Manual Cleaning Expert | Jamie Zarembinski

Listen, I know this topic may ruffle some pipe cleaner feathers but hear me out. Pipe cleaners are often viewed as a cheap and easy tool for cleaning in decontamination, but cleaning brushes are flat out the better cleaning tool. Increased emphasis on effective surgical instrument cleaning practices in the sterile processing industry have increased…

Who has been told you can’t use metal bristle brushes to clean surgical instruments? At some point or another, most sterile processing professionals have heard this, and some facilities only mention stainless steel cleaning brushes in hushed voices or in secret locker room meetings. Let’s put cleaning brush material compatibility out in the open and…

Surgical soil is complex and challenging to clean. A brush’s best performance is supported by a well-trained technician, a manual cleaning policy, and a formulated detergent that works best to break down surgical soil at the sink. There are very few steps within the reprocessing cycle of an instrument that a technician can save time…

If I told you that I share a toothbrush with my sister every time we go on vacation, I’d imagine your guttural reaction is “ew, that’s disgusting” and rightfully so, it is in fact disgusting. If toothbrush sharing elicits a strong reaction, why wouldn’t instrument cleaning brush sharing elicit a similar response? Especially when the…

Although instrument cleaning brushes, and other cleaning tools may not “spark joy” in the minds of all sterile processing professionals, organization guru Marie Kondo would probably agree that access and organization can have a significant impact on productivity and efficiency in the sterile processing department. Technicians in decontamination should not be limited by inaccessible cleaning…

When was the last time you saw someone using a toothbrush to comb their hair? If you answered the question with a guffaw and a response of “never, why would anyone do that?” you are correct. Having a variety of brush styles in decontamination is vital for a successful manual cleaning policy. A one-style-fits-all attitude…

We have all played it at some point in our lives, but what does the blame game have to do with Sterile Processing? This is more than a discussion on manual cleaning, this is a discussion on culture and complacency. All our guidelines and standards state that point of use cleaning is meant to be…

When instruments make their way from the operating room to the decontamination department, their manual cleaning journey is about to begin. If your facility does not stock 12-15 different size lumen/channel brushes and toothbrush style brushes, are you able to clean everything effectively? For the sterile processing department to be successful, it is important that…

In the sterile processing industry, we hear it all the time “manual cleaning is the most important step in instrument reprocessing,” but do we believe it? There’s no time like the present to reevaluate our standard practices and invest time and resources into continuous improvement. It’s time to pause and evaluate what we are spending…

COVID-19 has been at the forefront of the media and will likely remain there for the foreseeable future. More evidence of how long SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 virus) can survive on surfaces, such as medical devices and equipment, is being compiled. The CDC states: “…coronavirus may remain viable for hours to days on surfaces made from a…