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Dear Arvydas,

Plastic overshoes, even if you get people to wear them, are not great as they frequently rip , tear, and can catch on chair wheels etc thereby making them very ineffectual. It would be best to exchange outdoor shoes for indoor shoes but this has its own problems in good practice at the changeover areas and having clean shoes available for external users or service engineers.  If you are serious about cleanliness of footwear in the microscope labs perhaps you could google "clean room boot" and you will find images of the type of footwear used in clean rooms. These are useful as they go over the top of users own shoes and so are easy to deploy. Care and good practice in the changeover area should still be exercised, use of a pass over bench for instance. 

Tacky mats, after doing some investigations for semiconductor clean rooms and the use of tacky mats, we found that tacky mats rather than help actually hindered the overall cleanliness as they transfer glue to the bottom of the shoes they are trying to clean and then these "sticky" shoes are more prone to pick up even more dirt.

Hope this helps

David Strachan


 

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Swayne, Theresa C.
Sent: 08 December 2014 17:01
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Protecting microscopes from salt

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Dear Arvydas,

Regarding polite reminders for users, I find it's useful to focus on what they want and need. Usually this boils down to 1) access to the equipment and 2) affordable fees.

As we managers & directors all know, damage to optics can put equipment out of commission for months and cost thousands of dollars.  So I would stress that keeping corrosive salts out of the room ensures that the equipment stays in excellent condition, and avoids costly and time-consuming repairs that could delay everyone's experiments.

I also find that some users will ignore the signs, no matter how carefully worded. Some will not get into a new habit without frequent reinforcement. To help with this, make it virtually impossible for people to get in the door without noticing the box of booties.  You should probably check in frequently at first to make sure that people are actually putting them on. If someone is sitting at a microscope without booties on because they "forgot", bring them a pair. That way you can be helpful while sending the unspoken message that this is a serious policy.

Hope this helps (and I hope your winter is an easy one from now on),

Theresa


On Dec 8, 2014, at 8:33 AM, Arvydas Matiukas <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:

...
Additionally please advise on the posting that should be polite and would not turn away the users, however, at the same time would  clearly and strictly request putting on shoe covers before entering the microscopy rooms.



------------------------------------
Please note: My email address has changed to [log in to unmask]<http://columbia.edu>.

Theresa Swayne, Ph.D.
Associate Research Scientist
Manager, Confocal and Specialized Microscopy Shared Resource Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University
1130 Saint Nicholas Ave, 222A
New York, NY 10032

212-851-4613

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