Quantifying Fibrous Debris Released by and Generated from Wiping Materials

Abstract

A procedure for quantifying fibrous debris from wiping materials is described. The method rests on the hypothesis that some debris, called readily releasable fibrous debris, already exists on and within the body of a wiper. Other fibrous entities, however, do not yet exist but will be generated in response to mechanical energy administered to the wiper. In the procedure, the readily releasable fibrous entities are determined by sluicing them from the wiper with water and subsequently counting them using optical microscopy. The wiper, now devoid of the readily releasable fibrous debris, is then subjected to an input of energy by means of a shaking technique, which also uses water, followed by enumeration of the fibrous entities generated. The water volume and shak ing time affect the results and are considered in the protocol. Data are presented for releasable and generated fibrous debris from a variety of commercially available wiping materials.