Dry heat oven sterilizer

Paprik

Hello peeps, 
wondering if any of you are using Dry heat oven sterilizer? If so, could you share the type or photo? Are you using for glassware and metals? 

Also, I cannot find any big enough one to fit my beakers (even 200ml), so wondering, if a normal small baking oven would be enough? I mean, to buy one only for my lab that reaches the desired temperature and sterilize the beakers in that one? What would be the actual different between "lab dry heat sterilizer" and normal "baking" oven? 
Thank you!

Pharma

Why do you need sterile equipment?

Paprik

Uhm ... I don't? Hehe, I think I need to make my beakers and spoons,etc sterile for making cosmetics. To not contaminate my products. ? 

Pharma

Wash them with soap and whip down with 70% ethanol before use .

Sterilising them means you'd have to get a very clean room and a sterile work bench (=laminar flow) to keep them sterile. Also, you'd have to gamma-irradiate or sterile filtrate your ingredients too. Most cosmetic manufacturers don't have/make any of that and don't need to After all, your products contain preservatives for a reason (or two).

PhilGeis

With Pharma - you neither need nor can you effetively achieve/maintain sterility.  But appreciate your desire for quality.

Paprik

Cool, thanks. That it what I’m doing. I have a small washing machine with “baby bottle function” only for my equipment. But I do wash them first manually with hot soaps water. And I’m using isopropyl alcohol afterwards. So I should be fine thanks guys!! 

suswang8

I asked about this topic a while ago, but got no responses .

@Pharma and @PhilGeis: 

1. How do you "wipe" them with the ethanol?  Do you just spritz and let them air dry, or use a towel to wipe them? 
   
2. Do you feel ethanol is better than isopropyl alcohol?
3. Should one be concerned about an alcohol "residue" and thus follow the alcohol up with some deionized water afterwards?

Thank you!

Paprik

I hope I can correctly answer those questions for ya
1) I would air dry it in a clean room. If you wipe it, you can introduce debris or other contamination. 
2) I think they would be the same in matter of effectiveness. Ethanol is probably harder to get, because it's considered drinking alcohol. So isopropanol is better choice, at least for me. 
3) There won't be any residue. Both ethanol and isopropanol will fully evaporate. 

PhilGeis

Isopropyl or ethyl (~70% and not booze, just alcohol) - rinse, spritz or wipe depending in equipment.  Do not rinse with any water - that merely adds bugs.

suswang8

Reopening the thread to ask how everyone dries their glass beakers…

I know we are supposed to let them “air dry,” but what does that mean exactly, especially when you want the glasses to dry quickly?  (In my experience, it can take more than just a few minutes for the isopropyl alcohol to completely evaporate.). I purchased a drying rack with wooden pegs, but then I realized that I probably cannot disinfect the wooden surfaces.  Should I get a drying rack with plastic bags?

MarkBroussard

Put your Alcohol in a spray bottle.  Liberally spray your equipment covering the surface with alcohol.  Generally not necessary, but you can also wipe down with an alcohol wipe.  If you're in hurry use a  heat gun to speed the evaporation of the alcohol or let them air dry on a lab glassware rack.

www.vevor.com/products/vevor-drying-rack-for-lab-glassware-rack-52-pegs-pp-wall-glassware-drying-rack?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3ffd8NGu9AIV5BTUAR3j1gdgEAYYASABEgLcafD_BwE

You use preservatives for a reason ... your equipment should be clean and you should use aseptic technique, but any microbial contamination you inadvertently introduce should be controlled by your preservation system.