Take great care to avoid damage. Components cost a few pence, an assembled printed circuit board may be worth several hundred pounds.

Ensure the iron bit is well tinned. Heat up the joint to be desoldered until the solder runs. Apply the solder sucker and remove the solder. This should only take two or three seconds.

If the operation is unsuccessful resolder the joint and then try again.

Ensure the joint is completely desoldered by wriggling the wire with a pair of pliers to check for freeness.Check that all pins are loose on an integrated circuit.

Working on a double-sided PCB (where copper tracks are on both sides of the PCB) is more difficult and requires more care.

It is often safer to cut the component leads and discard the component, then desolder the leads individually.

In some cases desoldering braid is useful. Ensure the iron is tinned. Place the braid on top of the joint. Place the iron on top of the braid and allow the solder from the joint to run up the braid.