Fiber Water Stain Cleaning Procedure

Overview
Cleanliness is important throughout the construction process. Of particular concern are the hard water stains left on the fibers after straightening and bending. Additionally, oils from the technician's skin may diminish the fibers' ability to retain and transmit light.

We have modified the procedures to ensure clean fibers.
 * All fiber procedures require gloves to protect fiber from oils.
 * A filtration system has been incorporated into the water system to minimize hard water stains.
 * Fibers are cleaned after they have been removed from any water to prevent rust attaching to the fibers.

Procedure

 * Ensure that the table adjacent to the dark box is clean.
 * Don a pair of gloves.
 * Use a clean, damp lint-free cloth and start from the center of each fiber, wiping to the end.
 * Make certain to extend fully past the end of the fiber and not to drag the cloth back against the end of the fiber as this may cause the cloth to snag on the fiber and result in separation of cladding from the core.
 * Repeat the previous step as many times as necessary, while using different sections of the cloth to ensure that each fiber is clean.
 * Set each clean fiber in its place in the dark box.