Page updated 9 October 2006
Instrument Storage
- Sterilized wet instruments should be used immediately. If this is not convenient and sterile instruments are required for example for MOS. Then allow instruments to dry in the sterilizer before opening the door, after which they should be placed on a sterile tray, covered with a sterile drape or sterile lid and used within 3 hours.
- To store instruments for later use. Leave them to dry in the sterilizer, and then transfer the dry instruments to a disinfected, dry airtight box with a tightly fitting lid or a commercially available tray system. The instruments will not be sterile but their level of microbial contamination should differ little from those used directly from the sterilizer if kept in a clean and dry conditions.
- Wrapped instruments processed in a vacuum autoclave with a drying cycle can be stored in a clean dry room on a shelf. Use stock rotation. If the wrapping or sterilisation pouches are wet on removal from the sterilizer or subsequently become wet during storage, the contents will no longer be sterile and will require re-sterilisation. Do not attempt to dry damp packages. Record the date and cycle number on the packaging or pouch.
- In order to aid instrument traceability keep sets of instruments together in the trays or cassettes. Instrument trays are now available that are suitable for use in both the thermal washer disinfector and sterilizer which reduces the amount of instrument handling required by the operator. Using standard sets of instruments for routine clinical procedures reduces the variety of instruments required and helps to simplify and streamline the decontamination process.
Decontamination Stage 3: Storage of wrapped and unwrapped instruments
Ideally instruments and equipment should be removed from the sterilizer at the end of the cycle. They should not left in the sterilizer overnight. If instruments are left overnight in the sterilizer, before they are used you should check the printout to determine if the sterilisation cycle was run and that the correct temperature, pressure and holding time were achieved during the cycle. If the sterilizer does not have a printer or there is any doubt as to whether the cycle was actually run, then re-sterilize the instruments before use.
Storage of Unwrapped Instruments
After the end of the holding period and sterilizing cycle, the steam condenses in the sterilizer chamber, so the load will be wet unless the sterilizer has a drying cycle. Wet instruments can be used directly from the sterilizer (as the water will be sterilized). The sterilized load becomes contaminated with atmospheric bacteria as soon as the chamber door is opened, therefore unwrapped instruments should ideally be used immediately.
Dried instruments can be stored for later use. Microorganisms carried in dust particles in the atmosphere are unlikely to proliferate in dry conditions.
Storage of wrapped instruments
Instrument traceability
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