5 Things Every Clinical Scientist Should Know About The Risks Posed By Not Using CLRW Grade Water
12 May 2020
We all know purity is important, but impurities can be more frequent and damaging than commonly realised – that’s why we’ve highlighted 5 everyday, lab-work contamination ‘flash points’ that can negatively affect your results. Read to the end if you want to know how to avoid all of them in one go!
1/ Incubator Baths
Baths can become a breeding ground for bacteria that interfere with photometric readings, potentially resulting in incorrect patient results. This is bad news in any lab, but in a clinical setting a misdiagnosis could be deadly.
2/ Sample Probes and Wash Stations
Impure water can cause inaccuracies in probe calibration – this can cause patient-to-patient sample contamination and mixed up test results!
3/ Cuvettes
If you’re not cleaning your cuvettes with pure water, then you’re not really cleaning them. Once again, improperly purified water can lead to patient sample carry over and the wrong results being sent to a patient’s healthcare provider.
4/ Pipetting
Any residue build-up inside your pipettes can and will interfere with sample aspiration and could hinder certain assays and lead to the unthinkable – false results for your patient.
5/ The Supply Itself!
If there are hidden bacteria in your lab’s reservoir, they will probably thrive in there. By now you can imagine the contamination issues this will cause for the rest of your lab and its sensitive equipment but on top of that your analyser will end up with maintenance downtime and, without access to pure water, the rest of your labwork will come to a sudden and expensive halt.
Be Sure You’re Pure
The best way to guarantee purity is to check if your analyser receives a constant supply of CLRW (Clinical Laboratory Reagant Water). Machines with this grade of certification will supply pure lab water regardless of the quality of the feedwater. Endorsed by the College of American Pathologists, CLRW specification takes into account all the obstacles in the way of sure purity, from ionic impurities and particles, to bacteria, carbon and silica, specifying an absolute maximum amount for each. To put it another way, if you’re not CLRW compliant, you aren’t sure you’re pure.
Why Choose ELGA LabWater?
Since 1937 ELGA LabWater has been a trusted name in high-end water purification. Our sole dedication to pure and ultrapure water is a guarantee that we will continue to provide the best solutions, service and support.