AUGUST, 1950
SIMPLIFIED EYE WASHER FOR GENERAL LABORATORY~USEI I. F. CORWlN and R. MeGONIGAL Antioch College, YeUow Springs, Ohio
MANYsmall laboratories cannot afford to purchase commercial eye-washing stands, particularly when more than one is needed for maximum laboratory safety. This new laboratory safety aide, a simplified eye washer, is not as efficient as the commercial product, but it can be constructed easily and a t little cost. The following materials are necessary for its construction: a rubber bulb-type toilet plunger, a few elbow (pipe) joints, a few short lengths of small-diameter water pipe, a waterpressure regulator, and a faucet or spring valve. A cross-sectional and a placement view of the eye washer may be found in Figure 1. The bulb-type toilet plunger, A, which serves as the eye-washing cup, is pierced through the top and inverted to fit over the small-diameter pipe, which may be connected t o any water source. The open end of the rubber cup should be trimmed slightly to facilitate contact between the eye and the water stream. One, or preferably two, small holes are pierced a t the bottom of the cup to permit water drainage while the eye is in contact with the cup. The eye washer should he placed over a sink, or some other readily accessible place where the water may be allowed to drain properly. By use of a few elbow joints, and some sman lengths of pipe, the eye washer may be extended well over the sink, thus eliminating possible head injuries during use. The water flow in the eye-washer cup is adjusted by a water-pressure regulator, B. The water stream should rise to the top of the cup or a little above. In this way the pressure of the water meeting the eye may be varied Maximum eye safety would be enhanced by a con-' by an up or down motion of the head on the compres- stant water flow through the eye washer. However, sible rubber CUD. satisfactory eye safety may be attained through the use ' The authors wish t o acknowledge suggestions made on de- of a faucet or a svrinrr valve. which should be easilv ~~sign by R. A Barden. accessible in close proximity t o the eye-washing cop. A
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