At the next stage the doctor’s assistant delivers the container with a soaked and solution cured instruments to the sterilization room, where we have a thermal disinfector (professional washing machine MELAG MELAtherm 10) (photo 6-7) – the best professional equipment from the German manufacturer!
Photo 6-7. The best professional thermal disinfector MELAG MELAtherm 10, exterior view, and instruments located inside the thermal disinfector
Despite the fact that the exterior of the machine is very similar to the usual dishwasher and the general principle of washing the instrument is the same as in a conventional dishwasher: the removal of all contaminants from the instrument due to repeated treatment with a stream of liquid under pressure, it has 2 important differences:
- To clean the instrumentation, 3 special disinfectants (!) are used at once, the supply of which is divided in time (photo 8),
- The instrument is further cleaned by ultrasound.
The machine uses special cycles, which vary depending on the type of instruments and the completeness of its loading. The average duration of the washing cycle is 1.5-2 hours. By the way, there are no more than 10 such machines in Ukraine, and one of them is installed in our clinic. * We do not save on safety!
As a result, we get a clean, dry, but not sterile instrument.