Lab Practices Archives

Steam Autoclave Maintenance Best Practices with Instructional Support Technician Kelly McVey

Constant low-level neglect puts a lot of unnecessary strain on your autoclave over time. Meanwhile, even a very low level of maintenance, when consistent, can increase up-times and massively reduce […]

Steam Autoclave Testing Methods and Maintenance: Leak Testing and the Bowie-Dick Test

In most cases, autoclave installation includes both vacuum leakage testing and a Bowie-Dick test (also known as a “dynamic air removal test”). These confirm that your sterilizer can create a […]

Lab Tip: Choosing Plastic vs Metal Autoclave Trays

Everyone knows they should always use autoclave trays. It’s something we at Priorclave talk about a lot. But what you might not know is that we also recommend you always […]

The Role of Soil Sterilization in Phytoremediation of Contaminated Soil Studies

Phytoremediation technologies use living plants to capture contaminants throughout the environment. But the phytoremediation of contaminated soil as a way to recover land previously damaged by human activities is proving […]

Building Infrastructure, Unpleasant Surprises, and the Hidden Costs of Buying New Autoclaves

As you compare autoclaves for your lab, you may find some manufacturers are quoting prices that seem extremely attractive. This is especially the case when you factor in recent supply […]

What to Expect When You’re Expecting (an Autoclave)

Are you expecting a new bundle of joy with us? Is the nursery ready? When you’ve invested in a Priorclave floor model autoclave, you’ll want to prepare your install site […]

Proper Steam Autoclave Care and Feeding is Easy!

We love to hear from labs around the world about how reliable their Priorclave steam autoclave is. Sometimes reports reach us from the field of our steam autoclaves running for […]

“Follow It, Don’t Force It”: How to Easily Open your Priorclave Door

Priorclaves have a unique door latch that occasionally frustrates new users. Most come to recognize that it is a clever design. Because the door relies on neither a screw/latch closure […]

Gravity Cycle vs. Vacuum Cycle: When to Use a Vacuum Cycle

A standard autoclave cycle is a gravity cycle—so-called because, as steam rises to fill the sterilizer chamber, it displaces the cold air already in the chamber, which is then drawn […]

Why Do I Need a Water Softener? Hard-Water Operation is Hard on Your Autoclave

When water is especially high in minerals like calcium carbonate and magnesium, we call it hard water. Roughly 85 percent of the United States has hard water. It’s perfectly safe […]

Making Culture Media Sterilization Easy

A frequent, high-volume, essential task like culture media sterilization should be simple, automated, and efficient. It happens so often, and so many other systems and processes rely on it. If […]

Culture Media Sterilization: How to Dispose of Polystyrene Agar Plates

The process for sterilizing and disposing of polystyrene agar plates should look familiar: culture media sterilization is already a step somewhere in any lab’s workflow already. Agar plates, like a […]