How to Clean Portable Laminar Flow Hoods?

You need to be extra careful while cleaning any laboratory equipment and a portable laminar flow hood is quite crucial among them. It ensures a sterile environment for any kind of systematic approach.

But, you must clean the portable Laminar Flow Hoods from time to time to ensure that there is no microbial growth. We understand that it can be a tedious process and so we bring you a step-by-step guide to follow:

 

What are the stages of cleaning a laminar flow hood?

First, you need to understand the level of cleanliness that you need to achieve.

Sanitize the equipment

This is a standard cleaning process, and you can easily remove all the visible dirt and dust. It helps to reduce the chances of bacterial growth and also prevents the chance of infection.

Disinfecting the equipment

This cleaning process ensures the removal of the virus and bacteria from the surface. And, for this, you need a cleaning agent.

Sterilize the laminar flow hood

This process ensures that the laminar flow hoods is completely free from microbes. To achieve this, you might have to use heat, air pressure, or chemical-based cleaning agents. 

Always go through the chemical compatibility chart before applying any cleaning agent. Based on the dirt accumulation, you need to plan your cleaning approach.

The equipment and tools required for cleaning

Along with a proper plan, you also need certain cleaning equipment, such as cleanroom gloves, cleanroom face masks, garbage bags, paper towels, cleanroom swabs, ISO-friendly wipes, a vacuum, etc.

Steps to clean the laminar flow hood

• To start with, you need to turn on the laminar flow hood, then allow the air to pass for 30- 40 mins.  
• Use the cleanroom wipe to clean the surface, and you can spray cleaning agents on the wipes. 
• Start with cleaning the hood and then back and front. Next, go left and right. 
• Use the swab to clean the edges and the corners.
• Do not spray any cleaning agent on the grill or the sensitive HEPA filter
• You can repeat the process by using sterile 70% isopropanol.

Conclusion

There are no additional expenditures for maintaining the device. Global Lab Supply provides you with this laboratory equipment at a reasonable price.

Reasons Why Portable Laminar Flow Hoods Are Best For Lab Work

A portable laminar flow hood is one of the most important instruments in a lab setting. The lab, in general, has to be completely sterile for the experiments to be conducted safely. Indeed, even labs equipped with expensive benches and expensive equipment cannot always provide complete sterility because of various factors. 

 

However, when you have Portable Laminar Flow Hoods, you're guaranteed 100% sterility because it generates a waterproof barrier between the user and any contaminants present in the air.

Specifically, manufacturers assure that these cabinets are designed to minimize or eliminate contamination by preventing airflow from entering or leaving any part of the cabinet except through specially designed intakes and exhausts.

Benefits of Using Portable Laminar Flow Hoods in Lab

The following are some of the most important reasons it's always recommended to have portable laminar flow hoods in a lab setting.

Helps sterilize environment:

The first reason is that when a fully sterile environment is required for experiments, it would be better to have one of these cabinets installed in the lab. This enables the user to carry out experiments without fear of contamination, thus increasing efficiency and accuracy.

In cases where several people are carrying out experiments in a particular area, using this cabinet will assure that each person has his or her sterile environment.

Reduces risk of contamination:

Another reason is that portable laminar flow hoods help to reduce the risk of contamination since they provide a controlled environment for the research work to be done. This guarantees no chance of cross-contamination when more than one person works in the lab.

Helps in recognizing contaminants:

The fifth reason is that portable laminar flow hoods are used to recognize any contaminations arising from experiment preparation and any other sources and eliminate them. These hoods can be used in every part of the research work, whether on lab equipment or bench work.

Because they are installed in a controlled environment. They provide a gentle deceleration--rather than absolute sterilization--of air particles of pollutants such as bacteria and dust mite droppings, thus providing a better vision for the user to identify any contaminants.