Glass ware cleaning

[Robfromga]

Looking at options for cleaning glassware. Beakers, media bottles, etc . I don't have a autoclave and previously just used dawn, distilled, iso alchol and the oven.

I've been looking at Alconox as a cleaner. Anyone ever use it? What's your glass cleaning process without a clave?

 

[Heavy Iron]

I've never used alconox. Might have to give it a try. But I basically go by what @XKawN said. Use a watered down bleach solution. Like 10% bleach and rest water. Then use an antibacterial soap (nothing scented). Then I rinse with distilled water (distilled because minerals in regular water will leave a residue). Then I soak them in 91% isopropyl alcohol. After they sit for a few minutes I take them out and flip them upside down on paper towels (the blue kind mechanics use or whatever don't have fibers like regular paper towels.) While those dry a little bit I cut foil squares and place them in the 91% iso. Then I wrap the tops of the vials.

Might be a little overkill. Lol but it's good to be thorough. As for beakers I don't do a whole lot because it doesn't need to be sterile. Clean but not sterile considering the raw oil is unsterile anyways. Everything that passes through a filter needs to be sterile. So my media bottles are the same process as vials.

 

[Robfromga]

I've never used alconox. Might have to give it a try. But I basically go by what @XKawN said. Use a watered down bleach solution. Like 10% bleach and rest water. Then use an antibacterial soap (nothing scented). Then I rinse with distilled water (distilled because minerals in regular water will leave a residue). Then I soak them in 91% isopropyl alcohol. After they sit for a few minutes I take them out and flip them upside down on paper towels (the blue kind mechanics use or whatever don't have fibers like regular paper towels.) While those dry a little bit I cut foil squares and place them in the 91% iso. Then I wrap the tops of the vials.

Might be a little overkill. Lol but it's good to be thorough. As for beakers I don't do a whole lot because it doesn't need to be sterile. Clean but not sterile considering the raw oil is unsterile anyways. Everything that passes through a filter needs to be sterile. So my media bottles are the same process as vials.

I do the same, just without the bleach. I do it to everything. Might be Overkill, but I also never get any infections

 

[AnTabolic73]

I use soak in alconox and then scrub them with these lab cleaning bushes (they look like baby bottle cleaners, with various shapes and sizes and materials for the various glassware) then rinse in distilled water. Then soak in 99% alcohol. I bake it in oven to dry just for a little or just air dry.

 

[Ejetson]

Great thread and info!!

 

[Ejetson]

There needs to be more in the filtration porn @eje1990 thats a great thread too

 

[Jstone2]

It seems almost everyone is using isopropyl alcohol that's over 70% concentration. You should be using 70%. Here is a little info cut and pasted so I dont have to type it or fuck it up with a bad explanation. It also seems like this is being used for glass that is holding a product that will be later filtered. I just dont want someone using something other than 70% in case the glassware is being used for a final product.

70% isopropyl alcohol is most commonly used disinfectant in pharmaceutical industries. The important thing is that only 70% solution of isopropyl alcohol acts as a disinfectant killing all surface microorganisms. It is used to disinfect hands and equipment surface in pharmaceuticals. 70 % isopropyl alcohol solution kills microorganisms by dissolving plasma membrane of the cell wall. The plasma membrane of gram-negative bacteria consists of thin layer of peptidoglycan that easily destroyed by the alcohol. Therefore, 70 percent isopropyl alcohol is known as pharmaceutical alcohol. Water is also required to denature the proteins of the cell membrane and acts as a catalyst for the reaction. The contact time of the alcohol with the organism also plays an important role. A 70% solution of alcohol takes more time in evaporation from the surface, increasing the contact time. Therefore, 70% isopropyl alcohol fulfills both requirements. 100% isopropyl alcohol coagulates the protein instantly creating a protein layer that protects the remaining protein from further coagulation. Due to this organism is not killed but remains in a dormant stage. While 70% isopropyl alcohol solution penetrates in the cell wall at a slower rate and coagulates the all protein of the cell wall and microorganism dies. Thus 70% IPA solution in water is more effective than 100% absolute alcohol and have more disinfectant capacity.
Read more at: Why 70% Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) is used as Disinfectant in Pharmaceuticals? : Pharmaceutical Guidelines

 

[Heavy Iron]

A 70% solution of alcohol takes more time in evaporation from the surface, increasing the contact time.

