how to get rid of o-chem smells?

[olemissbabydoc]

anyone have any good tips for getting ochem smells out of clothing/hands?

soap isn't doing the trick for our methanouc/pentanoic acid and pentanol mixtures we've been working with...

(products that are useful in ridding the body of formalin may work too if u guys have any ideas)

thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[metalmd06]

oh that sh.. is the worst. I had the same problem and I have no idea. Sorry I couldn't be of any help, but your post actually made me smell that crap again.

 

[NickMB]

I don't really have any tips on how to get them out, but any day I have a laboratory, I usually wear scrubs. Plus, we were required to wear lab coats at our orgo labs, so double protection right there! I would highly recommend investing in cheap clothes to wear to days you have lab

 

[SketchLazy]

anyone have any good tips for getting ochem smells out of clothing/hands?

soap isn't doing the trick for our methanouc/pentanoic acid and pentanol mixtures we've been working with...

(products that are useful in ridding the body of formalin may work too if u guys have any ideas)

thanks!

Try squeezing lime juice on them. Then when there's no juice left just rub your hands with it. It works for most food related smells, it might work for this.

 

[olemissbabydoc]

I do the scrubs/bleaching business and it works for the clothes... but haven't bleached my hands (lol).

i'll try lime juice. this stuff makes me sick to my stomach!!

 

[olemissbabydoc]

I wish we could wear gloves, but they suggest against it...

 

[olemissbabydoc]

bump... any other ideas?

 

[Maxprime]

For hands, rule #1 I've heard has always been wear nitrile gloves under latex gloves. For clothes, as stated - just wear scrubs that you don't care about and wash separately from your other clothes.

 

[Bacchus]

I wish we could wear gloves, but they suggest against it...

That's funny considering nitrile gloves are a standard precaution against many chemicals. Does your chem department read their MSDS?

"Alright kids, we'll be using 98% H2SO4 today. Remember, we do not recommend gloves."
---
"Won't that cause a chemical burn?"
---
"What doesn't kill you will make you stronger, son!"

Moral: Wear gloves. If you want to be a doctor you might as well get used to it now.


I can't tell you how many times gloves have saved my hands. Although, there was that one time when we synth'd nylon and I didn't wear gloves, OUCH!

 

[olemissbabydoc]

our chem dept probably doesn't even know what a nitrile glove is. hahaha.

any other lab I've been in I've always worn gloves. I find it weird myself.

 

[dontwakeme]

Pretty sure it's basically against the law to NOT wear gloves in ochem lab.

 

[scrubsaresexy]

our chem dept probably doesn't even know what a nitrile glove is. hahaha.

any other lab I've been in I've always worn gloves. I find it weird myself.

It might be time to invest in a box of your own. I had to do that because my fire department doesn't stock small gloves (only M, L, XL, and XXL...thanks, guys). Although in my case...I kind of stole them from another fire department.

Either way, it's kind of nice to have your own stash of gloves sometimes.

 

[Maxprime]

our chem dept probably doesn't even know what a nitrile glove is. hahaha.

With the amount of broken glassware that my classmates and I racked up over a semester, you'd be an idiot to trust people like us around you.

Nitrile with pretty much anything, when you get up in the range of HNO3 and the likes - go with something MUCH better.

 

[Piyush]

OP, just start apologizing to people after your lab, like on the bus, in the hallways, in the house, etc...

 

[NickMB]

That's funny considering nitrile gloves are a standard precaution against many chemicals. Does your chem department read their MSDS?
quote]

That actually depends on what chemical you're working with. Fumes of some chemicals go through the pores of the gloves and without ventilation, accumulate inside the gloves and cause burns.

 

[xanthomondo]

That's funny considering nitrile gloves are a standard precaution against many chemicals. Does your chem department read their MSDS?
quote]

That actually depends on what chemical you're working with. Fumes of some chemicals go through the pores of the gloves and without ventilation, accumulate inside the gloves and cause burns.

Such as? How practical does this usually happen when you're working in hoods and stuff?

Methylene chloride goes right through nitrile gloves im pretty sure.

But OP, why does your school "suggest against it"? That really makes no sense if you're working with hazardous chemicals. The school could suggest all they wanted to I would still wear them.

Make sure you button your lab coat all the way down (this alone will prevent a lot of the smells from hitting your clothing) Wash it regularly (by itself) at the local laundromat, not at your own washer/dryer

 

[Manyac86]

Ochem smells? Lots of Acetone.

I hear Anatomy Lab is much worse in med school

 

[NickMB]

Such as? How practical does this usually happen when you're working in hoods and stuff?

Many volatile corrosive chemicals, really. However, most glove-related chemical burns occur when the skin is exposed to the chemical before the glove is put on. The body's heat trapped by the gloves, perspiration, and decreased evaporation of the chemical all exacerbate the situation. When you're in a fume hood, the fumes still go up, so if you're hand is above the container, you're still in the path of exposure.

That is not to say you shouldn't wear gloves. You should wear gloves when working in a lab. It's just a matter of knowing what you're working with, being extra cautious, and wearing the right kind of glove.

Great, now I sound like an OSHA Laboratory Standard training video

 

[Tensyle]

to the OP: stop sleeping with the o-chem professor

 

[paranoid_eyes]

yea just buy a box of gloves...

also, try using some pumice (a type of rock) to scrub your hands with. other than that, im out of ideas (i am forced to use glves)

 

[alwaysaangel]

Yeah - if you don't like it now wait til' anatomy. The smell of anatomy is forever.

Anyway - I use baking soda in my wash loads (along with detergent) to keep my anatomy scrubs smelling decent. I imagine it would work for O-chem smells too.

 

[inaminute]

white vinegar

 

[nevercold]

After gross anatomy dissection labs, I always used a Dove soap. I don't remember the exact type, but I found that Dove products tended to be scented enough and gentle enough to use frequently in order to remove anatomy lab or hospital smells from my hands and skin.