Medical Instrument Cleaning Brushes

Medical instrument cleaning brushes are essential to prevent cross-contamination and infection. That's why it is imperative to use the right brush to clean instruments thoroughly. Hospital personnel should be familiar with the length and gauge of the brush, and which bristle types should be used on each specific device.

Fill Material Used for Medical Instrument Cleaning

• Nylon –Nylon is the most durable synthetic filament available. It has excellent abrasion and bristle bend recovery. Nylon resists most acids and will not scratch most surfaces.

• Polypropylene – Polypropylene is one of the most chemically resistant synthetic materials and is resistant to most acids and bases. Since it does not absorb moisture, it resists fungi and bacteria, sheds dirt easily, and it's easy to clean.

• Stainless Steel – Stainless steel is highly resistant to corrosion, heat, and chemicals. It should not be used on insulated or coated instruments because it can damage them. Stainless steel is designed to clean instruments that have serrations or box locks. 

There are several guidelines that have been established regarding best practices for medical instrument cleaning and devices. These include the ones published by the AST (Association of Surgical Technologies), the ANSI (American National Standards Institute, Inc.) and the AAMI (Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation).

 

Manual cleaning is recommended for delicate instruments and devices, such as microsurgical instruments, lensed instruments, power equipment, and other instruments that cannot tolerate an automated cleaning process. For these delicate instruments, it is best to use a nylon fill brush first. If debris still remains on the instrument, then use a stainless steel brush.

 

Stainless steel brushes are designed to remove debris, stains, and stubborn bio-burden that the nylon brush cannot remove. Stainless steel is intended to be used on bone files, needle holders, burs, hemostats, reamers, scissors, serrated vascular instruments and orthopedic instruments.  

 

Medical instruments come in many shapes and sizes, so it is imperative for SPDs (Sterile Processing Departments) to have a full assortment of brushes specifically designed to clean them properly. For example, a brush too small for a cannula may result in inadequate cleaning, since it does not provide the necessary scrubbing action. Conversely, using a brush that is too large makes the bristles lay against the wall of the lumen. Even worse, the brush may become stuck inside the channel, ruining both the device and the brush. The bristle should be able to make contact with all the walls of the cannula at the same time.

 

Gordon Brush® manufactures a wide variety of medical instrument cleaning brushes. These include: medical applicator brushes; medical micro spiral brushes; ring handle medical spiral brushes; thread cleaning brushes; medical toothbrush style brushes; and block brushes; hand scrubbing brushes; vacuum brushes; and other instrument cleaning brushes that are both straight and curved.

 

If a brush exists, we have it…If it doesn't, we'll make it!

Call us today or search and shop for medical instrument cleaning brushes now!