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How much do you really understand ductless fume hoods? Are you picturing a small, portable, single-wall ductless enclosure? Or are you envisioning periodic manual sampling of the exhaust air and frequent filter changes to ensure there is no chemical breakthrough of the carbon filters? If so, don’t worry, these are common misconceptions based on older technology and designs. Read on to learn more about the important differences between full-featured ductless fume hoods (aka “filtered fume hoods”) and the basic ductless enclosures you remember.

Would you leave the front door to your home wide open?  Your car?  I didn’t think so.  Similarly, we should not leave the doors of solvent (aka “flammable”) storage cabinets open except when actively using them. Solvent cabinets are designed, tested, and constructed in compliance with several industry standards to provide a minimum amount of time before the flammables will ignite during a fire event outside the cabinet.  These few minutes are critical for both the evacuation of lab occupants and for firefighting, but this minimum time cannot be achieved if the doors are left wide open. Doors must be completely shut to expect a delay in the internal temperature rise within the cabinet.