When you need to apply eye medication, it is easy to reach out for a bottle of eyedrops. Those small, dainty dropper bottles are no stranger. You will find them in many homes, laboratories, and health-related environments. These small glass bottles with lids can measure out tiny quantities of liquid. And they do so with accuracy.
Glass dropper bottles are suitable for packaging high-value, sensitive, or concentrated liquids. Other popular uses include food flavors and colors, as well as essential oils. Hair and skin serums, tinctures, and CBD oil also keep well in these dropper vials.
Basic Facts About Glass Dropper Bottles
Dropper bottles are of either plastic or glass material. But glass dropper vials are very common. These glass bottles with lids often come in volumes ranging from 2.5 ml to 100 ml. Again, colored glass dropper vials are often preferred to their clear counterparts.
Dropper vials feature specialised lids. The lids are either a small glass tube (a dropper), or a reducer. The dropper has a rubber bulb at the top, and a tiny hole at the other end. At full measure, a standard dropper contains about 1 ml of liquid. While each drop measures 0.05 ml.
The Merits of Using Glass Dropper Bottles
Colored dropper pipettes appear in amber, black, green, purple, or blue. True that you can see and assess the content of clear glass bottles with lids. But essential oils are a special case. It is better to store them in colored dropper vials. This will protect them from sunlight and ultraviolet rays.
A good number of medicinal preparations need usage in small, precise doses. You can apply exact doses of medicine with a dropper pipette.
This drop-by-drop application also prevents wastage and leakage of the valuable content. These tiny glass bottles with lids allow you to control how you use and dispense their contents. This is even more important when you need to pour such liquids from bigger containers.
Dropper pipettes further protect their contents from contamination. Their airtight caps can safeguard against contaminants like moisture, oxygen, or microbes.
Again, if you desire to use an expensive or precious liquid for longer, go for a dropper bottle. Use cases include fragrances, food colourings and flavors, as well as essential oils.
Key Tips for Storing Essential Oils in Glass Dropper Bottles
You can re-bottle or prepare top-quality essential oils for yourself or for sale. Essential oils have healing powers that can uplift the mind and body. They also produce exciting fragrances. You may also create blends of two or more essential oils for specific uses. Thus you should consider the factors below.
You must plan towards preserving the potency of the essential oil. And prolonging its shelf life is also important. And remember that essential oils can be rare and costly. Hence, you need to select high-quality glass bottles with lids to store them. A well-preserved bottle of essential oil may last anything from one year upwards.
Again, it is best to store essential oils in amber, cobalt, or green dropper vials. These colors protect the contents from heat, sunlight, and ultraviolet rays. These three factors can diminish their quality. Note again that essential oils should remain cooled down. Because they can ignite at high temperatures. Room temperature is enough. Also keep them out of moist environments.
The lid of the bottle is also critical. Use the screw cap provided for the dropper vial in its place. Use the dropper and rubber bulb only when needed. Because the rubber bulb will degenerate over time. Otherwise it will suffer attack from the essential oil.
How to Clean Your Dropper Vials
Before using a dropper pipette, you should clean it (along with the dropper and rubber bulb). Mild dishwashing soap and warm water is suitable for this. A microfiber cloth can clean the outside of the bottles without scratching them. While a soft bottle brush can take care of the insides. Then rinse them twice with warm water. Finish by placing them where they can air-dry.
An extra step would be to sterilize the dropper pipettes. This will destroy any remaining microbes lingering on them. To achieve this, you can immerse the bottles in any of the following mixtures:
- Water and hydrogen peroxide
- Water and bleach
- Water and alcohol. This could be dilute isopropyl alcohol, vodka, or some other suitable alcohol.
An alternative is to sterilize the dropper vials in boiling water for not more than 10 minutes. Then remove them with tongs. Allow the bottles to cool down before giving them a final rinse in hot water. Then place them on a drying rack or clean surface to dry.
Dip the dropper in alcohol solution time and again to sanitize it. And dedicate one dropper to a particular bottle and its contents. Keep the dropper sealed in a clean container, such as a jar, when not in use.
Final Words
Dropping vials are useful for storing liquids and medications. Many of them are sensitive and/or of high-value. They help to regulate the quantity of each liquid by allowing small, precise doses. They also protect their contents from leakage and contamination.
To guarantee that essential oils will last long, follow the recommended tips above. Store them in high-quality dropper pipettes. And also make sure the bottles undergo cleaning and sanitization before use.