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9.1.6
Stacking of sterilization containers _______________________________________________________
When stacking sterilization containers, make sure that the condensate dripping from these containers cannot wet
the sterile items loaded below. The optimum solution is to stack several sterilization containers of the same size on
top of each other: then the condensate will run down the walls of all the containers.
Stacking of sterilization containers
9.1.7
Removing sterilized items ____________________________________________________________
Immediately after sterilization, it can occur that small amounts of condensate are still remaining on the steril-
ized items. The ongoing transfer of heat from the sterilized instruments to the condensate can evaporate this
moisture after sterilization is complete.
Information contained in DIN 58953, Part 7, Section 7 includes the following statement on condensate mois-
ture which remains on paper pouches or see-through sterilization paper after sterilization:
“Small amounts of water which remain on the outside of the packages are harmless if they have
dried away within 30 minutes after removal from the steam sterilizer.”
9.1.8
Further improvement of the drying process _____________________________________________
Drying can be further improved by the following measures:
Pre-heating OR running of an empty sterilization cycle (i.e., with no instruments in the autoclave)
Lining up the see-through sterilization packages and paper pouches vertically, like 3
5 cards in a cata-
logue file
Activation of the “Additional drying” function
Lengthening of the programmed drying times (but only after first co-ordinating with MELAG customer
care service).