You keep your medical facility sterilized for the safety of medical personnel and patients. Autoclaves sterilize devices with superheated pressurized steam, helping medical practices provide the best standard of care for their patients.
Take the guesswork out of finding reliable sterilizing equipment. Follow these quick tips for buying autoclave sterilizers.
1. Get the Right Type of Autoclave
For an autoclave to sterilize an object, steam must directly contact the surface you’re sterilizing. The autoclave removes surrounding air so there’s no barrier between the object and steam. Consider the two types of autoclave sterilizing methods.
- Gravity sterilization: This is the most common autoclave on the market. Steam displaces the air in the autoclave chamber, and gravity forces the air to exit through an exhaust valve. Then, the steam sterilizes the devices in the chamber.
- Vacuum sterilization: Use this method when air cannot easily be evacuated from the item being sterilized, such as for large or porous items like animal bedding. This method completely pushes the ambient air out of the chamber by creating a vacuum. Then the high-temperature steam enters deeper into the objects in the chamber, sterilizing hard-to-reach areas around and within the object.
If you want to sterilize items with hard surfaces, the gravity autoclave works well. If you want to sterilize large or porous objects, use the vacuum sterilizing autoclave.
2. Consider How Many Devices You Need Sterilized
How many devices do you need to sterilize within a given timeframe? Just like dishwashers take different times to complete wash cycles, autoclaves have different warm-up and cool-down times that affect their cycle lengths. Also keep in mind the added time it takes for staff to prepare, load, and unload objects for sterilization.
Aside from this number, consider your daily operations. If many personnel need to access the autoclave throughout the day, having multiple autoclaves rather than one or two large autoclaves makes sense for your facility. This way, everyone can use the autoclave when the need arises, minimizing wait times.
3. Keep Maintenance in Mind
The final quick tip for buying autoclave sterilizers is to keep maintenance in mind. Like all medical equipment, regular maintenance ensures your autoclave performs optimally. For example, you need to clean the autoclave regularly, have a technician check it out periodically, and replace parts, such as the door gasket, as needed.
Talk to your autoclave supplier and read notes from the manufacturer to understand more about your machine’s needs. Knowing how to maintain your autoclave will help you keep up with your facility’s sterilization needs.
Buy Autoclave Supplies from All States M.E.D.
At All States M.E.D., we’re proud to bring you autoclave supplies that sterilize your medical equipment and devices. Browse our inventory to find the right sterilizer for you. And if you have any questions, speak with one of our medical equipment experts.