Dear Andrea,

	I was taught (& always practice) to clean my microtome every day at the
end of the cutting session.  A moderately stiff paint brush a couple of cm
wide does the trick.  If I have a long cutting session I will clean away
excess wax at intervals as it builds up.

	If there is a build up of wax then the use of a plastic scraper (never
metal) may be required.  As a last resort a little absolute ethanol on a
tissue does wonders to shift any remaining wax.

	A clean microtome means better sections are cut faster.

	I had a junior technician who insisted on wiping down the microtome with
xylene.  This is a practice I strongly advise against.  
	1/  It exposes the operator to way too many potentially toxic fumes.
	2/  She never wore gloves & xylene is a contact allergen.
	3/  You should never get that much wax stuck to the instrument if its
cleaned regularly every day.
	4/  You will remove all the grease & oil from the areas it is required.
	
	Regards

	Rob.

At 01:29 PM 7/2/99 GMT, you wrote:
>I was wondering how people keep their microtomes clean? What do you use to
>clean it and how often? Every day?  Biweekly etc?


R. Wadley, B.App.Sc, M.L.S
Laboratory Manager
Cellular Analysis Facility
School of Microbiology & Immunology
UNSW, New South Wales, Australia, 2052
Ph (BH) 	+61 (2) 9385 3517
Ph (AH)	+61 (2) 9555 1239
Fax 	+61 (2) 9385 1591
E-mail	r.wadley@unsw.edu.au
www	http://www.micro.unsw.edu.au/caf.html