Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Countertop dishwasher for cleaning lab glassware?

Darth-Vang - 13-7-2022 at 16:22

Anyone here clean their lab glassware with a countertop dishwasher? Did it work to clean the glassware? I'm thinking about getting one since I'm too lazy to clean it afterwards, I like spending my time doing something else rather than doing a mundane task...

BromicAcid - 13-7-2022 at 16:41

Depends on what you are cleaning. My wife cleans her water bottles in the dishwasher sometimes and the neck on those is bigger than a ST 24/40 neck and it doesn't do the best of job on those. I'm sure things like beakers could go through no problem but of course sometimes the things staining glassware wouldn't be touched by the enzyme action usually relied upon in the cleaning tablets.

Texium - 14-7-2022 at 05:39

Quote: Originally posted by Darth-Vang  
I'm thinking about getting one since I'm too lazy to clean it afterwards, I like spending my time doing something else rather than doing a mundane task...
Welcome to amateur chemistry. It’s one mundane task after another, until eventually you accomplish something really cool.

j_sum1 - 14-7-2022 at 19:40

I have not had great experiences with benchtop models. One school I worked at had one and it was a bit hit and miss. Really only effective for beakers. Besides, bench space is at a premium. I would rather have a dishwasher tucked away somewhere.

I have a standard kitchen model (under bench) in my lab. Or at least did until it stopped functioning. I have replaced it with a drawer model which I have not installed yet. I did think it was worth having. It will not clean everything well, but it will do an ok job of anything with a sufficiently wide neck. It will also give me a sensible place to put dirty glassware as I create it and that is a huge bonus.

In short, I think a dishwasher is a great idea in a lab. But be realistic about what it can accomplish and consider carefully what your needs are before you get one.

greenlight - 15-7-2022 at 10:25

One thing I have noticed from using a dishwasher years ago for beakers is that if you use the small cleaning tablets/sachets meant fto be placed in when washing houseful glasses and dishes, they are quite erosive and you end up losing the white graduations and other markings on the outsides.
They are pretty hard to get off even with all sorts of lab reagents so they must be quite abrasive while on the cleaning cycle.

Dr.Bob - 18-7-2022 at 12:52

Most lab machines have water jets on the racks so when you place a tube, flask or beaker over the jet, the water is spraying directly into the item. Most home dish washers simply spray water around, so narrow mouth containers do not get cleaned much at all. So for large beakers and dishes, they might work, but for narrow mouth flasks, they will not work well. I have seen lab dish washers on sale in lab/company auctions, but never cheap enough to be practical for my work place, where we still wash things by hand, but would like to buy a machine one day. So good luck finding one, and if you do, let me know.

Bmoore55 - 19-7-2022 at 06:13

I have been using a benchtop dishwasher for my glassware for all of this year and I absolutely love it. I have wanted one for years and I finally pulled the trigger and got one. I have been very happy with it so far.