Cleaning and Disinfection

A thorough application of cleaning and disinfection regimes is key microbiological control. Effective equipment and personnel are a great contributor to contamination management. The sources and reservoirs of bacterial contamination should be removed together with their source of survival.

Several microbiological techniques can be used to recover pathogens from the environment. Floors, the air and many surfaces can host microbes. The surfaces include clothes, furniture, clinical equipment and patients beds in hospitals. Gram-negative organisms such as pseudomonas spp and stenotrophomonas are likely found in taps, sinks and other damp places. Bowls, mobs and buckets have coliforms such as Klebsiella and Serratia. Some dry sites can host gram-negative organisms, but they are commonly found in sites often exposed to water. Guidelines for Cleaning and Disinfection Cleaning is usually done using water and detergent. Surfaces of instruments should be cleaned thoroughly so that inorganic and organic materials do not interfere with the effectiveness of disinfection. Soak or rinse surgical instruments to ease the removal of blood and facilitate sterilization. The two essential components for manual cleaning are friction (scrubbing/ rubbing ) and fluidics (fluids under pressure). Mechanical cleaners include washer-sterilizers, ultrasonic cleaners and washer decontaminators. These forms of cleaning reduce the number of contaminating organisms on equipment.

Cleaning and Disinfection in a Microbiology Lab

A general microbiology lab needs cleaning and disinfection twice a day, in the morning and evening. Here are few guidelines. - Remove dust from surfaces, doors, windows, ovens, tables, refrigerators, among others. Sweep the dust off the floor. - Add a dilute disinfectant to water in a bucket and fill another bucket with purified water. Wet a cloth with purified water, and another with dilute disinfectant. Mop the surface with the cloth wetted with purified water before mopping it with the diluted disinfectant. - Flush the sinks and drains with purified water after cleaning them with disinfectant. - Empty the water bins every day. Clean them using water and the diluted disinfectant. - Use a cleaning solution to wipe the floor. Appropriate use of cleaning and disinfection guidelines should reduce infections.