Does anyone know if methanol's a suitable cleaning solvent for cleaning lab glassware? Or would I be better off going for something more expensive like propanone or propan-2-ol?

I know methanol's more toxic, but that shouldn't be a problem as long as the area's well-ventilated, right?

We use a combination for general cleaning (mostly optics but some glassware), the combination is normally acetone followed by IPA, or methonal followed by IPA, or if we are really bored we use all 3, with IPA being last, as it leaves less of a residue...

 

We tend to use them in 'clean hoods' with extractor fans...

Ah right, i see. Sounds very thorough though, do you think methanol alone would be sufficient for an amateur chemist like myself? You can get methanol for about £1/litre, you see, whereas IPA or acetone's about double that price.

Acetone is sometimes a better solvent than methanol (it obviously depends what you are trying to wash off). IPA isn't a bad solvent, but it's rather viscous so things dissolve slowly in it.

Methanol is the solvent we use in the lab as the first attempt- if methanol doesn't work we try something else. It's toxic and flammable but so are most solvents; methanol is cheap.

Acetone is sometimes a better solvent than methanol (it obviously depends what you are trying to wash off). IPA isn't a bad solvent, but it's rather viscous so things dissolve slowly in it.

Methanol is the solvent we use in the lab as the first attempt- if methanol doesn't work we try something else. It's toxic and flammable but so are most solvents; methanol is cheap.

 

Excellent, thanks for the info. I think I'll buy 25l of MeOH then, and 5l of Me2CO for stuff that MeOH doesn't clean off. Me2CO's about the same price as IPA so I suppose it makes sense to use the least viscous and most volatile one. Plus I could probably get used IPA from my mum's work if I needeed it; they use it to sterilise cables for pacemakers. A quick wash off afterwards with MeOH should get rid of any impurities the used IPA leaves behind.

Buying near half a hundredweight of flammable liquids isn't something to undertake lightly.

Make sure you have somewhere apropriate to store them.