In the medical world, there are many challenges when it comes to cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing equipment. Having an ultrasonic cleaner is the perfect weapon in order to protect medical personnel and patients from possible infections due to pathogens that linger on the instruments after a procedure.
Ultrasonic cleaners work on the principle of cavitation, where ultrasonic transducers create billions of air bubbles in an ultrasonic cleaning solution. These bubbles implode with such a violent force, that when they come in contact with objects placed in the solution, it strips away contaminants without damaging the objects. When the instruments are prepared properly for the ultrasonic cleaning step, this fast-moving process is very efficient.
That is why pre-prep is a vitally important process. The Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Recommended Practices Committee, states “initial instrument decontamination should begin immediately after any invasive procedure.” It is crucial to wash and wipe to remove any contaminants before they dry up and more strongly adhere to the instruments. It’s important to remember that the cleaner the instruments go into the ultrasonic cleaner, the cleaner they will come out.
Tips for Using Ultrasonic Cleaners
Here are some tips to remember for ultrasonic cleaning:
- Before placing into the ultrasonic unit, clean instruments of all visible debris by hand washing them in neutral pH soap.
- Before placing instruments into the ultrasonic unit, turn on the ultrasonic machine and let it run for 10 minutes to de-gas the solution.
- As with many types of cleaning, open all instruments so ratchets and box locks are fully exposed to the cleaning process.
- Make sure instruments have plenty of room.
- Don't overload your ultrasonic cleaner.
- Don't mix dissimilar metals (eg. aluminum, stainless) in the same cycle to prevent cross-plating.
- Upon completion of the cycle, remove instruments immediately and rinse them.
- Dry instruments thoroughly with a towel, ensuring that no moisture is left on the instruments.
Ultrasonic cleaning is 15x more efficient than manual cleaning alone. This becomes even more amazing when you think about how it wasn’t that very long ago that hospitals used to pay outside agencies to clean their surgical instruments while individual doctors and clinics used to do it by hand.
By using best practices and ultrasonic cleaners, you can reduce infections and increase the quality of your care.
Future Health Concepts (FHC) has been serving the medical community with new and refurbished medical equipment for 40 years. Our primary refurbished products are sterilizers, washers/disinfectors, and operating room tables. Other quality refurbished medical products are anesthesia machines, patient monitors, defibrillators, ESU, and rigid and flexible video systems along with many other products. Our clients’ satisfaction is of the utmost importance to us. We will work to try to exceed your expectations when it comes to equipment needs to develop a long-term relationship with your facility.
To find out more about our product options, including new and used equipment, call us today at 1-888-282-8644.