The right equipment for working in the cleanroom

A cleanroom is a sterile room free of dust and particles, with special requirements for the staff, clothing, equipment, and even walls, ceilings, and floors.

Basically, everything in a cleanroom must be kept as dust- and particle-free as possible, so equipment made of stainless steel should be the first choice. Cleanroom clothing such as coveralls, as well as wiping and cleaning cloths, can be cleaned, disinfected, and stored individually packaged, while head coverings and masks are more suitable for single use with subsequent disposal. The decision on this lies with the respective operation.

Depending on the cleanroom class, the requirements for the staff already differ. Of course, in every cleanroom, regardless of class, the wearing of jewelry, makeup, or nail polish is prohibited.

And every cleanroom employee knows that air turbulence caused by vigorous movements must be avoided. The clothing varies according to the cleanroom classes. While in Class D cleanrooms, wearing a head covering, safety glasses, possibly a beard or mouth mask, a cleanroom overall, and cleanroom shoes, as well as sterile gloves, suffice, the requirements in Class C are already somewhat higher, e.g., by wearing two head coverings and possibly cleanroom boots.

The greatest challenge here is Class A, as the requirements and safety standards are the highest.

Each pass-through, whether a personnel lock through which staff and possibly visitors or technicians must pass, or the material lock through which raw materials or equipment are introduced, must be properly equipped to ensure that no dirt or particles enter the cleanroom.

The pass-through needs a dirty and a clean side and must be large enough to close both doors while the material is disinfected and transported to the clean side. In the personnel lock, changing clothes occurs when moving from the dirty to the clean side and vice versa.

It must be ensured that the furniture where cleanroom clothing is stored, whether single-use clothing or clothing for multiple uses, is also clean and can be disinfected regularly.

Since everything in each cleanroom class must be easy to clean and largely particle-free, equipment such as safety glasses boxes or glove boxes, but also refrigerators, incubators, trolleys, etc., made of stainless steel are suitable. Scratch-resistant plastic can also be an alternative, for example, for boxes. Wood and cardboard boxes are very dust- and particle-laden and should therefore be avoided.