I think this is the main reason why people use 91%. It seems the longer it takes to evaporate or "dry" the longer it is exposed. Where as 91% evaporates quicker allowing transfer to the sterilization process to be quicker? Idk. Interesting. Thanks for posting.

 

[Heavy Iron]

It seems almost everyone is using isopropyl alcohol that's over 70% concentration. You should be using 70%. Here is a little info cut and pasted so I dont have to type it or fuck it up with a bad explanation. It also seems like this is being used for glass that is holding a product that will be later filtered. I just dont want someone using something other than 70% in case the glassware is being used for a final product.

70% isopropyl alcohol is most commonly used disinfectant in pharmaceutical industries. The important thing is that only 70% solution of isopropyl alcohol acts as a disinfectant killing all surface microorganisms. It is used to disinfect hands and equipment surface in pharmaceuticals. 70 % isopropyl alcohol solution kills microorganisms by dissolving plasma membrane of the cell wall. The plasma membrane of gram-negative bacteria consists of thin layer of peptidoglycan that easily destroyed by the alcohol. Therefore, 70 percent isopropyl alcohol is known as pharmaceutical alcohol. Water is also required to denature the proteins of the cell membrane and acts as a catalyst for the reaction. The contact time of the alcohol with the organism also plays an important role. A 70% solution of alcohol takes more time in evaporation from the surface, increasing the contact time. Therefore, 70% isopropyl alcohol fulfills both requirements. 100% isopropyl alcohol coagulates the protein instantly creating a protein layer that protects the remaining protein from further coagulation. Due to this organism is not killed but remains in a dormant stage. While 70% isopropyl alcohol solution penetrates in the cell wall at a slower rate and coagulates the all protein of the cell wall and microorganism dies. Thus 70% IPA solution in water is more effective than 100% absolute alcohol and have more disinfectant capacity.
Read more at: Why 70% Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) is used as Disinfectant in Pharmaceuticals? : Pharmaceutical Guidelines

Why Is 70% Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) a Better Disinfectant than 99% Isopropanol, and What Is IPA Used For?

Makes sense! 70% from here on out.

 

[AnTabolic73]

I think this is the main reason why people use 91%. It seems the longer it takes to evaporate or "dry" the longer it is exposed. Where as 91% evaporates quicker allowing transfer to the sterilization process to be quicker? Idk. Interesting. Thanks for posting.

Yea that's what I assumed. For e.g. if you're wiping your injections site the purer alcohol evaporates too quickly before killing the bacteria, but when it comes to glassware I soak them so I'm not concerned with the evaporation.

 

[Iron Vett]

I had already posted this in the filtration porn thread. I hope this can help someone.

Cleaning the glass media bottles isn’t that difficult. First I wash the lids with dawn, rinse with hot tap water, then rinse with distilled water and then rinse with 70% alcohol. Then I wrap them in a sheet of foil and bake them at the recommended temp for an hour.

Now I start on the bottles. I use Dawn detergent, a bottle brush and hot tap water first. I wash and rinse well with the hot water twice. Then i have two squirt bottles that I fill one with distilled water and the other with 70% alcohol.


After rinsing well with the hot tap water, I hold the bottle upside down and squirt the distilled water up at the bottom of the jar and allow all distilled water to flow back down the sides and out of the open top. Then with the bottle still upside down, I squirt alcohol at the bottom of the jar and allow it to run down the sides and out of the open top. I also squirt the outside down with the distilled water and alcohol. Now I lay the bottle on its side till I have all of them clean so that minimal particles in the air can settle into the bottles. Then I stand them upright and loosely place a sheet of foil over the top of the bottles and bake at 450 for 1 1/2 hours.

Edit: After removing media bottles from oven, I cover with the lids that have already been cleaned and baked and they will remain sterile until ready to use the next time.

 

[Robfromga]

I had already posted this in the filtration porn thread. I hope this can help someone.

