Aprons or Lab coats

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ELIZABETH
Posts: 233
Joined: 02 Jun 2006, 10:00
School: O'Connor Catholic College
Suburb: Armidale
State/Location: NSW

Aprons or Lab coats

Post by ELIZABETH »

Hi all,
We need to get aprons or lab coats for our students and, as we have limited space for hanging up, I'm in favour of aprons. This leads to the question, should we buy cotton, poly cotton or rubber aprons??
What do y'all use?
Any thoughts gratefully accepted.
Cheers
Shell1
Posts: 38
Joined: 09 Dec 2016, 13:11
Job Title: lab assistant
School: SJBC
Suburb: Engadine
State/Location: NSW

Re: Aprons or Lab coats

Post by Shell1 »

Hi Elizabeth
We have lab coats and a great lab coat rack bought from Westlab. Things you may need to consider are: if you buy cotton do you have access to a washing machine/dryer at school? Rubber ones you could at least wipe down after dissections.
Shell
linotas
Posts: 659
Joined: 21 Mar 2011, 22:39
State/Location: TAS

Re: Aprons or Lab coats

Post by linotas »

We have lab coats. They get stored in a purpose made deep "draw", not hung. We get them laundered at least twice a year at the industrial laundry the school uses for other laundry needs. I would be hesitant to use aprons due to no arm protection.
Merilyn1
Posts: 1476
Joined: 12 Mar 2013, 08:10
Job Title: Labbie
School: Wollondilly Anglican College
Suburb: Tahmoor
State/Location: NSW

Re: Aprons or Lab coats

Post by Merilyn1 »

Lab Coats here. I have just purchased a rack from Science Supply. The plan is to wash them each term and after dissections (whether they need it or not :cheesy: )
But I only have one set, so it is not a big issue. My last school we didn't have any - only the staff owned ones. Another school, I had three sets - seemed to be always washing them!
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gotolady
Posts: 140
Joined: 02 Nov 2012, 14:11
State/Location: NSW

Re: Aprons or Lab coats

Post by gotolady »

We use aprons and are washed after every dissection prac and then again at the end of the year...if I get the time. There is a stash of them in every lab...about 30 and I hang them over the back of the chair to dry and then fold them. Actually not bad therapy, if you want or need that sort of thing.
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melsid
Posts: 355
Joined: 07 Apr 2013, 07:11
Job Title: Lab Rat
School: PHS
State/Location: NSW

Re: Aprons or Lab coats

Post by melsid »

We have a set of 10 lab coats, they are used for our senior chem classes (if they remember to order them). Everyone else just does pracs in their school uniform...
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Wayne
Posts: 305
Joined: 17 May 2006, 10:00
School: Mount Carmel College
Suburb: Sandy Bay
State/Location: TAS

Re: Aprons or Lab coats

Post by Wayne »

We use lab coats here. Every student has to supply their own. We have 4 spare on a rack in each lab. The spare ones are navy blue so we can see straight away if they didn't bring their own and their prac mark gets marked down accordingly. If more than 4 students forget their lab coat (very rarely happens), it's first in first served and the ones without a lab coat sit out the prac.
michellen
Posts: 15
Joined: 04 May 2017, 12:27
State/Location: QLD

Re: Aprons or Lab coats

Post by michellen »

We use lab coats but don't hang them in racks, just kept in large plastic containers which are stored in the prep room. We put around 25 coats in 1 container (nicely folded only after they come back from washing, but after being used by a class, the students just dump them back in the container & that's how it stays until it's time for washing). We tell them to set aside the soiled ones for washing so they're not mixed up with the clean ones. Washing is usually done once a year, the other labbie I'm working with brings the coats home during the holidays and she gets hours credit for that (and I think some allowance as well). I still think hanging them are better, easier to see & separate the soiled ones (some students don't really bother & just put the stinky ones with blood all over them after dissection back into the container & gets the rest of the coats dirty grrr!), but there's not much space so storing in the large containers works for us.
linotas
Posts: 659
Joined: 21 Mar 2011, 22:39
State/Location: TAS

Re: Aprons or Lab coats

Post by linotas »

melsid wrote:We have a set of 10 lab coats, they are used for our senior chem classes (if they remember to order them). Everyone else just does pracs in their school uniform...

Wow! Wearing lab coats is not only getting them into good practise for if they work in a lab environment, but a basic WHS issue imo. The only class here that doesn't have to wear lab coats when doing a prac is our senior physics class. I have worked at schools where you could not enter the laboratory without a lab coat on, even if you weren't doing a prac.
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littltesttube
Posts: 90
Joined: 25 May 2012, 16:04
State/Location: NSW

Re: Aprons or Lab coats

Post by littltesttube »

I work in two schools and both have lab coats as they offer better protection. They are worn for all pracs and are hung on hooks around the labs.
One school I wash them after dissections and at the end of each term if time permits. The other school the head teacher takes them home and washes them at the end of term. At both schools we keep a log of when they are washed. I usually do the safety glasses at the same time and keep a log of this also.
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nickykinz
Posts: 271
Joined: 02 Feb 2009, 12:53
Job Title: Lab Assistant
School: St Augustine's College
Suburb: Augustine Heights
State/Location: QLD

Re: Aprons or Lab coats

Post by nickykinz »

we have lab coats for senior classes and aprons for middle years (6-9). Some of our year 10 classes happen in MY labs so those classes have to put up with aprons. The aprons we have are wipe-able (vinyl coated fabric from "Australian Apron Makers"). I like having those kind of aprons as i think it is better protection when they are doing pracs with hot water which a lot of the MY ones are. Lab coats are good for senior classes using more dangerous chemicals. It does depend on the teacher though. We have a biol teacher that insists on lab coats for every prac and then disposable aprons over the top of lab coats for dissections. That really bugs me because the students still manage to drag their cuffs through the blood so it doesn't save me from washing the lab coats.
Nicky
;)
St Augustine's College
Augustine Heights, QLD 4300
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