Cleaning and Inspecting Fibers and Ports
Never use alcohol for wet cleaning without a way to ensure that it does not leave
residue on the endface. Alcohol residue can damage the equipment.
o
Never clean bulkhead connectors or receptacle devices without a means to
inspect them.
o
Never touch the endface of the fiber connectors.
o
Never twist or pull forcefully on the fiber cable.
o
Never reuse any tissue, swab, or cleaning cassette reel.
o
Never touch the clean area of a tissue, swab, or cleaning fabric.
o
Never touch any portion of a tissue or swab where alcohol was applied.
o
To prevent contamination, never touch the dispensing tip of an alcohol bottle.
Never touch products without being properly grounded.
Best Practices
Use resealable containers to store all cleaning tools, and store endcaps in a separate
container. The inside of these containers must be kept very clean and the lid should be
kept tightly closed to avoid contamination of the contents during fiber connection.
Never allow cleaning alcohol to evaporate from the ferrule, as it can leave residual
material on the cladding and fiber core. This is extremely difficult to clean off without
another wet cleaning, which is usually more difficult to remove than the original
contaminant. Liquid alcohol can also remain in small crevices or cavities, where it may re-
emerge.
Required Tools
You will need the following tools to perform cleaning and inspection of optical cabling and
port connections:
• hand-held fiber scope
• 1.25 mm cotton swabs
• video scope
• CLETOP or clean-room tissues
• optical-grade isopropyl alcohol and canned, oil-free compressed air
These tools should be present on site before beginning the cleaning procedure.
Cleaning Fiber-Optic Connector Plugs
Use this procedure to inspect and clean all optical plugs before cabling.
Note
Materials used for cleaning fiber-optic connectors should be consistent
with the function. (In other words, wiping cloths should be made of lint-
free, non-abrasive materials.) Use cotton swabs only if they have a
tightly wrapped tip and are talcum-free. Pure optical-grade isopropyl
alcohol (IPA) is the only solvent that should be used for cleaning optical
contact surfaces. Use canned, oil-free compressed air for removing dust
from connectors.
34 FSP 3000R7 Maintenance and Troubleshooting Manual - Product Release 16.2 - Document Issue A
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