The main procedure that will maximize the chances of successfully storing capillaries involves 4 steps. The first step is to rinse the capillary with 0.1 M NaOH for several minutes, ensuring not to do this with chemically-modified capillaries. One should then rinse with distilled water for 5 minutes. Next, one should position an empty, uncapped vial at the outlet end and pass N2 gas through the capillary for 5 minutes. Lastly, remove the capillary cartridge from the instrument.