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[ Scene Risk Categories ] [ DM Keeping It Clean ] [ Cleaning Your Instruments ] [ Pressure Cooker Intro ] [ Pressure Cooker How To ] [ Pressure Cooker Illustrations ]
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Cleaning your instruments after use is vitally important
for personal safety and instrument long life. Expensive instruments
have been damaged by inappropriate methods. Follow this step by step
procedure for safety and success.
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Have an established area to deposit all used
instruments. This both keeps them from being reused and from
contaminating other things. A plastic five gallon pail with a handle
works well and allows you to carry the instruments to your cleaning
area without dirtying yourself.
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To protect yourself put on a pair of exam or rubber
gloves before beginning.
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Wash everything in hot soapy water using a cloth to
scrub all surfaces. This removes lubricants, fecal matter, blood,
and other debris. This step is important. Sanitation and sterilization may not
be able to get through surface contamination to remove germs.
Both bleach and heat can cause germs to be encapsulated in a way
that protects them from sanitation and sterilization. Wash rectal thermometers and other temperature sensitive items in
cold soapy water.
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Rinse each item in cold water to remove soap.
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Soak each item in a bleach solution for 5 minutes.
The bleach solution is one cup liquid bleach to 2 quarts of water.
Use a plastic container for this solution as it will attack metal!
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Dry each item and inspect for cracks and other
damage. Discard items that should no longer be used.
Your instrument is now clean and sanitized. It is
ready for storage. It is not necessarily ready for its next use.
Instruments requiring sterilization before use, such as sounds, must be sterilized.
Notes:
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Urinary catheters and similar latex and rubber
devices are meant for one time use. Don't take chances. Dispose of
them safely after use.
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Think of stainless steal as stain less rather
than stain no. Excess exposure to bleach and other strong
oxidizing agents will cause it to corrode and pit.
The above is a picture of a portion of a stainless steal instrument
that soaked in bleach too long. Note the various discolorations.
Below is a picture of the same instrument after it was cleaned and
polished. Note the pits. (The color is dark to enhance the pits. The
instrument polished up quite nicely.)
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