to ensure you’ve removed 100% of particles from the screen really makes a difference haha
