Your instructor and lab manuals are your best resources when setting up. Always listen and read carefully. Don't start a lab until you know all the steps, from start to finish. If you have questions about any part of a procedure, get the answer before starting.

Do Not Pipette by Mouth—Ever

You might say, "But it's only water." Even if it is, how clean do you think that glassware really is? Using disposable pipettes? Lots of people only rinse them and put them back. Learn to use the pipette bulb or automated pipetter.

https://www.thoughtco.com/lab-equipment-and-instruments-4074323

https://www.thoughtco.com/

11/11/21, 4:36 PM Chemistry Laboratory Safety Rules

https://www.thoughtco.com/chemistry-laboratory-safety-rules-607721 4/10

Don't pipette by mouth at home, either. Gasoline and kerosene should be obvious, but people get hospitalized or die every year for misusing them. You might be tempted to use your mouth to start the suction on a waterbed to drain it. Do you know what they put into some waterbed additives? Carbon-14. Mmmm ... radiation. The lesson is that even seemingly harmless substances might be dangerous.

Read Chemical Safety Information

A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) should be available for every chemical you use in the lab. Read and follow the recommendations for safe use and disposal of every material.

Dress Appropriately for Chem Lab, not Fashion or the Weather

No sandals, no clothes you love more than life, no contact lenses. To keep your legs safe, long pants are preferable to shorts or short skirts. Tie long hair back. Wear safety goggles and a lab coat. Even if you aren't clumsy, someone else in the lab probably is. If you take even a few chemistry courses, you will probably see people set themselves on fire, spill acid on themselves, others, or notes, splash themselves in the eye, etc. Don't be the bad example to others.