Surgical Instruments


COLORED HALO STAINS WITH SHARP CONTOURS
Problem	Deposits or Organic Substance.
Possible Cause
Solution	Rinse instrument thoroughly and immediately after use in distilled or de-mineralized water.
COLORED HALO STAINS AND THE SHARP CONTOURS ARE NOT PRESENT
Problem	Metal Deposits.
Possible Cause	In flushing water or steam there are iron, copper, manganese etc: are present.
Solution	Use distilled or de-mineralized water.
WHITISH STAINS
Problem	Phosphate Deposits
Possible Cause
Solution	Check Composition of Cleaning Solution
YELLOW TO DARK BROWN COLORS
Problem	Residue Deposits
Possible Cause	Old cleaning solutions/ Incorrectly cleaned instruments
Solution	Change baths after each use/ Rinse instruments immediately after use in distilled or de-mineralized water.
BLACK STAINS
Problem	Caustic Reaction
Possible Cause	Detergent with low pH content ( 6 or less )
Solution	Use Neutral Detergent
BLUISH-BLACKISH STAINS
Problem	Metallic Coating or Platting
Possible Cause	Metals of different types have been sterilized together such as: for instance stainless steel with Silver / Chrome / etc, etc.
Solution	Sterilize only the similar metal instruments together.
SEVERAL COLORS
Problem	Excess Heat (Chromatic Oxide)
Possible Cause	The autoclave is not operating properly or has been set to very high temperature (This can cause metal to loose some of its properties such as strength and hardness etc, etc.)
Solution	Correct the autoclave temperature