General Information; Cleaning/Disinfection - B.Braun Aesculap Mode D'emploi/Description Technique

5.2

General information

Dried or affixed surgical residues can make cleaning more difficult or inef-
fective and lead to corrosion. Therefore the time interval between appli-
cation and processing should not exceed 6 h; also, neither fixating pre-
cleaning temperatures >45 °C nor fixating disinfecting agents (active
ingredient: aldehydes/alcohols) should be used.
Excessive dosages of neutralizing agents or basic cleaners may result in a
chemical attack and/or fading and the laser marking on stainless steel
becoming unreadable either visually or by machine.
Residues containing chlorine or chlorides, e.g., in surgical residues, medi-
cines, saline solutions, and in the service water used for cleaning, disin-
fection, and sterilization, will cause corrosion damage (pitting, stress cor-
rosion) and result in the destruction of stainless steel products. These must
be removed by rinsing thoroughly with demineralized water and then dry-
ing.
Perform additional drying, if necessary.
Only process chemicals that have been tested and approved (e.g. VAH or
FDA approval or CE mark) and which are compatible with the product's
materials according to the chemical manufacturers' recommendations
may be used for processing the product. All the chemical manufacturer's
application specifications must be strictly observed. Failure to do so can
result in the following problems:
■
Optical changes in materials, e.g., fading or discoloration of titanium
or aluminum. For aluminum, the application/process solution only
needs to be of pH >8 to cause visible surface changes.
■
Material damage such as corrosion, cracks, fracturing, premature
aging, or swelling.
►
Do not use metal cleaning brushes or other abrasives that would dam-
age the product surface and could cause corrosion
►
Do not use process chemicals that cause stress cracking of plastics
such as PPSU, or attack silicone softeners and cause brittleness of the
material.
►
For further detailed information on hygienically safe and material-pre-
serving/value-preserving reprocessing, see www.a-k-i.org, link to Pub-
lications, Red Brochure – Proper maintenance of instruments.
5.3

Cleaning/disinfection

Product-specific safety instructions for the reprocessing procedure
Damage to the product due to inappropriate clean-
ing/disinfecting agents and/or excessive tempera-
tures!
CAUTION
►
Use cleaning and disinfecting agents according
to the manufacturer's instructions which
– be approved for plastic material and high-
grade steel,
– do not attack softeners (e.g. in silicone).
►
Observe specifications regarding concentration,
temperature and exposure time.
7