Sweating copper.

[Dunerunner]

No it's not wrong. Some rags have a high polyester content and wil melt on contact. All cotton rags are hard to come by anymore. A moist rag, not dripping wet, wil do just fine. Be careful of steam burns.

I have used silver bearing solder in the past, is that acceptable for potable water systems?

[majakdragon]

A wet rag will "set" the solder immediately. I always wear cotton jersey gloves when soldering and do nicely for wiping a joint. I go back a few minutes later with a wet rag to remove the melted flux.

[Highpower]

OK, that is what I was getting at. I've wiped joints before with a "moist" rag too soon, and the solder 'curdled' in the connection from cooling too fast and they leaked. The dry wipe first, followed by the wet later makes sense to me.

Thanks for the lesson!

[phishfood]

If you have cleaned the pipe and the fitting properly, only a small amount of flux is needed, just enough to coat the surface. Excess flux runs down both the inside and outside of the pipe, making a mess. And definitely, wipe the flux off after the joint has cooled. Green pipe looks like crap.

[dunriteplumbing]

no,its not wrong.you could use a wet rag or a dry one. see, were plumbers and we take pride in our work. not only do we need our work to be leak free, we need it to look good to. good luck