[dan2000]

for all my time during the lab, i've been using acetone to rinse/wash etc.

today we ordered 10 big cans of acetone, they confused it somehow and brought ethanol. We're going to refund it but i was wondering which is the better washing brand.

I know that it's alcohol vs ketone, but in relation to being used as general washing solvent, which is better? I did use some methanol for specific cases, but if ethanol doesnt really differ much/no critical side reaction we might just not bother to refund and use it instead.

Thanks.

[Hunter2]

The question is what do you wash or rinse. Not everything is soluble in ethanol what is soluble in acetone.

[dan2000]

i know solubility comes into play, but im talking about for general washing of glassware.

been to around 3~4 labs, never seen ethanol as general washing choice. just curious

[Hunter2]

Ethanol is better to drink, so acetone or iso-propanole is used. In some countries also a vine tax is on the ethanol, so it would be expensive to use only for washing.

[pgk]

Both ethanol and acetone and even isopropanol work for washing and rinsing. But there is a question of drying time due to the boiling point difference. Note that methanol cannot be used for that purpose, due to the high toxicity (inhalation of MeOH vapors causes blindness).
Acetone bp= 57 oC
Ethanol bp = 79 oC
Isopropanol bp =83 oC

[dan2000]

mmm okay, so ethanol dries slower and we would rather drink it. Got it. Thanks

[pgk]

Remember that ethanol is a poison, too:
Oral, mouse: LD50 = 3450 mg/kg; Oral, rabbit: LD50 = 6300 mg/kg; Oral, rat: LD50 = 7060 mg/kg.
Also, note that liver injuries can occur at quite lower dosages than the lethal ones.