• COLLATERAL DAMAGE The sprays and wipes
your staff use to disinfectant OR equipment
could be causing hidden damage.
M A R C H 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 2 5
Corrosive Cleaners?
Incompatible sprays and wipes can erode plastic equipment.
H
ere's a scary thought. What if every time your turnover team
sprays or wipes down a piece of equipment, the liquid disin-
fectant erodes the device's plastic components, over time
causing the plastic to crack, craze, turn brittle and to eventually fail —
all because the cleaner wasn't compatible with the plastic.
Here in our lab at ECRI Institute, we've investigated many cases of so-
called environmental stress cracking from our hospital clients and have
heard reports of several others. In one case, a cleaning solution corrod-
ed the plastic so badly that the device's wires were exposed. In another,
the liquid disinfectant used to wipe down the surgical robot after each
use eroded the plastic arm so severely that it looked like someone had
taken a hammer to it.
Infection Prevention
Jaime Schlorff