Lab Washers vs Traditional Dishwashers

Many secondary school science departments have a traditional dishwasher purchased at a local appliance store and installed in the prep area or chemical storeroom. Many schools use these stainless steel lined dishwashers for common glassware, and wide mouth vessels like beakers but may not clean narrow stemmed glassware such as a test tubes, volumetric flasks or other specialty glassware. Science Safety will help you understand the pros and cons to the decision surrounding which type of dishwasher is ideal for your laboratory needs by using this simple decision tree to assist in making your choice. Please note that there is no legislation that mandates what type of dishwasher to use in your science department but there are some preferences based on the types of chemicals being handled and the type of biological hazards being used.