Smart ways to get the most out of your Pipette Washer/Dryer

By David Wasescha, Director of Biosafety Products

On January 31, 2017 in Articles

You've already made some brainy decisions if you're cleaning pipettes with an automated pipette washer/dryer because automating the process is allowing you to:

• Make the whole cleaning cycle faster, so you can buy fewer reusable pipettes
• Handle pipettes less, reducing the risk of breakage and injuries
• Save on water bills
• Put your time in the laboratory to better use

Here are a few ways to squeeze even more out of your pipette washer:

Take advantage of portability

Keeping your pipette washer on a laboratory cart, rather than a bench top, frees up counter space for work and other equipment, and more importantly, it adds mobility to your pipette washer. This way it can be pushed from station to station or even be shared between labs.

Your pipette washer can be stored out of the way on a portable table; it can be loaded at your work station to reduce glass handling even further, and then moved to its air and water supply when it is full and ready to run.

Add versatility with a spindle kit

ScrubAir can also be used to wash small test tubes and vials. Glassware that are 7mm inside diameter or larger can be accommodated by adding a spindle kit. Polystyrene spindles are easy to install and uninstall. A spindle kit comes with 24 each 5mm outside diameter polystyrene spindles with caps and a stainless steel rack that holds up to 20 test tubes.

Keep extra detergent on hand

You can ruin all of the efficiency you’ve invested in by running out of detergent. Make sure that there’s always more than one bottle on the shelf so that using the last drip from one bottle of detergent doesn’t mean you’ve run out completely. That could put your whole pipetting process on hold.

Keep your percolating and drying air clean

If you know your lab’s compressed air is notorious for gumming up the works, get a 5 micron air filter for your ScrubAir. Compressed air is used to both clean and dry your pipettes, so the filter will keep you from introducing contaminants through your laboratory’s air supply.

Friendly with serological pipettes too

Serological pipette costs quickly add up when you're constantly tossing them into the garbage. Swap in the Serological Pipette Insert to quickly disinfect and reuse pipettes of up to 50 ml.

Take a look at your own pipetting process and see if any of these tips are right for you. If you have questions, you can contact me directly.