How to clean the microscope
2022-04-26
To clean the microscope, you can go with the following steps:
1. Get knowledge of where need cleaning
-1 Front lens of objective
-2 Cover glass of camera sensor
-3 Cover slip and specimen slide
-4 Condenser lens
-5 Other glass surfaces
2. Where not need cleaning
-1 Filter cubes
-2 All inside optics of a microscope
3. If you find dirt on the image, there are possible 3 locations for the dirt: Microscope objective, Camera and Slide.
-1 Put the slide on a white paper or bright background and check if any dirt on it.
-2 Turn the camera and inspect the image
-3 Turn the eyepiece, objective or adapter
4. There are different kinds of dirt:
-1 Loose or not permanently attached dirt
-2 Attached dirt
5. How to clean
Aim of cleaning
6. General cleaning procedure
-1 Locate dirt
-2 Inspect dirt
-3 Remove dust
-4 Remove water soluble dirt
-5 Remove solvent soluble dirt
-6 Inspect result
-7 Repeat from 3 to 6 if necessary
7. Remove dust
Use soft brush or blower to clean the dust
8. Remove attached dirt
-1 Never use rubbing materials, papers, microfibre cloths
-2 Never clean dry
-3 Always start to clean water soluble dirt
If grease or equivalent found, use with solvents. Make sure all solvents used for cleaning are absolutely clean.
-1 PA solvents (ultra pure)
-2 Distilled or demineralized water
-3 No ammonium containing glass cleaner like Sidolin, Sparkle, etc.
9. Remove water soluble dirt
-1 Use only pure water
-2 Use a cotton stick, stick should only be moist, not dropping water
-3 Clean from the centre toward the edge in concentric circles
-4 Inspect result, if necessary, repeat the process again
10. Remove solvent soluble dirt
-1 Use Lens Cleaner
-2 Use a cotton stick, stick should only be moist, not dropping water
-3 Clean from the centre toward the edge in concentric circles
-4 Inspect result, if necessary, repeat the process again
1. Get knowledge of where need cleaning
-1 Front lens of objective
-2 Cover glass of camera sensor
-3 Cover slip and specimen slide
-4 Condenser lens
-5 Other glass surfaces
2. Where not need cleaning
-1 Filter cubes
-2 All inside optics of a microscope
3. If you find dirt on the image, there are possible 3 locations for the dirt: Microscope objective, Camera and Slide.
-1 Put the slide on a white paper or bright background and check if any dirt on it.
-2 Turn the camera and inspect the image
- If the dirt is changing accordingly with the image, it’s in camera.
- If no change for the dirt, it should be in objectives or slides.
-3 Turn the eyepiece, objective or adapter
- If the dirt is changing accordingly in the image, it’s in eyepiece, objective or adapter.
4. There are different kinds of dirt:
-1 Loose or not permanently attached dirt
- Glass (broken slides, cover slips, etc.)
- Skin, dander
- Pollen, etc.
-2 Attached dirt
- Water soluble
- Solvent soluble
- In practice often a mixture
5. How to clean
Aim of cleaning
- Complete elimination of dust and dirt for perfect image quality
- No remaining residues on the optical parts
- No damage of optical parts
6. General cleaning procedure
-1 Locate dirt
-2 Inspect dirt
-3 Remove dust
-4 Remove water soluble dirt
-5 Remove solvent soluble dirt
-6 Inspect result
-7 Repeat from 3 to 6 if necessary
7. Remove dust
Use soft brush or blower to clean the dust
8. Remove attached dirt
-1 Never use rubbing materials, papers, microfibre cloths
-2 Never clean dry
-3 Always start to clean water soluble dirt
If grease or equivalent found, use with solvents. Make sure all solvents used for cleaning are absolutely clean.
-1 PA solvents (ultra pure)
-2 Distilled or demineralized water
-3 No ammonium containing glass cleaner like Sidolin, Sparkle, etc.
9. Remove water soluble dirt
-1 Use only pure water
-2 Use a cotton stick, stick should only be moist, not dropping water
-3 Clean from the centre toward the edge in concentric circles
-4 Inspect result, if necessary, repeat the process again
10. Remove solvent soluble dirt
-1 Use Lens Cleaner
-2 Use a cotton stick, stick should only be moist, not dropping water
-3 Clean from the centre toward the edge in concentric circles
-4 Inspect result, if necessary, repeat the process again
