Editing Desoldering (section)

===Through-hole===

A component with one or two connections to the PCB can usually be removed by heating one joint, pulling out an end of the component while the solder is molten (bending the other lead to do so), and repeating for the second joint. Solder filling the hole can be removed with a pump or with a pointed object made of a material which solder does not wet, such as stainless steel or wood.

If a multi-pin component need not be salvaged, it is often possible to cut the pins, then remove the residual ends one by one.

Components with more connections cannot be removed intact in the way described above unless the wire leads are long and flexible enough to be pulled out one by one. For a component such as a [[Dual-Inline Package]] (DIP), the pins are too short to pull out, and solder melted on one joint will solidify before another can be melted. A technique sometimes used is the use of a large soldering-iron tip designed to melt the solder on all pins at once; different tips are required for different packages. The component is removed while the solder is molten, most easily by a spring-loaded puller attached to it before heating.

Otherwise all joints must be freed from solder before the component can be removed. Each joint must be heated and the solder removed from it while molten using a vacuum pump, manual desoldering pump, or desoldering braid.

For [[through-hole technology]] on double-sided or multi-layer boards, special care must be taken not to remove the [[Via (electronics)|via]] connecting the layers, as this will ruin the entire board. Hard pulling on a lead which is not entirely free of solder (or with solder not thoroughly molten in the case of a soldering iron tip heating all pins) may pull out a via.

To remove and recover all components, both through-hole and surface-mount, from a board which itself is usually no longer needed, a flame or hot air gun can be used to rapidly heat all parts so they can be pulled off. Parts may be damaged, and toxic fumes emitted, if excessive temperature or prolonged heating is used.