Cleaning glassware

General Glassware Cleaning

Step 1: Removing Chemical Contamination

Dispose of all waste appropriately in the correct waste stream. For more information, see Waste Disposal in Teaching Labs
Rinse out any remaining material with an appropriate solvent (deionised water for water soluble compounds, acetone for many organic compounds, or the reaction solvent for acetone-insoluble compounds)
Remove any vacuum grease from ground glass joints using small amounts of petroleum ether on a tissue.

Step 2: Washing in the Sink

Wash the glassware with hot soapy water. Scrubbing brushes and sponges are available at all sink areas along with detergent. Bottle brushes are flexible, so can be bent to reach the inside surfaces of the glassware if necessary.
Rinse the glassware into the sink, ensuring all detergent has been removed.

Step 3: Drying

How the glassware will next be used influences how items should be dried:

Not Required for Use Immediately

Remove residual water by rinsing the glassware using small volumes of acetone and rinsing into the flammable waste stream. Acetone is miscible with water, allowing the water to easily be removed from the glassware. Residual acetone can then be left to dry of its own accord before its next use.

Immediate Use for Aqueous Solutions

Rinse with deionised water, the glassware doesn't need to be dried fully if you are about to add an aqueous solution.

Immediate Use for Non-Aqueous Solutions / Compounds

Remove residual water by rinsing the glassware using small volumes of acetone and rinsing into the flammable waste stream.
Use a gentle flow of compressed air through the glassware to aid with evaporation of the acetone. Note, this is not done to blow the acetone out but to gently move it around the glassware, facilitating evaporation.

Photo showing user using the built in compressed air tap (top tap) of the fume hood to blow air into a measuring cylinder to aid drying

Specific Glassware Cleaning

Sinter Funnels

Sinter funnels can sometimes be tricky to get properly clean. The procedure below is a good place to start and in most cases will be successful, however if you are struggling to clean your sinter, speak to a demonstrator or technician who will be able to advise on next steps or provide you with a clean funnel. Certain experiments are known to cause difficulties in sinter cleaning, in this case follow the specific advice in the script.

Remove residues from outside surfaces using small amounts of an appropriate solvent such as deionised water or acetone.
Set up an empty buchner flask, as if you were about to carry out vacuum filtration.
Wash with acetone by adding approximately a 2 cm depth into the funnel before turning the vacuum on to pull it through. Empty the flask before the next step.
Wash with deionised water in the same way.
Wash again with acetone, this will remove any traces of water and the sinter can be left for the residual acetone to evaporate.

Photo showing a buchner flask set up for vacuum filtration with a sinter funnel. The buchner flask is secured to the back of the fume hood using a boss and clamp and is sat on the base of the fume hood. Vacuum tubing is attached to the buchner flask and vacuum tap (bottom tap). A buchner ring and sinter funnel are sat atop the buchner flask and the user is pouring solvent into the funnel.

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