Medical professionals & lab people frequently utilize test tubes to handle chemicals & other liquids. Most of the time, you can generally see these test tubes in laboratories. Many companies like Jade Scientific, Inc. deliver good quality test tubes and test tube brushes for such usage. Test tubes need to be cleaned regularly to avoid contamination among different chemicals.
There is an array of ways you can thoroughly clean these test tubes.
Simple Cleaning Hacks for Test Tubes
It is imperative to clean the test tube after every use thoroughly. You need to make sure that there are no chemicals left after every use. In this way, the residue or remaining chemical will not mix or contaminate the new chemical that the lab person will pour into it.
- You can buy and use different test tube brushes with a plastic or wooden handle to completely clean the test tube from the inside out.
- Pour a germicidal cleaner into a large glass container. You can buy these cleaners from companies that mainly sell laboratory diagnostic supplies or medical supply stores or purchase them from any online store.
- You can use distilled water to rinse the test tubes and let them completely dry.
- Completely submerge the test tubes in a container and leave them overnight in the container.
Most of the laboratories also use a machine to sterilize the test tubes known as an autoclave. They just put the test tubes in the container and leave them for approximately 15 to 20 minutes at a temperature of about 100 to 120 degrees. Ensure you do not leave the test tubes longer than this duration because excessive heat may break the glass.
Eliminating Grease
We at Jade Scientific, Inc. recommend you utilize a weak cleaning solution of sodium carbonate to remove grease from the test tubes. You just need to boil the test tubes in this solution. You can also use an organic solvent such as acetone as an option. After that, you can go forward by rinsing the test tubes using clean water.
Removing Stains
A solution having equal parts of water & hydrochloric acid is good. To remove permanent stains, you can take advantage of a solution of hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid at 3% each. If you are exploring test tubes, test tube brushes, and many other laboratory equipment, we can deliver these products to you.
Additional Tips
It is pretty more effortless to completely clean glassware if you can do it in the right way. Detergents such as Liquinox, or Alconox are usually designed for cleaning lab glassware. These detergents are preferable over any dishwashing detergent you use on your utensils at home.
Most of the time, tap water & detergent are neither required nor desirable for cleaning test tubes. You must rinse the glassware with the proper solvent, then complete it with distilled water several times. And then, finally, you must rinse it with deionized water.
For any other details or information about labware, you can contact Jade Scientific, Inc.
