Following surgery, all instruments should be cleaned of gross dirt and then scrubbed with a strong disinfectant or placed in an ultrasonic cleaner. All instruments should then be placed in an instrument (milk) bath and allowed to thoroughly air dry before packing them into a surgical pack.
Packed instruments can be placed in a tray of wrapped individually. All packs should be double wrapped. With surgical drape material Always take care to wrap packs tightly so that the drape material does not contact the inner wall of the autoclave.
Individual instruments can also be placed into sterilization pouches. These pouches usually incorporate a chemical sterilization indicator. Many sterilization pouches are transparent, allowing easy visualization of contents. The pouches are often self-sealing or you may use autoclave tape to close the pouch. Always mark items with the date that the item was autoclaved.
Some autoclaves require manual removal of water following autoclaving. The autoclave should also be cleaned periodically and verified for proper operation. Kits are available that contain bacterial spores that are autoclaved and then cultured. If the autoclave is operating properly, the culture will not grow.
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