How to Clean Supplies in an Autoclave

To sterilize supplies, such as surgical instruments, it is important to heat them to very high temperatures. Although you can boil the instruments in water, the temperature of boiling water is not hot enough to kill all of the contaminated spores that might be on the instruments. An autoclave, however, raises the temperature of the instruments to a point where no living organism can survive. Therefore, an autoclave is an effective way to sterilize instruments.

Things You'll Need

• Heavy gloves

Show More

Instructions

• 1

  Close the drain valve on the autoclave, and pour a gallon of hot water into the bottom.

• 2

  Unlock or open all instruments, if applicable, and then load the instruments into the autoclave.

• 3

  Close the door of the autoclave and make sure it latches.

• 4

  Select the fast exhaust speed by flipping the switch. If you are autoclaving water-filled instruments, select the slow exhaust speed.

• 5

  Set the timer to 15 minutes for smaller instruments and 30 minutes for larger ones. When you set the timer, the autoclave will begin its cycle.

• 6

  After the autoclave finishes, open the door slowly and carefully to avoid being burned by the excess steam.

• 7

  Use gloves to remove the instruments from the autoclave and let them cool. Wash any glassware that was autoclaved in hot water.