areas that may or may not be visible. It is useful for cleaning all items which have been
through the washer-sterilizer or those that have been decontaminated and manually
cleaned. This unit uses a high-frequency sound as a source of energy for cleaning. A
cleaning solution of water and detergent is used in this cleaner and the vibrating sound
waves clean areas that are difficult to clean in other ways.
Figure 3-6. Ultrasonic cleaner.
c. Non-Contaminated Items. Cleaning is an extremely important step in
processing reusable items; only when the soil has been thoroughly removed can a
sterilizing agent, whether chemical or heat, come in direct contact with the surfaces of
the object to be sterilized.
(1) The following requirements are needed to thoroughly remove all soil
from non-contaminated items received in CMS.
(a) Use only the cleaning agents that have been selected for each of
the various types of material to be cleaned.
(b) Use only the designated cleaning agent--for mechanical or for
manual cleaning.
(c) Use only the exact amount of the cleaning agent in the specified
amount of water. If this information is not available on the label of the container, the
cleaning agent should not be used. Guesswork is not acceptable.
MD0937
3-12