Basics
- Turn off when not in use
- Consider spring loaded DI water taps that requires users to manually hold the tap on and eliminate the chances of taps being left on unnecessarily. There are also electronic faucets that turn off after a certain time or with sensors.
- Check, report and fix leaky taps immediately
- Taps often have unregulated water flows, leading to unnecessary water consumption. By installing flow restrictors with balanced pressure, you can effectively reduce water usage.
Aerators
Aerators are very cheap devices (~$10 USD) that screw onto the end of your faucet. It aerates the water flow to give more pressure and makes the water flow feel more full.
It does not change the way you use the tap.
This is best used on cold water taps because aerating warm water can cause the water to lose heat more quickly, resulting in a higher heating bill.
Warning: May be considered unsafe for BSL3/4 due to aerosolization of droplets.
Water Quality
The types of water available in the lab differ from lab to lab, but often include these following types,
City water – This is the water straight from municipal pipes, as you would receive in your home if you do not have a secondary purification system. Ion levels vary from day to day.
Soft water – This is city water which has gone through a filtration system to remove calcium and magnesium ions. This gives a more regulated water quality and does not leave as much lime-scale.
Demineralized (Demi/DI) water – This is soft water that has gone through ion exchange or electrodeionization to remove all ions.
Ultrapure (Ultra-high purity) water – This is Demi water that has undergone further purification through a reverse osmosis machine, often including UV irradiation. It has a resistivity of 18.2 MΩ.cm, TOC <10 ppb and bacterial count <10 CFU/ml.
Each successive purified water type requires significantly more water, more energy and more equipment and consumables to produce. A litre of Demi-water takes 3 litres of city water to produce.
Choosing the lowest quality water for the task
Many lab test methods and manufacturing operations ask for a specific water quality to ensure repeatability, safety, and good equipment maintenance. However, it is worth taking the time to analyze the operations in detail and understand why a lower quality water will not suffice.
We often see researchers washing their glassware with DI water and even ultrapure water unnecessarily. Generally, soft water, or even city water is sufficient for washing labware. A quick rise at the end with DI water can provide peace of mind. Most lab operations can be done with DI water and ultrapure water should be reserved for the most sensitive experiments, like dynamic surface tension. If you are going to autoclave the water for biology work, say for making bacterial media, assess your experiment carefully to determine if extra ions are really going to change your outcome.
Make sure you:
- Label Taps well
- Reassess each procedure to understand the minimum water quality required
- Use cold water where possible
Handwash station
Choose handwash soap that does not include microbeads or triclosan.
Paper towels used for hand drying can be composted (Example: UC Boulder)
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