Tattoo autoclave
A tattoo autoclave is a piece of medical equipment that applies pressurized steam to sterilize reusable tattoo equipment. It is important to check the tattoo autoclave regularly, to maintain it’s effectiveness. Most of the tattoo instruments used, are these days manufactured from stainless steel, so care and attention is required to allow the instruments to provide better services and remain in good and safe condition. For this the tattoo autoclave is used.
Types of tattoo autoclave
There are various types of tattoo autoclave machines grouped by their unique features:
The gravity displacement tattoo autoclave:
It has a heating component fully or partially sunken in a pool of water in the bottom of the tattoo autoclave chamber. As the water in the pool is heated, it starts to evaporate forming steam. Since steam is lighter than air, the chamber fills with steam; the air in the chamber is pushed to the bottom of the chamber and escapes through the hole linked to a temperature sensitive diaphragm that closes once it is adequately heated. The advantage of this type of tattoo autoclave is its simplicity, but they are only designed to function properly with solid unwrapped instruments.
A positive pressure displacement tattoo autoclave:
Is an improvement on the design of a gravity displacement tattoo autoclave. When the amount of steam needed to displace air in the chamber is produced a valve opens and a pressurized burst of steam enters the autoclave chamber which is a very high percentage compared to that of gravity displacement tattoo autoclave, the autoclave cycle time are decreased. However they have a high initial cost and have small chambers.
Negative pressure or vacuum displacement tattoo autoclave:
It is also known as type” S”. It has a separate internal steam generator also the vacuum pump. When the tattoo autoclave chamber is closed the vacuum pump gets rid of all the air from the chamber, steam is then injected into the chamber. These types of autoclaves are able to reach some of the highest sterility assurance level. They have a forced cleaned air drying system that permits the autoclave packages to be thoroughly dried before contacting any amount of air. However the cost of this machine is very high and sizes of these systems are sometimes small.
The type “B” tattoo autoclave:
For big, these machines are like enlarged negative pressure displacement tattoo autoclaves. The steam generator for a type “B” tattoo autoclave, is generally a standalone unit; the tattoo autoclave chamber is at times large enough for someone to enter. Due to their high price they are rarely used in the tattooing industry.
Factors that contribute to tattoo autoclave effectiveness
The tattoo autoclave must be used well to effectively disinfect potentially biohazard materials. These are the elements that lead to the tattoo autoclave effectiveness:
Temperature:
The sufficient chamber temperature should be at least 121⁰C (250⁰F) in order for the instruments to be thoroughly decontaminated.
Time:
The adequate autoclaving time for the waste is a minimum of 45 minutes.
Contact:
For effectiveness of decontamination, steam saturation of the load is essential . To make sure there is adequate steam contact, the autoclave bags are left partially open during autoclaving for the steam to penetrate into the bag.
Containers:
For items to be autoclaved, it is advisable to use leak-proof containers. A plastic bag is placed into a secondary container in the autoclave in case liquid leaks out. The appropriate secondary containers are the plastic or stainless steel containers. It is important to make sure that the plastic bags and pans are autoclavable.
Indicators:
The autoclave tape indicators can only confirm that the autoclave has achieved the normal operating temperatures of decontamination. The chemical indicators usually change color after being exposed to 121⁰C.
Distilled water:
Hard water usually leaves behind deposits on the instruments and has an effect on the instruments hence making them stiff.
Instructions:
The instruments to be sterilized should be put in the dressing drum of the autoclave, and make sure that the holes of the dressing drum are opened to permit the steam to enter the dressing drum and get the instruments to be sterilized then place the drum into the autoclave.
To open the container it’s good to apply some force by holding the lid handle and to turn it towards the right, until the arrow marks of the lid and that of the container coincide.
It is very important that the packs are placed on either side to ensure that the air is not locked and cannot escape.
Tattoo autoclave safety
Since the autoclave machine uses saturated steam under pressure to attain sterilizing temperatures, to ensure safety proper use is important, by observing the following rule there will be prevention of injuries when using the tattoo autoclave:
1.
For safety it’s good to wear heat resistant gloves, eye protection, closed toed shoes and a lab coat importantly when unloading the tattoo autoclave.
2.
Make sure that the pressure in the autoclave chamber is near zero to prevent steam burns and shattered glassware.
3.
Before removing the items into the autoclave it is important to let them cool for 10 minutes.
4.
If you put sealed containers into the autoclave, they will explode.
5.
It is not safe to put solvents, corrosive or volatile chemicals into an autoclave.
It is important to operate the tattoo autoclave using the operational checklist, and to maintain an operational log, hence it is possible to reduce human errors of operation that may arise during operation of the tattoo autoclave.