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No matter whom I ask no one seems to be able to state how long it takes for instruments to be considered clean using an ultrasonic cleaner.The answeres usually are 'until they are clean' .It looks!!! clean almost as soon as you put them in the water .Can anyone give me a better answer. We assume, say , that we have a bloody /pus contaminated black's file .They are probably the most ground in with debris of unknown types removed from deep nail sulci etc. I know we can use Perasafe or similar also but 'When' can I consider the instrument to be contaminant free prior to autoclaving?
Cheers
Hull Footman

Hello
I would suggest you use a brush and clean the instrment , rinse and then place in ulstrasound..The answer to your question is based on the manufacturer's recommendations that are in your manual. That is the usual way to determine the length of time that is required to remove the debris that you could not with a brush.

The NHS clinics I have worked in seem to use it for anywhere between 5 and 10 minutes.

Personally I use 10 minutes and if there is hard debris on anything ~ Black's or dresser or bur's then I give them a good scrub with a nail brush which can then be autoclaved.

My handbook (which is in German with incredibly unhelpful English translation) does not give any recommendations, just the temperature and time/power ranges.

I find wrist watches come up beautifully in about 5 minutes

Hope this helps
Nick

quote from the instruction manual of our ultrasonic cleaner (manufacturer - ultraware)

"generally the time to decontaminate instruments will be less than 10 minutes, in fact instruments cleaned ultrasonically at regular intervals will be clean in probably less than 5 minutes"

"the instruments can be said to be clean when stains are no longer visable, and contamination no longer appears in a stream from hinges and rivet pins etc."

__________________
malpractice makes perfect

I find rings and necklaces come up beautifully shiney and sparkly after 5 minutes!

We were told by the the sales rep that 5 minutes of ultrasonic cleaning was all that was required following manual scrubbing to remove large pieces of debris.

You really need to run a test on the cleaner, as they vary a great deal.
You put a test strip in to the machine, run it till the "stain" on the test strip disappears & that's how long you need.

The concentration of the detergent and temperature of the bath also make a big difference.

Ideally should run a test periodically to check they're working efficiently.

In my Practice we use standard 12 min for each set of instruments and manual + ultra sound decontamination for any very soiled instruments. In a busy clinic or if 2 of us are working (or the ultra sound detergent gets cloudy and you can see the bits floating about in the solution!) then get rid of it. Clean out the bath and new solution as per manufacturers recomendation.
Remember that if you use manual scrub the brush needs to be autoclaved too and replaced frequently
Lesley Sutherland

I Find An Old Battery Toothbrush Very Usefull For Getting Into Th Awquard Bits Before Ultra Sonic Cleaning. The Heads Don't Survive Autoclaving Too Often But If Your Recycling Old Ones Its Not That Important. I Too Use 12 Minutes As Standard And Change The Solution Daily (roughly After 8-10 Uses)