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

Fume hoods are one of the most important purchases to maximize lab safety.  Because these hoods are used often, it’s not uncommon for them to see typical wear and tear, and the need for eventual upgrading.  When considering upgrading your fume hood, safety should 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 called into consideration for a new fume hood.

Lastly, Fume hoods like other technology, are constantly improving.  Sometimes you may simply have an outdated fume hood that lakes the efficiency you want in your lab.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 keep in mind that they are designed with safety as a priority, and that should be your priority as well.  There are major advantages to new fume hood technology and it’s important to know when it’s time to make an upgrade.