Life science labs are the bedrock of medical breakthroughs. However, pursuing this scientific advancement rests on keeping your laboratory free from germs. Every piece of equipment in your lab, from glassware to material handling carts, must be cleaned and sterilized to protect your research and employees.
But keeping a life sciences lab clean comes with many challenges, including the diversity of equipment, glassware, and surfaces you need to sterilize. While hand washing can work in small settings, it’s often not a practical option in large life science labs.
That’s where customizable washing systems come into play. Unlike hand washing, these automated solutions are much more efficient, safe, and cost-effective.
In this post, we’ll talk about seven key benefits of customizable washing systems.
1. Highly Efficient Cleaning
Automated cleaning is much more efficient and consistent. Hand washing your laboratory glassware and equipment is both labor-intensive and prone to human error. Your technicians might miss out on cleaning a flask or beaker or fail to remove all traces of the contaminants.
With customizable washing systems, you can use hot water and stronger cleaning agents, giving your glassware and equipment a more complete clean. Another benefit is that you can program your system to meet specific cleaning requirements. This helps you wash different types of glassware and equipment while reducing the risk of error, which may lead to costly downtime.
2. Adaptability
Life science labs vary widely in size, layout, and the nature of their research. Customizable washing systems are designed with adaptability in mind. Whether you have a small animal research facility or a sprawling complex with different labs, you can custom-order a washing system that caters to all your requirements.
For instance, the University of Southern California needed a high-quality, automated cleaning solution for its department of Animal Resources. But they had limited space and access to only low-pressure steam, which made it challenging to install an automated cage-washing system.
We recognized their need for customization, offering a smaller tunnel washer and a low-pressure steam application. With a 60% increase in productivity, this system quickly became instrumental in USC’s animal research facility.
3. Improved Hygiene and Safety
Maintaining hygiene and safety is an inevitable requirement of every life science lab. Many research facilities have to handle dangerous pathogens and chemicals. The risk of exposure to these irritants increases if your lab fails to clean the equipment properly. In many cases, the work has to stop until you’ve found the source of contamination, which is incredibly demanding and expensive.
Customizable washing systems can effectively remove contaminants from different types of glassware and laboratory equipment. These are specifically designed to handle chemical residues, carcinogens, biological matter, and other harmful chemicals.
These systems come with features that help your lab maintain a safer environment:
- Advanced cleaning cycles
- High-temperature washing cycles
- Separate washing chambers
- Specialized detergent dispensers
4. Cost-Effective in the Long Run
Hand washing is often considered cheaper. But the reality is quite different when you break down and compare the costs. For one, it requires a dedicated and trained workforce, which is both difficult to find and expensive to maintain.
Secondly, hand washing is inconsistent, increasing the risk of contamination, glassware breakage, and downtime. It is also time-consuming, meaning your lab technicians might spend more time on it than they can on their core responsibilities.
Automated cleaning solutions are:
- Energy efficient
- Built to reduce your water consumption
- Helpful in reducing your labor costs
- Designed to eliminate the risk of human error
While these solutions require regular maintenance, this cost is typically lower than hand washing. Moreover, these systems help to free up your technician’s time, reducing energy usage and labor costs.
For instance, with our R600 Series Cage and Rack Washers, you can save:
- 20% on steam consumption
- 45% on steam demand compared to other cleaning solutions
- 100% reduction in cold water used for drain cool down
With a potential cost savings of 50-80% per (in energy, water, and chemicals), the washing system will pay for itself in just two years.
5. Regulatory Compliance
Life science labs must adhere to strict regulatory standards – which is often challenging if you rely solely on hand washing your equipment and glassware. Failure to comply with these standards can attract fines and legal action.
Using custom washing systems in laboratories can help you avoid these risks and protect your lab in case of audits and inspections by regulatory agencies.
Automated washing solutions provide thorough and consistent cleaning, helping your lab stay compliant. You can also outfit them with features to help document and verify your cleaning process.
6. Flexibility
These automated cleaning solutions can be customized to meet your needs, whether you need to clean animal cages, material handling carts, specialized instruments, or glassware. For instance, our Clean Diverter Station (CDS), which is a part of the Activ automation suite, can be used to clean rodent cages and other equipment.
While it diverts non-cage items to the unload section after cleaning, rodent cage bottoms are sent to the bedding dispenser. This type of innovation and flexibility helps you maintain the highest level of hygiene in the laboratory.
7. Easy Integration
Easy integration is another huge benefit of customizable washing systems. Most life science labs have limited space, specialized equipment, and glassware – which often poses a challenge when looking for automated washing solutions.
Custom washing systems are designed to integrate with your existing setup. Whether you need to install tunnel washers or laboratory glassware washers, a customized system can connect to your water supply, fit into the available space, and support your current workflow.
At BetterBuilt, all our automated washing solutions can be customized to fit your lab space and requirements. We can design automated conveying systems, rack washers, and tunnel cage washers that work within your facility’s existing workflow.
Need Custom Washing Systems for Your Lab? Let’s Talk!
Customized washing systems offer several benefits for life science labs. They can improve your overall cleaning efficiency, help comply with regulatory standards, and save time and money in the long run. Their adaptability, flexibility, and ease of integration make them suitable for research facilities of all sizes and types.
Need washing systems tailored to your needs? At BetterBuilt, we have designed many customizable washing systems for life science labs.
Contact us today to place your order or learn more about our products.