Solder Flux Cleanup

[Tumbleweed]

Good day everyone. Have a question about cleaning up the Flux residue on the outside of the pipe following the soldering process. Founds many helpful presentations on YouTube about soldering and cleanup. Also found some questionable one, too. All of the presentations on YouTube mention to wipe down the cooled solder work with a wet towel or rag to clean off the flux residue. I do not find running a wet towel or rag over the soldered pipe & fitting removes all of the residue. Touching the item hours later, I find there is still a tackiness to the surfaces. FYI, I am very frugal with the application of the Oatey lead-free solder paste, sufficient to very thinly coat the surfaces but not like someone laying down pizza sauce where more-is-better (as shown on many YouTube videos).

I will go out on a limb here and generalize I suspect most municipal water sources around the country should have pretty much the same properties - within reason and eliminating exceptions and outliers. So I don't expect it's simply 'the water'. I found many good examples of the deterioration and damage caused from leaving leave the flux on the pipe. So what about the slightly tacky residue following a simple water wipe-down. Can anyone shed more clarity on more appropriate steps to remove the flux residue, or is leaving the slightly tacky residue acceptable ? Am I over-thinking this ?

Thank you for your time and considerations.

 

[Geofd]

usually i heat up the pipe and fitting , the flux starts to run off as that happens i wipe it off then apply the solder doing that usually keeps the solder and flux from running everywhere , then after it cools down i wipe it down
with a rag....

 

[Riickk]

Not a pro, but I do know that flux for copper pipe is acidic, so a base should neutralize any leftover flux.
Baking soda dissolved in water does the job for battery terminals.
This page is more about soldering electronic stuff, but explains the basis of soldering well:

What The Flux: How Does Solder Work Anyway?

.

 

[fixitron]

I use just a rag to wipe the joint down after soldering. I don't wet the rag, which cools the joint quickly, and I wear a glove to keep from getting burned. If there is still some excess solder, I torch it quickly to re-melt and wipe it again. That should be quite sufficient.
There is a wide range of water quality across municipal water systems. Some have rather soft water and some have very hard water, as well as other differences.

 

[frodo]

wipe the joint using a damp WET rag. if it still has flux on the pipe repeat and this time add a little elbow grease

 

[Tumbleweed]

All, I appreciate the feedback. I'll start with the wiping down with a dry tag. After things cool down, I'll but more elbow into it as applicable. Thank you. Any additional or followup comments are always welcome.

 

[breplum]

Every flux wipes off differently.
I did a bench test of five or so available fluxes and chose the one that had the best balance of wipe-ability and ease of soldering for my own taste.
Nokorode water soluble and LaCo both did the job.
I hardly solder at all, ever. ProPress is the way to go.

 

[Tumbleweed]

I appreciate everyone's responses. I have learned - if I wipe the joint down with a dry rag while things are still relatively hot, I do not experience the sticky-tacky residue. Finished up soldering some 3/4" couplings and tees tonight. I'll cut them open tomorrow to see how good my soldering technique is progressing.
Having once been mil-spec certified (some 25-30 years ago) for circuit board and component, a lot of this process seems to carry over, get the components cleaned, the joints fluxed and properly heated, apply the appropriate amount of solder and let things cool down. I find the debur pencil gives me a better and cleaner inside edge on the pipe then trying to use the cone devices with the three shaving blades. Can't take it back now, after I've opened it and used a few time.

 

[Tumbleweed]

Breplum, that ProPress looks slick and fast. If I don't get a good rhythm going as I step up to soldering on 1" pipe & fittings I may have to see if the big box store has that in their rental department. I suspect reaming the inside lip of the lip is still required to prevent any water flow disturbances ?