Laboratory Incubator Maintenance and Care

Incubators are a vital piece of equipment for any laboratory completing cell culture; they support the full spectrum of cell-based workflows. But keeping an incubator in prime working condition requires a commitment to regular cleaning and maintenance. And while finding the time to complete this can be challenging, there are several best practices that can help you ease this maintenance in your day-to-day life.

Place your incubator carefully

One of the easiest ways to ease your ongoing maintenance needs is to place your incubator strategically upon installation, explains Mary Kay Bates, Senior Global Applications Scientist at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Incubators should be placed away from “high traffic areas, avoiding damp, humid corners and sheltered from ventilation and airstreams,” she says, all of which reduce the likelihood of contamination entering. You should also ensure your incubator sits on a lab bench or stand and never directly on the floor. If installing a new incubator, carefully considering the placement of your unit early on can save you valuable time later.

Everyday good housekeeping

Once your incubator is in position, good daily housekeeping makes maintenance easier and keeps your incubator working at its best. Consistent best practices, such as not storing items in hoods and cleaning any spills, reduce the burden of heavier deep cleans. Splitting daily tasks into morning and evening duties can also help reduce the amount of time dedicated to maintenance at any one period.

Probably the most important daily practice you can do to maintain your incubator is ensuring the water pan is full. In addition to leading to cell toxicity, low water levels can damage the CO₂ sensor. You should also ensure you use the correct water; “Use only sterilized distilled water,” Bates says, “deionized or ultrapure water is very aggressive causing pitting, clouding, and corrosion” to your incubator over time.

Make a maintenance checklist

While good daily practice reduces the level of incubator maintenance, some ongoing care is still required. Making a list of the tasks that need to be completed will make the upkeep seem more manageable and help you integrate the chores into your everyday lab practices. Splitting up the responsibilities between your lab group also reduces the burden on one person and takes up less of everyone’s time.

If your incubator is equipped with HEPA filtration, you should replace the filter every 6–12 months. The lifespan will depend on the make and model, in addition to your level of incubator use and general cleanliness. The gas inlet filters should also be replaced over the same period, and calibrated up to once a quarter. Keeping the water pan full reduces the frequency of calibration need.

Deep clean!

Regular cleaning, although sometimes a chore, is necessary to protect your cells and keep your incubator functioning properly. Once a month, stretching to every 6–8 weeks, you should fully empty and clean your incubator. Care should be taken to ensure you reach any corners or crevices where dirt and germs can hide. An incubator with coved corners can make this easier. You should also remove and clean any shelves or racking, and remember to clean the exterior of your incubator—paying particular attention to the door handles and surfaces frequently touched. Dust collecting on top of your incubator can enter when you open the door, so don’t forget to clean the top of your unit as well. Take care to ensure you use an appropriate disinfectant; “While there are many disinfectant options available, not all are safe for cells or for incubator components,” Bates adds. A diluted non-corrosive disinfectant or 70% alcohol is ideal.

Some incubators are equipped with automatic disinfection programs that can substantially speed up the cleaning process, although periodic manual cleaning should still be completed. Other incubators are equipped with additional in-built decontamination features including ultraviolet light, H₂O₂ vapor or high heat sterilization, or a dew stick condensation probe, explains Ashwin Stallworth, Product Specialist at PHCbi. Such features provide the “user with the convenience of fewer hands-on hours and having no requirement to be present in sterilizing their equipment.”

Call in the professionals

In addition to your own maintenance, you should also get your incubator serviced by a manufacturer authorized engineer at least once a year to keep it in prime working condition. Suppliers offer flexible service plans from a basic check of sensors and working parts, to filter and worn part replacement, so you should decide on a plan according to your needs and your own level of daily maintenance.

Automation and remote monitoring

In recent years, the demand for automation and the ability to remotely monitor equipment has increased rapidly. As a result, some incubators now offer automated custom reminders for things such as sterilization and HEPA filter replacement, taking away the burden of scheduling maintenance. Others offer “external monitoring options that provide real-time data logging and notifications for any abnormalities,” explains Stallworth. Knowing how well your incubator is working and if it is likely to fail, helps you to track your maintenance needs and schedule appropriate servicing before the worst occurs—saving you time and money later.

Conclusion

Incubators require regular cleaning and maintenance to keep them working at their best. But while completing this maintenance can seem like a chore, simple steps such as careful incubator positioning and good everyday working practices can help ease these demands. After all, as Alicia D. Henn, Chief Scientific Officer of BioSpherix, explains “The key to cleaning an incubator is to avoid contamination in the first place.”