Autoclave Sterilizers

I wish I could jump in on the tattoo and piercing postings on this website, but I don’t have enough knowledge in that area. But I’m learning more and enjoy reading these forums every day. I’m a microbiologist from sporestriptesting.com . I want to contribute to the pool of knowledge accumulated here, so there is something I would like to say about sterilizers that I feel is extremely important: My profession is rebuilding, testing, and validating sterilizers. All types of autoclaves are used in the tattoo and dental industries. Probably 75% of them are purchased used, traded, or rebuilt. I’m finding that new and used autoclaves have the same potential problem. The temperature gauge. We all do it. We turn on our autoclave, run it up to temperature (250°F) and then set our timer. We trust that gauge. What we don’t know is that the chance of the gauge being correct is very slim. Typically they are within 1-5 degrees from the true temperature. Even on relatively new units. This week I was testing a Speedclave 777. It kept failing the spore strip test. I thought, no way! I ran it for 30 minutes at 260°F after it had warmed up. They make a thermometer called a “maximum recording thermometer (MRT)” that you can check your sterilizer gauge with. You shake it down like a home thermometer and then place it in the sterilizer. This thermometer will record the maximum temp and hold it until it is shaken down again. Run the sterilizer and watch / write down your maximum reading on the panel gauge during the run. When the run is complete, take out the maximum recording thermometer and compare it to the panel gauge . If the panel gauge read 250° and the maximum recording thermometer read 245°, you need to start running your autoclave 5° hotter on its gauge to obtain the same 250° sterilizing temp. Normally, if you’re only a degree or two off, your unit will still sterilize the load. This is especially true if you run it for a minimum of 30 minutes AFTER it has reached 250°F. Back to the Speedclave 777 I was testing. The sterilizer gauge read 260°F. The maximum recording thermometer reading was 226°F. No wonder this unit wasn’t passing a spore strip test. It wasn’t sterilizing! The Speedclave gauge was 34° off. Unless you buy new, most sterilizers out there are sold “as is”. The owner usually says “I turned it on and it powered up and started heating”. So you buy it and trust that it sterilizes. If you want to further “validate” that your sterilizer is working, you might want to consider purchasing or renting a maximum temperature thermometer. >> Our company offers a Free spore strip test to any TattooNow member or visitor to this forum. Questions? [email removed]

Thats some good information to keep in mind- Thanks for posting that!

Definitely makes you think about things... Im surprised, there werent more responses. Good information.

Awesome! Thanks for that info. We always run the sterilizer between 255-260 degrees for a minimum of 45 minutes to avoid those issues. Passing the spore test has not been a problem with those parameters. Kandyman Joe www.pureimaginationtattoos.com 319-385-3977

Our laboratory sees approx. 2-10 spore strip test failures each week. We find that many studios have equipment that is capable of sterilizing, just some of them haven't been trained or don't quite understand the use of the autoclave. I don't see it as anything to be ashamed of if you fail a spore strip test .... but I think one should look down on it if you don't make corrections so that you pass the next test. There are all types of units being used out there from grandma's pressure cooker to new Tuttnauers. Basically, if your load sees at least 250°F for a minimum of 30 minutes, you should very rarely fail a spore strip test. The two biggest problems we see are the temp gauge is way off or they don't start timing the 30 minute run when the sterilizer has reached a minimum 250°F. There is nothing wrong with setting your temp a little higher, 255°F. Make sure you have ample water in the unit before starting a run and there are no steam leaks.

One other thing that is important that I forgot to mention earlier. The spore strips contain thousands of Bacillus bacteria "in spore form". That means they are encapsulated inside a "shell". That makes these bacteria much harder to destroy than bacteria and viruses that are not in spore form. The concern with penetrating the skin is the possibility of passing on human pathogens, such as HIV and hepatitis. But you have to realize these viruses are not spore formers and are deactivated much sooner and much easier in a sterilizer than a Bacillus spore. What that means is: Even though you failed a spore strip test, any potential human viruses or bacteria that might have been on the items you sterilized were most likely destroyed. Especially if your sterilizer reached temperatures somewhere near 250°F for at least 15 minutes. Not only that, but by cleaning your tattoo and piercing equipment prior to placing them in autoclave bags and sterilization, the cleaning process/cleaning solution you used probably destroyed or washed away any possible disease causing organisms. That is another reason it is important to use a good disinfecting cleaning solution and do a thorough job of cleaning the equipment/instruments prior to autoclaving. Lastly, the blue glassine envelope that the spore strip is in keeps the spores inside the envelope while it will allow steam in to destroy the spores. The spores can't get out of the sealed envelope. That is why you never open the glassine envelope. When the laboratory receives the sealed spore strip, it is opened in a "Semi-Sterile CleanHood" using sterile forceps, and aseptically placed in a tube of growth medium. It is then incubated for 24 hrs and observed for growth. If growth is observed (and verified by gram stain microscopy as a Bacillus species), then the spore strip still had some viable spores remaining on it after being ran through your autoclave and the test is positive, indicating a sterilization failure.