Australia's Science Forum

People have been wondering how long the phenolphthalein agar lasts for - I had some in the fridge when I started at this school in 2016 and didn't have to make more until this year. It worked perfectly and the only reason I had to make more was because it went mouldy.

Thanks, Merilyn. I'm going to ask TAS to cut it up for me.

I needed to be signed in to my account to access the chemicals! Hahahaha. Thanks for the help.

I can't find sheets to cut up Labbie. Thanks for the tip Whspa. It's not popping up on their site, even when I put the code in. I'll call them.

It seems such a simple task. I can't find zinc strips at any of the usual chemical supply places or hardware stores. Does anyone have advice for me?

My personal opinion is never, ever open the plates. You cannot be sure what is growing in there. You could be exposing yourself to millions of particles of a pathogen, with terrible and possibly life-changing consequences.

I clean the chem store vents just the same way as I clean the fan vents at home. Chemicals in the store room are in closed containers and it really is just ordinary dust. No respirator required, in my view.

I always repair chips on test tubes to take the sharp bits off. Anything that saves resources affects our impact on the planet.

I get $33 an hour for my "permanent" hours and $40 an hour if I'm on the casual rate. You are being ripped off at $25 an hour for casual. Good luck and get stuck into them for a better deal, I reckon.

Wow, it's actually a common problem. Hilarious. Love the tip about a bowl of strong KMnO4 to get rid of odours too. We've sent off a request to the test tag people to get their insurance to pay for lost stock

One freezer gave up the ghost and it was a bit before I found it. When I opened it, the smell was so bad from rotting undissected offal that people from the next building over wanted to know what the heck science was doing! We chucked the entire freezer out, lid firmly in place. This time, the test ...

No drains under your safety shower?!!!!! Mental. I test mine once a month. And I had a fume cupboard repaired recently and the repair person said to run them for five minutes once a week to keep them in working order.

They're compostable if you really do need to chuck them out. They can even be chucked straight into a garden somewhere. Just do it while it's raining or water them in.

I clean and spray lightly with WD40. It makes them last longer. I store them in a tray with some paper towel at the bottom to soak up excess oil. I do the pliers removal trick too.

General glass-cleaning advice (spectacles and microscope accessories in particular) is to never use tissue or paper towel, as the glass may be scratched. Use an absolutely clean tea-towel or glass-cleaning cloth instead. I never bother with Windex as methylated spirits work better. For best results,...

An independent school, but i still have heaps of contacts in DET, I'll ask about that. Thanks.

Thanks Whspa. Just for clarity, where in CSIS do I find this info? My copy of CSIS seems to encourage putting it down the sink!!! I'm also wondering if the CSIS update is out yet. Thanks again for your help.

Hi all,

Can I use a chemical reaction to make a potassium dichromate solution safe for disposal to the sewer, or must it be disposed of via an outside agency? Thanks!