How to Clean Medical Instruments
Every time a non-disposable piece of medical equipment is used, it needs to be properly cleaned, disinfected and sterilized to prevent infection in future patients. According to ems.org, most pathogens, or disease agents, are in visible soil, meaning that anything you can see on the equipment is the most dangerous.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Water
- Detergent
- Pot
- Pickups (tongs)
- Tray
- Autoclave
- Sterile gloves
- Sterile container
Instructions
-
-
1
Scrub the equipment to remove visible soil. Use water and detergent or soap to get rid of excess particles. According to ems.org, cleaning requires friction and fluids (soap and water) and is a critical step because it gets rid of the immediate pathogens on the equipment.
-
2
Rinse the equipment under a jet of cold water to remove loose particles. Increase the temperature of the water to slightly warmer than room temperature to help kill the pathogens.
-
-
3
Disinfect the equipment by boiling it. Bring a pot of water to a gentle, rolling boil, and place the instruments in the pot for one minute. Be sure to keep the boil gentle, as too harsh a boil can damage some equipment. After one minute, take the instruments out of the boiling pot using disinfected pickups. Place the equipment on a disinfected tray.
-
4
Place the equipment in an autoclave machine to sterilize it. According to ems.org, the equipment should be kept inside the autoclave at a temperature of 250 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 20 minutes. Raise the temperature to 275 degrees Fahrenheit for another 5 minutes. Sterilization kills any spores or viruses on the equipment.
-
5
Use sterile gloves to remove the equipment from the autoclave. As the equipment was just sterilized, it would be counterproductive to handle it with bare hands.
-
6
Seal the sterilized medical equipment in a sterile container such as a wrap or closed container.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Make sure you clean the equipment thoroughly. If most of the pathogens are not removed during the first step, it can disrupt the rest of the cleaning process.
Do not to touch the equipment once it has been sterilized.
