Working in a laboratory is a fascinating way to make a living, but it also comes with challenges. If you work in a university laboratory, it is important that you do everything you can to keep the place as functional as possible. That means taking care of your furniture and accents, such as the cabinet drawer handles. In a university setting, it’s not always easy to find the budget to replace these!
Therefore, you should pay close attention to the kind of handles for drawers you choose for your lab. We wanted to get solid advice on what the best cabinet drawer handles would be, so we contacted the experts at Locksandhardware. In our discussion, they pointed out three key attributes for any worthwhile handles for drawers in a university lab: resistance to chemicals, ease of cleaning for hygiene, and durability.
Let’s look a little closer at the topic so you can make sure you buy the best bureau drawer handles!
Why Do Laboratories Need Quality Cabinet Drawer Handles?
Of course, no university wants to have cheap, low-quality furniture in place. It appears unprofessional and reflects poorly on the university. However, budgets are not unlimited, so concessions are often made – especially when it comes to minor features, such as cabinet drawer handles.
However, if you work in a laboratory setting, you’ll know just how easily cheap furniture fades away. The conditions in a lab are far different from typical classroom learning; as such, the furniture tends to be much more malleable. If nothing else, the constant presence of chemicals and fumes can have a damaging impact on lower-quality furniture, leaving you with rusted, dull cabinet drawer handles.
There is also the safety aspect. Labs are not a place where any kind of risk should be taken. Buy cheaper quality cabinet drawer handles, and you might find yourself getting cuts or similar. Over time, these cheaper handles fray and fracture, making them potentially vulnerable to cutting incidents, etc.
At the same time, there is a need for constant hygiene. Labs are not a place where you can be blasé about hygiene. Cheaper pull drawer handles can be harder to clean, as they are often designed using lower-quality materials; as such, they may be more prone to issues like rust build-up or lingering chemicals. In a lab setting, it is imperative to have high-quality, durable cabinet drawer handles.
Where do you start when looking for handles, then? What are the key attributes for lab drawer handles?
The Best Cabinet Drawer Handles For Laboratory Usage
So, when we spoke with Locks & Handles, they made one thing clear: aesthetics come first. In a lab setting, it’s all about functionality. That means you should prioritise design last, especially when you compare it with the following features:
Durable Materials
The first thing you want to look for is cabinet drawer handles that are strong enough to withstand the test of time. Lab environments can be somewhat unforgiving to lower-quality metals and plastics; that’s why it’s wise to invest in stainless steel cabinet handles.
Stainless steel handles are designed to be very durable, lasting for years to come. That means you won’t need to worry about handles coming loose or snapping, like you would with plastic, wood, or some cheaper metal alternatives. Stainless steel also provides another key benefit:
Hygiene & Ease Of Cleaning
Laboratories are places where numerous chemicals are used, and thus they can linger in the air and on our hands. Even with the best attention to detail, it does not take long for hygiene to become an issue.
That’s why you want to have stainless steel cabinet drawer handles: they are very easy to clean. With other materials, these chemical compounds might be more likely to linger even after cleaning. Stainless steel, by contrast, is incredibly easy to clean.
That makes it a great choice if you want handles that you know can be wiped down with professional cleaning solutions and actually stay clean. Hygiene standards cannot drop in a university lab, which means having handles that you know remain clean once wiped down.
Chemical Resistance
Don’t just buy any older stainless steel handles for drawers, though: buy ones suitable for a lab. That means that they should be advertised as having some kind of chemical resistance. Corrosion can happen to any material, especially non-coated stainless steel cabinet drawer handles.
So, make sure that any handles you buy come advertised as being resistant to chemical residue. Many other options that you might consider are unlikely to resist chemicals for long. That leaves you with corroded and rusty-looking handles, or handles that are unsafe to touch because they contain residue from the chemicals and fumes used in those days’ lab testing.
What About Going Smart?
In a lab setting, removing risk is imperative to creating a safe place to experiment. As such, it is ideal to have cabinet drawer handles that are as minimalist as possible; that means no sticking-out handle designs that are at risk of hurting someone, jamming someone’s fingers or catching someone’s coat.
With that in mind, it might be worth considering going smart. Smart drawer handles are increasingly popular; while they cost more, they are low-profile, do not protrude, are typically made from the same kind of chemically resistant materials we mentioned above, and can be locked/unlocked remotely.
Invest In Long-Lasting, Safety-Approved Cabinet Drawer Handles
If you want to make sure that your lab remains a safe place to work and learn, make sure that every part of the lab is safe. Yes, this includes your cabinet drawer handles!
Something as simple as drawer handles can be easily overlooked when evaluating your laboratory. As we have explained above, though, there are many benefits to taking the time to find quality handles for drawers. Your lab becomes safer, lasts longer, and you can ensure that it meets all safety requirements laid out by government and industry bodies. Is that not worth the cost?