Cleaning the glass media bottles isn’t that difficult. First I wash the lids with dawn, rinse with hot tap water, then rinse with distilled water and then rinse with 70% alcohol. Then I wrap them in a sheet of foil and bake them at the recommended temp for an hour.

Now I start on the bottles. I use Dawn detergent, a bottle brush and hot tap water first. I wash and rinse well with the hot water twice. Then i have two squirt bottles that I fill one with distilled water and the other with 70% alcohol.
View attachment 100633

After rinsing well with the hot tap water, I hold the bottle upside down and squirt the distilled water up at the bottom of the jar and allow all distilled water to flow back down the sides and out of the open top. Then with the bottle still upside down, I squirt alcohol at the bottom of the jar and allow it to run down the sides and out of the open top. I also squirt the outside down with the distilled water and alcohol. Now I lay the bottle on its side till I have all of them clean so that minimal particles in the air can settle into the bottles. Then I stand them upright and loosely place a sheet of foil over the top of the bottles and bake at 450 for 1 1/2 hours.

Edit: After removing media bottles from oven, I cover with the lids that have already been cleaned and baked and they will remain sterile until ready to use the next time.

Nice...what temp are you using on the plastic media bottle tops? Wouldn't 450 melt the tops?

 

[Jstone2]

@Iron Vett thanks for the info on how you clean your glassware. I didn't realize the info I copied was a repost. I'm definitely going to check out your post you referenced. I'm looking to step up my game with a clave, and laminar flow hood. This way I can start using vials that arent pre sterilized.

 

[Iron Vett]

Nice...what temp are you using on the plastic media bottle tops? Wouldn't 450 melt the tops?

I think mine are around 250F. But I’m sure they are all different. That’s why I was hesitant to post a specific temp for the caps. The temp for mine are imprinted on the cap. They are Corning media bottles with orange tops

 

[notanothersnake]

Nice...what temp are you using on the plastic media bottle tops? Wouldn't 450 melt the tops?

I melted like 7 caps together before... then I bought the red ones, they are higher temp. Forget how high but they are better

 

[XmadXscientist]

Everyone stop using dawn, it’s not meant for lab glassware cleaning and can leave residue behind that gets in your brew. Spend the $40 and get a box of alconox off amazon, mine has lasted for 1,000s of vials and it’s made for cleaning lab glass.

70% isopropyl is better for anti-septic applications however we sterilize glassware in the oven over two sessions to ensure sterility or you’re most likely doing it wrong.

You don’t need a bleach solution when using alconox and it’s can leave behind residue without proper cleaning.

 

[Robfromga]

Everyone stop using dawn, it’s not meant for lab glassware cleaning and can leave residue behind that gets in your brew. Spend the $40 and get a box of alconox off amazon, mine has lasted for 1,000s of vials and it’s made for cleaning lab glass.

70% isopropyl is better for anti-septic applications however we sterilize glassware in the oven over two sessions to ensure sterility or you’re most likely doing it wrong.

You don’t need a bleach solution when using alconox and it’s can leave behind residue without proper cleaning.

What's your process?

 

[master.on]

If it's for glassware before the filter
just wash them, dry them and rinse with 70% alcohol
BTW there's a study that shows that 70% alcohol kills more bacteria than 100% does.

If it's for the receiver bottle after the filter
wash, dry rinse with alcohol and allow it to evaporate
and then bake. Just make sure it's a heat resistant bottle.

For heat labile bottles
if can be left for 72 hours in a 0.1N Sodium hydroxide solution. While lye sounds scary, it's pretty diluted and safer to handle. Always wear gloves and eye protection though.
Then rinse with 70% alcohol and allow to evaporate.
Rinse with sterile filtered 70% alcohol for extra peace of mind.

 

[XmadXscientist]

What's your process?

For heating? 400-450 degrees for 90-120 minutes, let cool to room temp then repeat.

 

[Grandpa Gainz]

Great thread, quick question? Anyone with an autoclave, do you put your stoppers in a autoclave pouch? Or is temp to high for them. Looking for most efficient way to sterilize stoppers.
Ty in advance