# how to clean beaker to avoid cross contamination



## ericrm (May 21, 2012)

as the title said
i only have 5 beaker left and i use them for everything ,but a recently started to use nitric acid and end up (in a clean baker)with aqua regia...
so i was wondering how do you bring your beaker to zero if i may say?

would simply put them to bake for few hour in the oven do the trick?
or do you wash them in a special maner ?

or saddly maybe once it contaminated it cannot go back?

... or maybe i did something wrong once again (i never clean them, just rince them well with tap water)...


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## NobleMetalWorks (May 21, 2012)

I neutralize them in plain filtered water first, in a 25 gallon bucket. Then I hang them on a beaker rack. It's easy to see if any are still dirty this way. If they are, then I use a scratch brite sponge to remove whatever it is. Then I was and allow them to dry again. If I still have some residual on the glass I cannot remove, then I let them sit in used AR for about 15 min, and that takes care of whatever residual left on the glass. AR is the last solution though, and I have only had to use it a few times to clean lab glass. But that's what AR is used for in a lab a lot of time, to clean lab glass.

Just be careful and remember if you use AR, what you are dealing with.

By the way, it's easy to make a rack to dry beakers on. I took a piece of polyethylene and cut it 4x4 square, then I cut slots every few inches then made pegs that fit the slots so I can add or remove pegs. If I use a bunch of small beakers I can change the configuration so that there are more pegs, if I need to hang and dry 4000 ml beakers, I can remove pegs so that it fits. If I need to hang and dry round bottom flasks with a thin neck, I can configure the legs so that the glass hangs between the pegs. I have them slanted at an angle so that the top is further away from the board, than the bottom. Works awesome for drying all kinds of lab glass. My next one I am going to make 4ft high by 6ft wide. If you use it as the back of a bench, the polyethylene will act as a barrier between your work space and the bare wall. Also, I plastic welded a lip with a hole in it on the bottom so that the water or acid drains out into my fume scrubber.


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## maynman1751 (May 21, 2012)

It has been suggested here by Harold V. that your used (soiled) utensils should be cleaned with a non-scratching scouring powder such as Bar-Keepers- Friend. This will remove any hard to remove substances from your glassware. I think Bon-Ami is another one, but *NEVER* Comet!


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## goldenchild (May 21, 2012)

I... 
1. Rinse with distilled water.
2. Make a small square wipe out of toilet paper. 
3. Put alcohol on the "toilet square" and wipe the beaker insides. Then fold the same "toilet square" to get a clean surface and go over the beaker again to make sure nothing was missed.
4. Last I rinse the beaker with water to get rid of any toilet paper that may have rubbed off in the beaker.


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## publius (May 21, 2012)

1. Never wait to clean your Glassware. If it drys it is very hard to clean.

2. Use as little water as possible to clean your glassware. Follow Hoke and Ammens suggestions by swirling a little distilled water in your vessel as possible, 3 0r 4 times, and dump that into your stock pot. A member here uses a spray bottle, which minimizes how much water is used.

3. After the initial rinse, your glassware should be clean enough to reuse. Just check for residue after drying it with paper and alcohol as proposed, above. Any residue that remains can be scrubbed away with dish detergent and /or Bon Ami.


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## ericrm (May 21, 2012)

thank you for all for the trick
i will rewash all of them your way and see if that solve the probleme


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## MMFJ (May 21, 2012)

What about getting it glass clean enough to drink from?

That is actually the question I was going to post when I saw this one about cleaning beakers - pretty similar, so I thought I'd tag it on here.

I have a 1 gallon jug that I used to drain some (very weak - like 20% maybe) muriatic/water from rinsing a piece of photographic processing equipment - it was my first (and LAST) attempt at refining (at least, not without a MENTOR!) - I found out how nasty those smells are and in my restricted space, well, it didn't work out except as a learning lesson!

Anyway, I would like to reuse the jug as a water jug (I work out of a mini-storage and have to haul my own water from home - in the Las Vegas summer, we go through a LOT of water around here!).

It had set awhile after first rinsing it when I was 'done' with my experiment and recently, when I went to clean it for using water, I rinsed and washed with a lot of tap water, even tried baking soda and soap - nothing gets the smell out (how you guys stay around it full strength is beyond me!). Of course, I could just go buy another gallon of apple juice to reclaim that bottle, but I still need a few more as it is getting hotter and we now have a couple other thirsty workers around here.

I haven't tried the 'bartender's friend' stuff - that is now on my list to go find, but as this is only one jug, it is likely cheaper just to trash it and go get another, with juice.... but, I thought it might be a good topic to get a response with. Thanks for your ideas.


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## qst42know (May 21, 2012)

It may be just me but, once a chemical jug always a chemical jug. 

I would find another water bottle.


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## Harold_V (May 22, 2012)

MMFJ said:


> What about getting it glass clean enough to drink from?


That worked for me. 
Hard deposits? As has already been mentioned, DO NOT USE COMMON CLEANSERS. They scratch the hell out of glass. Once scratched, a vessel is pretty much useless for precipitation, as gold attaches doggedly to the scratches. 

I always used Bon Ami. Perfectly safe.

Harold


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## gold4mike (May 22, 2012)

I always use Bon Ami too. The local IGA store quit carrying it so I did a Google search and bought a case of it for a little over $2.00/can delivered.

It should be enough to last me for several years.

I use bottle brushes for flasks and a sponge with a plastic scratch pad on one side for beakers.

As was mentioned above, the best way to keep glassware clean is to wash it immediately after use, before it dries out and really sticks to the glass.


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