a rinsing and drying apparatus of a clinical analyzer probe drain station is provided . the rinsing and drying apparatus has a group of nozzles that are offset from a longitudinal axis of a probe passage and may be inclined and oriented to provide tangentially oriented fluid - jet trajectories exiting into the sample probe passage . the offset nozzles , nozzle orientation , and cavity geometrical features of the device permit the drying capacity of probe - impinging planar air - knife jets to be maximized by stabilizing local internal fluid movement to form a swirling gas flow field directed away from a drying region and toward a vacuum exhaust . the rinsing and drying apparatus eliminates rinse water re - circulated entrainment and up - wash during the air - knife drying operation . therefore , the rinsing and drying apparatus significantly reduces water carryout on sampling probes thereby reducing sample / reagent dilution .