How to clean a medicine dropper?

Discussion in 'General Science & Technology' started by greenberg, Mar 28, 2008.

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  1. greenberg until the end of the world Registered Senior Member

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    I have a dropper like this:

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    I use it at home for measuring the amount of some home remedies, like tinctures and oils.

    Some of the tincture or oil gets stuck on the dropper and won't come off.

    Is there a way to clean the dropper?
    Or must I have one for every bottle of the remedies?


    Thanks.
     
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  3. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    You could use boiling water to rinse it in first and see if it will hold up. I'd rather just buy another dropper they really aren't that expensive then you would be certain no contamination could occur.
     
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  5. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    Try Windex. Every discount store like Target and KMart has their own cheap brand and it's the same formula. It should dissolve the oil. Fill it up, let it soak for a while, repeat a couple of times if necessary. Then rinse with Windex a few times, then with hot water several times. Windex evaporates so it won't leave a residue.
     
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  7. S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    70% ethanol.

    Soak it (ethanol is inflammable and volatile) and leave it on a piece of tissue.
     
  8. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    I'd have one for every bottle. How expensive can it be?
     
  9. shorty_37 Go! Canada Go! Registered Senior Member

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    Vinegar?
     
  10. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    Yeah, vinegar will probably work, yeah ethanol will probably work. But people have been getting everything from dried feces to burned plastic to the remains of crashed birds off of windows and mirrors with Windex and a paper towel for at least sixty years and probably longer.

    Vinegar is one of the main ingredients of Windex. You can look up the formula for "blue window cleaner" (the blue color is just a water-soluble dye) on Dear Heloise or a dozen other homemaker websites and make your own.

    Since you don't need very much, it's probably cheaper to buy a small bottle of generic blue window cleaner from KMart than to buy the ingredients and make your own, and probably cheaper than alcohol.

    If alcohol will work on your job, you can probably just use a few droppers full of high-test vodka or other spirits you already have.
    I suspect he's already thought of that idea and dismissed it as too expensive. The dude is on a tight budget. That's why I'm trying to formulate the cheapest possible solution. A dime's worth of cheap vodka if he's got it, otherwise a buck's worth of Tarzhay window cleaner.
     
  11. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    he can afford vodka but not a dropper?
     
  12. greenberg until the end of the world Registered Senior Member

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    Old dude, those droppers are hard to come by where I live right now.
    That's why I'm asking. TYVM!
     
  13. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    Most every one of my meds that needs to be dispensed using a dropper always comes with one.
     
  14. sowhatifit'sdark Valued Senior Member

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    Does ethanol remove oils?
     
  15. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    Avon has an anti-wrinkle cream that comes with a dropper. Its a glass dropper. The tip of mine broke off and for about 3 days I was rubbing shards of glass on my forehead. I didn't even know it was glass. I thought it was clear hard plastic. I mean, that's what they use on baby medicine dropppers

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  16. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    Where is that? Greenland? Anyway, you can order them from Amazon.com. A buck apiece or five bucks for a dozen. I'm sure you could use a syringe without the needle. Do they have those in Greenland? They're much easier to clean out if you get the kind with a removable plunger.
    Alcohol dissolves fats. That's why it's the basis of so many cleaning solutions. It's the organic analog of an alkali molecule.
    Hey, you gotta establish your priorities. Besides, there must be tons of vodka in Greenland, it's Danish territory.
     
  17. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    priorities indeed.
     
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