The most important element in the deterioration of soldering iron bits is long idle times. This is where you leave the iron on, and not in use, for a long time.
Have everything ready when you start soldering, so the iron will be used continuously, and will not sit there building up heat, while you get ready to use it again. An idle iron will keep heating to its maximum capacity, and without anything to transfer the heat to, it will start burning off the tinning, after a short while. So if you will not be using the iron for a while turn it off until you are ready again.
Even if you have a temperature controlled iron, idling for a long time at the set temperature does have the same but lesser effect as one without temperature control.
The other elements leading to deterioration in performance come from lack of cleaning and tinning of the tip. When the coating of solder burns off or is coated with carbon you get poor heat transfer from tip to working surface making it appear that the iron is not heating properly.
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| An example of a heavy stand |
It is important to ensure your electrical supply cord is kept away from the hot end of the iron to avoid burning through the cord. In another studio the supply was from overhead so the cord was never trailing across the work or the bench. A solid stand to place the iron into is important to both avoiding damaging the electrical supply and melting other things around. To assist this, all materials not relevant to the soldering process should be put away before the soldering begins.
Protect yourself from burns from the iron or hot solder. Always keep your hands away from the hot end of the iron. Always place the iron into the holder when making adjustments of any kind that interrupts the soldering. Keep burn relief, such as aloe vera by the soldering station.
Eye protection is important, because the flux fumes often contain chlorine compounds that can affect your eyes. This is more important than breathing protection. If good ventilation is being used, that will be enough for lung protection, and will reduce the risk to eyes, even then, eye protection should still be used.