Do you know about automatic glassware washing machines?

Common Mistakes in Using Laboratory Automatic Bottle Washers
With the development of society, more and more laboratories have begun to use automatic bottle washing machines to clean laboratory glassware. The automatic cleaning process provides better protection for glass equipment, laboratory equipment and operators. Automated processing by machines makes standardization, verification and record keeping easier. The large-scale automatic cleaning machine can process glassware in batches, which greatly improves the cleaning efficiency and reduces the labor intensity of operators. It gives researchers more valuable time to work on other important tasks.

In the process of communicating with laboratory users, we also found a lot of misunderstandings about the use of automatic bottle washers. We want to share and discuss with you.


Myth 1: The automatic bottle washer is a powerful device, so any glassware can be washed.

Since the automatic bottle washer can wash a large amount of glassware of the same/similar size at a time, for example, a large automatic bottle washer can wash 300 or more petri dishes, more than 1,000 test tubes, or dozens of volumetric flasks at one time. Considering the difference in structure, size and capacity of glassware in the laboratory, if the glassware can be properly classified, the appropriate device holder can be selected, so as to exert the powerful cleaning ability of the automatic cleaning machine to a large extent.

Certain shapes or small containers or parts may be more effective using other cleaning methods, such as ultrasound.

Special care must be taken when using automatic cleaners if the residue contains proteins that solidify when heated. Proteins need to be washed at room temperature before heating. However, there is still the possibility that the protein adheres to the inner surface of the device or the surface of the cured device, which is very troublesome to clean. A similar situation also exists for polymers with strong adhesion. In this case, appropriate preprocessing may be required.

In addition, due to the limitations of the scope of application of cleaning equipment and water-based cleaning agents, some water-based cleaning agents cannot wet insoluble or dissolved hard-to-soluble residues. For example, some tests require the use of strong oxidizing acids to digest samples at high temperatures. Complex insoluble materials cannot be cleaned by an automatic washer.

Myth 2: The automatic cleaning machine has strong cleaning ability, pressure, spray and circulation. It can be used to prepare the cleaning solution without using special cleaning agent.

The well-designed automatic cleaning machine is equipped with a powerful circulating pump and well-designed nozzles, which can spray the cleaning liquid evenly and continuously on the surface of the equipment to remove residues. Large amounts of residue can be washed off by heat, the solubility of the residue in the water itself, and the spray pressure. However, due to the large surface tension of water, pure water has limited cleaning ability to some tiny particles and organics that are insoluble in water. Due to the function of automatic cleaning machines, such as circulation, spraying, etc., ordinary cleaning agents contain surfactants, which will form a lot of foam. These foams can overflow on the one hand and cause damage to the circulation pump on the other, so only non-foaming or low-foaming cleaning agents can be used in automatic cleaning machines. The special cleaning agent not only contains a base or an acid, but also a plurality of active substances such as a chelating agent and a complexing agent, and the synergistic action of these active substances can better dissolve and disperse the residue. In addition, the cleaning solution must not only have the ability to remove residues, but also damage the surface and piping of the equipment. When the equipment manufacturer recommends the cleaning agent, it has undergone careful testing and evaluation to confirm that it can meet the requirements of all aspects. If you don't understand the material properties of the equipment, it will easily lead to equipment damage, which will not be worth the loss. The choice of stable and high-quality special cleaning agent not only can maximize the potential of the equipment, extend the service life of the equipment, but also ensure the stability and repeatability of the cleaning process to a large extent.

Myth 3: The automatic cleaning machine is easy to operate, and the operator does not need special training.

With the continuous development of automatic control technology and programming technology, the control system of automatic cleaning machines is becoming more and more intelligent, and the man-machine interface is becoming more and more friendly. The operation of the automatic cleaning machine is simple, sometimes just press the power switch, and a complete set of cleaning tasks from pre-cleaning to drying can be completed with one click. It does. However, an automatic washing machine is a complex electrical device after all. How to use, maintain and maintain requires specialized training to ensure the safety of equipment and operators. Most automatic washers have programming features that allow you to set different wash and rinse programs, as well as parameters such as wash temperature and wash time, depending on the type of object being cleaned and the type of residue. If the operator receives special training, he can track all the cleaning parameters according to his actual situation and continuously optimize the process conditions to improve cleaning efficiency, reduce cleaning agent consumption and reduce energy consumption.

Myth 4: The automatic washing machine is made of stainless steel and is durable and requires no regular maintenance.

Due to their frequent contact with acids and bases, automatic cleaning machines require good resistance to a variety of chemicals and are usually constructed of high-performance stainless steel. Nonetheless, regular maintenance of the equipment is still required. It ensures that the equipment can be used and prolongs the life of the equipment. This is because some frequently rotating parts, such as peristaltic pumps and their hoses, circulating pumps, etc., require periodic inspection and replacement of parts to ensure that the cleaning agent can be properly drawn in and the equipment is operating normally at the set value. Long-term downtime may also lead to Some valves failed or pipes were contaminated with impurities. This maintenance can be done by in-house equipment engineers or outsourced to equipment manufacturers. Regular maintenance of the fully automatic washing machine is conducive to the long-term efficient use of the equipment and the greater value of the equipment.