These are standard lab rules that everyone should know. If something is listed here, then it is a specific, very serious pet peeve of at least one person who works in this lab currently, and whatever amount of extra work it appears to entail is FAR FAR LESS than the hassle you will have for not sticking to these rules.
If you have any questions on them, PLEASE ask your friendly neighborhood lab tech - they will be more than happy to explain.
1. BLEACH USE Some people are far, far more sensitive to the smell of bleach than the average person. These coworkers can't really focus and do their own work if there is a strong bleach odor in their workplace. When using bleach (typically to dispose of bacterial or yeast cultures), follow some simple rules to be especially considerate of these coworkers.
Have the cold tap completely open in the sink before you start and leave it running full blast until long after you are finished, to rinse all bleach down the drain promptly and thoroughly.
Use as little bleach as possible, and pour it carefully to avoid spills, cleaning up any spills promptly. If you have soaked papertowels in strong bleach while cleaning a spill, dispose of them in a sealed plastic bag before throwing in the trash to contain the odor.
Any containers holding bleach should be covered or sealed at all times when possible. If you encounter a non-lidded container, make it a little foil hat to tightly seal in any bleach until it can be poured down the drain.
Be sure all bleach traces are gone when you are finished.
When in doubt, err far on the side of caution with any bleach smells. For you the odor may seem very mild, but some other people may be much more sensitive to the same odor in our shared workspace.
2. DRY ICE / OTHER PEOPLE'S FROZEN STUFF Do not remove things from the -80C or -20C that are not yours (or your mentor's) at any point unless it is completely unavoidable. If you need to remove a rack or container that contains multiple people's stuff, get your stuff out and replace the rest of the rack immediately. If someone else's stuff is piled on the shelf between you and what you need, replace it in the -20C (or 4C for that matter) IMMEDIATELY before proceeding with anything else.
EVERY TIME that you close a 4C, -20C, or -80C, stop and look around for anything you may somehow have dislodged or removed, and replace it immediately. Make this a habit.
While you have things out of the -80 or -20, that are not (a) yours and (b) intended to be fully thawed right away, store them on dry ice in an ice bucket or styrofoam shipping container. Anything that is not yours should go immediately back into the -20 or -80, and if for any reason that is physically impossible (shared container of some kind) it must be on dry ice until it is returned to the freezer as soon as possible. For the 4C, exact same deal but use ice rather than dry ice.
Do not ever attempt to organize other people's ungodly piles of racks in the -20C or 4C, or do any other moving of other people's frozen things, unless it is unavoidable in order to reach your own things. If this is problematic ask your mentor and you may be able to find space in a different shelf or freezer moving forward.
As mentioned, DO NOT ever touch the precariously piled stacks of unsecured tube racks in the -20C and especially the 4C. Just as importantly, DO NOT contribute further to this mess: if you store tubes in a tube rack (this includes 1.5ml tubes and PCR tubes and strips), use parafilm and/or lab tape to secure your tubes so that if the rack is flipped over they will all remain in place, and always also use lab tape to label all such racks with your name and the date. If these tubes will be stored for more than a week they should go into a labeled tube box with dividers and a lid, not left in a rack: ask your mentor where to get one of these boxes if you don't know. Again though, DO NOT try to organize or clean anyone else's things. Work around them.
NEVER EVER touch anything in the single “non-rack” pile of stuff in the lower rightmost part of the -80C. Do not use it, do not sweep frost out of it, do not try to organize it, DO NOT TOUCH IT. If you need more or different -80C rack space, speak to your mentor before proceeding. If you have something that you feel will not fit into a rack space, we will make it fit: speak to your mentor- and under no circumstances should you put it in the loose area. If the piled up stuff in this area keeps falling over and making it impossible to return racks to the lowest part of the -80, get your mentor ASAP and get it sorted with them.
3. pH METER I'm pretty sure if you break the pH meter you will be fired, and this is probably the most pleasant possible outcome. People get reaaaaaaaaalllly tense about it because it's been broken through carelessness twice already. Before ever using the pH meter you need a thorough hands-on tutorial from your mentor, and if at any point you are ever less than 100% positive that you know how to use the pH meter correctly, stop completely and get help from your mentor before proceeding.
ALWAYS STOP and doublecheck the electrode storage when you are finished with the pH meter. The cap should be over the tip of the electrode, filled to overflowing with the electrode storage buffer, and the little rubber nubbin should be inserted into the vent hole hear the top of the electrode to seal it. Always ask if you're not 100% sure about anything.
4. SHAKER AND CENTRIFUGE BALANCING No stirbars in shakers. Any time that you put tubes into a centrifuge they must be perfectly balanced (same number of tubes with same volumes in them) into spaces directly opposite each other. For shakers, they are heavily counterbalanced and move much more slowly; nevertheless, very large volumes can unbalance them, so ALWAYS err on the side of caution: try to distribute your tubes, and especially any large flasks or beakers, symmetrically around the shaker.
For both centrifuges and shakers, once you have started them with your tubes in place, always wait until they reach top speed before walking away, so that if they are unbalanced you will realize immediately. If there is any shaking or wobbling of the machine or any loud noise stop the machine immediately and sort out your balancing- if you are unsure of the cause, stop and ask your mentor for help before proceeding.
DO NOT EVER leave stirbars in beakers that go into the shaker. It's left as an exercise to the reader to realize why not, but don't do it.
5. GENERAL CLEAN-UP Always return everything you have used to wherever you got it from before leaving for the day. MAKE STOPPING TO CHECK this a built-in part of your routine every single time you are in lab. Almost all lab equipment is labeled by who it's used by, so it will be immediately obvious who left something out. Don't be the person that gets your mentor yelled at because something with their name on it has been left lying around instead of put away. If you see a tip discard (box or beaker) full, empty it. If you see small scraps of paper or parafilm around, throw them away. Otherwise don't move or clean things unless they are yours. If you use the shared laptops, make a folder with your name as the folder name and move all of your saved files to it- do not leave them all over the desktop.
6. LABELS Nothing is more alarming in a lab space than a completely unlabeled bottle of clear liquid. It could be basically anything, including something hazardous. For all containers that you will be making buffers in, adding things to, etc., BEFORE you add anything to the container, you should clearly label it with the contents, your name or initials, and the date. ALWAYS include your name or initials and the date. ALWAYS label containers BEFORE you add anything to them.
When you open a sealed container of anything, (tubes, tips, pipettes, troughs, reagents, kits), label it OPENED or OPEN and then the date and your initials. Use lab tape if necessary.
When something is sterile it must be marked- if it has been autoclaved the activated autoclave tape should be left on both the container and lid. If the container was autoclaved empty, but now contains something unsterile, the autoclave tape should be completely removed. If it has been filter sterilized, this should be clearly marked on the label as “FILTER STERILIZED ##uM” where ## is the size in uM of the filter that you used- this size information is written on all sterilization filters.