How You Know it’s Time to Upgrade Your Fume Hood

Fume hoods are one of the most important purchases for maximizing lab safety. Because these hoods are used often, they can experience normal wear and tear and may eventually need upgrading. When deciding when to replace fume hood equipment, safety should always be at the forefront of your mind.

While purchasing a new fume hood can be a financial expense, the safety and security it will provide those working in your lab is more important.  When undertaking usual annual safety and efficiency maintenance, it’s important to diagnose problems directly related to the hood, and not poor filtration or ventilation.  If the fume hood is the cause of any materials or poor containment, it should be replaced as soon as possible.

While your fume hood may be operating ideally, there may be equally important areas that suggest you should consider replacing your fume hood.  One of these areas is wear and tear.  If your fume hood is regularly exposed to corrosive agents, it may have premature wear to work surfaces, ducts, and even glass windows.  While these areas pose a small threat to safety, they should be taken into consideration for a new fume hood.

Lastly, Fume hoods, like other technologies, are constantly improving.  Sometimes you may simply have an outdated fume hood that lacks the efficiency you want in your lab.  In other cases, you may simply want to make a long-term investment in your lab that will pay back over time.  In these cases, you may want to consider replacing your fume hood.

While there are financial benefits to upgrading your fume hoods, it’s important to remember that they are designed with safety as a priority, and that should be your priority as well. New fume hood technology offers major advantages, so knowing when to replace fume hood equipment can help you make the right upgrade at the right time.