Removing PFOS and PFOA from Lab Glassware
Q. We need to remove perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctyl sulfonate (PFOS) from laboratory glassware and stainless steel. Since they are inorganic residues, we’re using acidic cleaners, but are not finding them as effective as we expected. Any recommendations?
A. PFOS and PFOA are polar, anionic surfactants. They will best be cleaned by a high-emulsifying, anionic-surfactant-containing cleaner that can make mixed micelles to efficiently remove these residues from surfaces….
Guidelines for Triple Rinsing
Q. is there any industry guidance on triple rinsing…any literature that you know of that this is the accepted standard for manual cleaning that you could provide me?
A. To our knowledge, there are no authoritative source documents to define how many times you should rinse glassware. The logic behind a triple rinse is that, in filling and emptying a vessel three times with water, each time you are diluting by 2 orders of magnitude. In theory . . .
Cleaning Fungus Residues from Mycoinsecticide
Q: How do you clean biofilm residuals and the fungus residue from mycoinsecticide? A: A mycoinsecticide is a microbial insecticide whose active ingredient is a living fungus that is pathogenic to a targeted group of pests, insects and other biocontrolled species. It is used in industries from food production, biotech, cannabis and of course the laboratories supporting those industries.
Tandem Cleaning for Surgical Instruments?
Q: For cleaning of surgical instruments post-surgery, can Alconox Powdered Precision Cleaner be used in tandem with other cleaners? For example, can we use it with a competitor phosphate-free liquid cleaner? A: Short answer is that Alconox® Powdered Precision Cleaner is designed to work on its own and shouldn’t need “help” from another cleaning agent.
Bleach with Detergents for Disinfection?
Q. What is the effect of adding bleach to Alconox Inc. products? We want to enhance our disinfection capability.
A. Some Alconox Inc. critical cleaners can be mixed with bleach (hypochlorite) for enhanced removal of bioorganic matter, bleaching or oxidizing properties, including: You can get some disinfection, but as we will explain, you need to clean a surface first before you disinfect.