Wash your hands and use appropriate protective clothing. 
When using a dipslide, it is important that your skin does not contaminate the dipslide agar. Whilst it is not required for use, we highly recommend washing your hands before using a dipslide or wearing sterile gloves.

Remove the dipslide. 
Remove the dipslide from the tube by pulling the plastic tab at the top of the dipslide. Take care not to allow the dipslide agar (the jelly type substance on each side) to hit the edge of the clear plastic tube.

If surface testing. 
If you are testing a surface, place the dipslide agar down onto the surface. You can use the plastic tabs at the bottom and the top of the dipslide to make sure all the agar has full contact with the surface. Keep the agar applied to the surface for approx 20 seconds. Then turn over the dipslide (if required) and apply the other agar to the surface.

If fluid testing. 
Fluid testing can be done either by placing the dipslide into the fluid directly or by placing the dipslide into a sample of the water. Make sure the dipslide agar is fully submerged for approx 10 seconds.

If swab testing. 
Take a sterile swab (e.g. a sterile cotton bud), dip or rub this on the sample to be tested, then gently rub the swab onto the dipslide.

Replace the dipslide + Incubate. 
Replace the dipslide into the sterile plastic tube taking care not to damage the agar. Next, place the dipslide tube into a dipslide incubator. Incubation period can vary depending on the agar but generally results should be readable in around 24-48 hours.

Review the results
Open the comparison chart and compare the amount of dots or mould growth to the examples provided on the chart. This will then provide you with a CFU/ml or CFU/cm2 result measurement.