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Steam sterilization or autoclaving is one of the main bio-medical waste removal methods used by health care institutions today. It involves utilizing hot pressurized steam to sterilize bio-medical wastes, but also culture media, surgical equipment or lab glassware, just to name a few uses. Steam sterilization is one of the most effective methods of sterilization and medical waste management Miramar, but it has to be done by a person who is well acquainted with it.

In this short article, I will give you a step by step instruction on how to use an autoclave for your biomedical waste.

Packaging

First and foremost, you will need to package and label everything accordingly before you put it in the autoclave. This means putting the biohazard medical waste inside the biohazard red bags and labeling them accordingly. For sharps, however, you will have to put them in metallic pans (preferably stainless-steel). Any liquids, however, will have to be poured inside containers made from borosilicate or some other heat-resistant glass. Don’t put regular glass containers or they will burst from the pressure and heat inside the autoclave. Finally, place any solid medical waste inside autoclave bags and add some water. Once you start the autoclave, this water will be converted into steam and clear out any air left in the bag.

Loading the Autoclave

The next step in using an autoclave for bio-medical waste removal is loading it. Here is what you will need to do.

First, put the stainless-steel tray under the glass containers (vials, bottles, jars or whatever else you got) in order to secure against eventual leaking.

Don’t put anything at the bottom of the autoclave. Instead, use the racks. And don’t overfill the machine, but fill about ¾ of it. If you overfill the autoclave, you will actually make it run worse as the steam circulation will get hindered.

All autoclave bag openings (biohazard and non-biohazard) should be opened and the caps on liquid-containing glassware should be loose.

Operating Guidelines

Once you are done with loading the autoclave you should set the temperature and time on the autoclave. Since different autoclave models may have slightly different specifications, you should first read the instructions you got with the machine. In most cases, you should set the temperature at 250 degrees Fahrenheit (about 121 degree Celsius). Set the timer to 20 minutes and the pis pressure to 15. You may need more or less time depending on the type of medical waste you are sterilizing.

Now all you have to do is sit back and monitor the biological indicators every once in a while to see if the autoclave is doing its part in your medical waste management Miramar.

Unloading the Autoclave

And finally, we get to unload the autoclave. Don’t forget to put on some PPE before you do this. You should never open the autoclave door if you are not wearing some protective goggles, heat-resistant gloves, apron and closed-toed shoes.

Also, never attempt to open the autoclave door if it has not finished its cycle and cooled to 175 degree Fahrenheit (79-ish degree Celsius) or less and if the psi pressure indicator is not at zero,

Don’t just open the door wide open right away. Start by opening them ½ inch wide to let the steam go away.

Bring a previously disinfected and sterilized cart next to the autoclave and unload the biomedical waste or whatever else you just sterilized in it to the cart. If something is too hot to handle right now, leave it to cool down for about an hour.

Lastly, put the sterilized biohazard waste bags into designated waste bins.

And that, my friends, is how you use an autoclave machine in a medical waste management Miramar.