Lab glassware

How to Maintain Lab Glassware Properly?

When it comes to lab glassware, there are plenty of items such as beakers, test tubes, Erlenmeyer flasks etc that you have to handle every day. These are used for holding various chemical reagents, solutions and other materials, many of which can be highly toxic to handle. The slightest defects in these items can make an experiment go wrong and result in damage to property, limbs and even life. It is necessary to maintain glassware for lab properly, so as to avoid such problems. The following tips can be useful for the proper maintenance of glass items.

Storage It is important to store glass laboratory instruments properly. When not using them, it is sensible to store these fragile items in a closed, sturdy cabinet. When stored improperly, these vulnerable items can develop chemical films or hidden cracks.

Cleaning Use de-ionized water to rinse the equipments well. Before and after experiments are conducted, you have to clean the tools. There are plenty of chemistry experiments which need strong bases and acids to be contained in glass beakers, flasks and other items.

Unless cleaned and stored properly, chemistry glassware can be contaminated with various chemicals which can lead to various side effects during experiments. These can make results invalid and unreliable.

Handling While you are handling them, make use of a firm but soft grip and move deliberately but slowly. Some chemicals can cause severe burns when the skin comes in contact with them.

Moving too fast during an experiment can result in the splashing and spilling of toxic compounds onto exposed skin. Use proper set of equipments during experiments, and do not work like a novice. For instance, not using a funnel while attempting to pour liquid into a buret can result in clumsy movements, breakage of volumetric glassware instruments and spillage of chemicals!