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From: Kiersten Taylor <ktaylor12333**At_Symbol_Here**GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Gram Stain Rinsing Collection | Teaching Lab
Date: Aug 13, 2026 13:45 UTC
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
In-Reply-To: [DCHAS-L] Gram Stain Rinsing Collection | Teaching Lab
Good morning,
I’m not sure what your budget or setup limitations look like for this project, but I wanted to share an idea from when I was in school. We had a long trough built into the center of our lab benches, and when it was time to wash Gram stains, we’d place a slide rack over the trough and rinse directly into it. All the waste flowed straight into a designated waste container. A similar setup might work for you? Maybe a large, low trough with a funnel leading to the waste container or even collecting into a secondary basin that can be transferred to the final waste container afterward. Students could simply rinse with squirt bottles over the trough, and the waste could be handled later without anyone having to rinse directly into a tall container.
It does sound like you may need to build out a new configuration entirely if disconnecting plumbing isn’t an option. Maybe a raised basin with a funnel drain and some splash guards could serve as a workable alternative although it sounds like with any sort of high throughput space you would need multiple of these "stations".
Hope this helps!
Kiersten Taylor
APHL Fellow - Molecular
Division of Disease Control
Bureau of Public Health Laboratories
Jacksonville Laboratory
--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.orgHello,
We got a question from a TA coordinator about collecting large amounts of Gram stain and the best way to do rinsing to collect it as waste without high chances of splash back.
One option that was suggested was to use bins in the sink to then transfer to a waste container or directly rinse Gram stain into the waste container. The issue that by using a squirt bottle or sink into the waste container, the container sits high enough that it would create splash back onto the students.
The second option was not as feasible; it was to have the plumbing disconnected and have the bin placed directly under the drain. Seemed like the best option until we discovered we cannot have the plumbing disconnected in this space.
Would anyone have any good ideas?
Thank you,
Kayla Johnson, MS, CESCO (she/her)
CAS and RSENR Lab Safety Coordinator
University of Vermont
667 Spear St
Burlington, VT 05405802.656.8496
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