The modern medical industry is held to strict standards of sanitation and safety, and one arena of medical sanitation is sterilizing all medical equipment, such as needles and scalpels, between uses. Medical instruments like these are of course washed after use to remove blood and other debris, but more must be done to make them completely clean and safe to use again. This is where an autoclave, a sterilizing machine, is used. An autoclave for sale may be found at wholesaler supply sites, and a company may purchase quality, discount autoclaves for use on the premises. That, and such businesses will also look for autoclave sterilizer repair services when necessary. This may include Ritter M9 autoclave maintenance, and having Ritter M9 autoclave maintenance done is essential for any owner of a Ritter brand autoclave. When is it time for Ritter M9 autoclave maintenance, and just what are autoclaves capable of?

Sterilizing Medical Equipment

Surgery dates back as far as the written word, and there is even evidence of cavemen using simple drilling techniques on patients’ skulls to relieve pain. However, for much of history, surgery and medicine was relatively unsafe, as those people did not have germ theory and thus often accidentally spread infections with non-sterilized medical gear. Fortunately, by the mid 1800s, the concept of sterilization and germ theory allowed surgery to become much safer. In the 19th century, a French chemist name Louis Pasteur developed the sterilization technique in Europe, and he did this by boiling or heating medical instrument to a temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Doing this could kill bacteria and other harmful microorganisms on the surface of medical implements, often by boiling water. This concept persisted in the Western world, and it eventually led to the invention of modern autoclaves as we know them.

While it is still possible to sterilize something by boiling it in water, modern businesses such as hospitals, veterinarian hospitals, and tattoo parlors make use of machines known as autoclaves. They are shaped somewhat like toaster ovens, having a door that exposes the interior where medical implements can be placed. After needles or scalpels have been washed, they will be placed inside the autoclave, and pressurized steam will thoroughly kill any bacteria, viruses, or microscopic parasites found on those items. This steam may be as much as 30 psi in pressure, and the steam may be 250-270 degrees Fahrenheit for maximum sterilization power. After all, it is possible for blood borne pathogens to survive for a week on the exposed surface of metal implements, so naturally, sterilization should be done.

Autoclaves are quite useful, but it is possible for them to fail. Sometimes, an autoclave may wear out and lose some of its potency, and some pathogens might survive the steam exposure process. For this reason, the CDC recommends that autoclave owners perform a spore test once per week to ensure that nothing can survive the autoclave’s process. If the test is failed, or if the autoclave is wearing out, repair services may be called upon.

Caring for Autoclaves

These are machines like any other, and they may sometimes suffer from wear and tear. This is why Ritter M9 autoclave maintenance may be done, for example, when the staff at a hospital or a tattoo parlor call upon local, specialized repair services who can fix an autoclave. This will restore it to full working order. But in some cases, an autoclave is completely worn out and may need to be replaced with a new model. When this happens, or when a hospital or a tattoo parlor first opens, the staff will look online for local wholesale retailers who stock autoclaves. A new hospital will need all sorts of equipment, after all, from autoclaves to vaccine freezers and sample storage spaces. The staff may find models of freezers and autoclaves whose technical specs and storage capacity meet their needs, and order them. A larger hospital may need a large autoclave or even several of them, but a smaller tattoo parlor might need only a petite autoclave to meet all of its sterilization needs.