Laboratory wash bottles in LDPE from Globe Scientific, Heathrow Scientific, Nalgene and Scienceware. They come in 250, 500 and 1000 mL, wide and narrow mouth, color-coded, write-on, and pre-labeled for distilled water and ethanol with GHS hazard labels. Wall-mounted TrippNT holders keep them on the bench.
How to choose
Do wash bottles need to be labeled?
Yes, once they hold anything hazardous. OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard requires secondary containers to be labeled with their contents and hazards. The one exception is a portable container for immediate use by the person who filled it. Pre-labeled bottles carry the chemical name and GHS pictograms. Color coding lets anyone tell the acetone bottle from the water bottle at a glance.
Can LDPE hold solvents?
LDPE handles water, alcohols and dilute acids and bases well. Chlorinated and aromatic solvents such as dichloromethane and toluene soften and permeate it. Check chemical compatibility before filling a bottle with anything other than water or an alcohol.
Why does my wash bottle drip on its own?
Warmth expands the air and vapour above the liquid, and that pressure pushes liquid up the tube and out of the tip. Volatile solvents do it most. Keep solvent bottles away from hot plates and sunny windowsills.
Wide mouth or narrow mouth?
Wide-mouth bottles are quicker to refill and easier to clean inside, which suits bottles that change contents. Narrow-mouth bottles are the traditional form for a bottle that holds one liquid for life.
