Alconox Concentrated Cleaning Powder for Surgical Instruments

The proper care and handling of your valuable surgical instruments will improve their longevity and function. Choose a protocol appropriate for your environment from the cleaning techniques below. See the videos here.

Prior to sterilizing surgical instruments, it is a good idea to make sure you have cleaned them to remove blood, tissue and all other organic material.  If soiled materials dries or is baked onto the instruments, it will interfere with microbial inaction and can compromise the sterilization process.

The proper care and handling of surgical instruments is the simplest way to protect your investment and add years to the life of your instruments. Here is a handy infographics showing the steps for proper surgical instrument cleaning.

Ultrasonic cleaning is the most effective cleaning method for maintaining your surgical instruments, because of its cavitation. Vibrating sound waves create micron-size bubbles in solution that grow as the pressure in the unit changes.

After a good cleaning and disinfection, your surgical instruments may be sterilized using a variety of methods. The chart below shows two common methods, autoclaving and cold sterilization. Sterilization destroys all microbial life. Some chemical sterilants can be used as high level disinfectants (HLD) when used for shorter exposure periods.

Although stainless steel is corrosion-resistant, it can still rust and stain if it is handled improperly. To determine if a discoloration is rust or just a stain, erase the discoloration with a pencil eraser. If there is pitting in the metal under the discoloration, it is corrosion. If the discoloration is removed, it was just a stain. 

What's the difference between cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing? Let's take a look. This is the first in a series of four videos to discuss some best practices in caring for your surgical instrument investment.