Soaking in Alcotabs solution

Q: We understand from your literature, that pre-soaking in a solution prior to washing is a good idea.  We are washing pipettes in a syphon washer using your Alcotabs.  Can we create an Alcotabs solution for the pre-soak?  A 1%?  How many tablets?

A: Thanks for the inquiry.  Often times, a minor re-purpose of an existing detergent rather than qualifying/validating another detergent is quite helpful.  And certainly, pre-soaking (and where necessary mechanical scrubbing) prior to automated cleaning will make the washer’s job that much easier.  The sooner after its use, the better.  This is true for dishes in your home sink, or pipettes and other labware in the laboratory.

I would first note that Alcotabs® Tablet Pipet Detergent are for use in syphon pipette washers and tube rinsers.  The bubbling action of the tablets are not ideal for a soak/immersion environment and therefore would not be as robust as, for example, an Alconox® Powdered Precision Cleaner solution pre-soak.  But soaking in Alcotabs solution prior to the washer with more Alcotabs wash solution would be expected to be fine in most applications.

I would start with dissolving two tablets per liter of soaking wash solution.  This should create an approximate 1% solution.  You can adjust upward if needed depending on the amount of residue you have to remove (recall increasing concentration increases the capacity or amount of residue removal of the cleaning process).

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