When we think of what leads to good health outcomes in medical patients, any number of medical procedures could come to mind. But behind those procedures, helping to make them effective, are medical cleaning solvents for equipment ranging from scalpels to electronic diagnostic machines.
We rarely think of medical cleaning solvents as playing an important role in health outcomes. However, as the following three considerations for choosing medical solvents demonstrates, medical cleaning solvents can indeed underpin health outcomes for better or worse.
- High or Low Flashpoint
The flashpoint of a solvent is the temperature at which it combusts. If there are no ignition sources in the environment where they are used, low flashpoint solvents are relatively safe.
An example of when using a low flashpoint solvent (e.g., one with a high concentration of isopropyl alcohol) would not be safe, is spot cleaning the skin of a patient while he or she undergoes an electrocautery procedure, cleaning skin near the point of the procedure.
- Ability to Kill Microbials
Especially when choosing medical cleaning solvents for surgical utensils and other medical equipment that directly contacts patients, it’s important to use solvents that kill four elements: viruses, bacteria, fungi, and bacterial spores.
Choosing a solvent that kills all of these microbial elements can be tricky. For example, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) kills viruses, fungi, and bacteria, but not bacterial spores.
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note, “Steam under pressure, dry heat, EtO gas, hydrogen peroxide gas plasma, and liquid chemicals” are often used to kill microbials. Ecolink can provide custom chemicals that fully sterilize medical equipment and instruments to help prevent health outcomes that opportunistic infections complicate.
- Material Compatibility
To get the best result, cleaning the rubber and plastic parts on medical equipment can require using a different cleaner than one used to remove soils from metal in the equipment. For example, IPA can clean most metal parts well, but repeated use can prematurely age certain grades of plastic and rubber, causing them to malfunction during medical procedures.
Using two cleaners for a single piece of equipment may be logical, but it’s also a hassle. If you can’t find a stock solvent that cleans multiple materials without corroding some of them, inquire with Ecolink about producing a custom formulation.
Need Medical Cleaning Solvents?
If so, you can choose from hundreds of solvents that fall within this category. If you operate a hospital, finding a single medical cleaning solvent to meet all of you solvent needs is unlikely.
This is why many healthcare organizations turn to Ecolink for assistance identifying and procuring the right solutions. What’s more, when you work with us, you receive solutions that are environmentally preferred, containing no ingredients that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to regulate.
To get started on selecting the right medical cleaning solvents for your requirements, call us today at 800-563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We look forward to supplying you with best-in-class solvents!
IPA Cleaning Liquid Vs. Other Alcohol Cleaners
/in IPA/by Industrial DegreasersFor industrial cleaning, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is prefered over other types of alcohol for several reasons. In addition to IPA cleaning liquid, cleaning liquids containing methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, and butyl alcohol are commonly used for various cleaning operations, from removing grime from work surfaces to cleaning away dirt from electronic components.
So, exactly why should you choose an IPA cleaning liquid over a cleaning liquid that contains a different type of alcohol? Once you see the drawbacks to using methyl, ethyl, and butyl alcohols, the answer is clear. You’ll want to use an IPA-based cleaner instead of cleaner that uses a different alcohol base.
Methyl Alcohol
IPA has a high vapor density that produces a high evaporation rate, but the vapor density of methyl alcohol is three times higher than IPA’s. In addition to profusely filling the work environment with head spinning alcohol fumes, the high evaporation rate of methyl alcohol makes it difficult to use efficiently, especially in the form of saturated wipes. Methyl alcohol wipes dry quickly, making them best for cleaning soils from a small surface area.
Ethyl Alcohol
Ethyl alcohol (a.k.a. ethanol) is found in most alcoholic beverages. For example, a beer that has 7.5% alcohol contains 7.5% ethyl alcohol per volume. Pure ethyl alcohol used for cleaning would taste wretched to drink, as it’s nearly 100% pure. But people have been known to consume it. This is why the U.S. Government regulates the substance, regardless of intended use.
According to an article from Berkshire, “In order to use pure ethyl alcohol (un-denatured) for wiping purposes would require applying for government permits and complying with usage tracking procedures — more trouble than it’s worth.”
Butyl Alcohol
Butyl alcohol has a lower vapor density than isopropyl, methyl, or ethyl alcohol, having about ? of the vapor pressure of IPA. On the downside, in addition to having an exceptionally pungent smell, butyl alcohol has a high hydrocarbon content that limits its solubility. A mixture of 90% water and 10% butyl is about the best you can do. In comparison, IPA cleaning liquid can contain any alcohol to water ratio.
As Berkshire notes, “The banana-like odor of butyl alcohol would render it objectionable to most cleanroom operators for long-term use. More importantly, the higher hydrocarbon content of butyl alcohol limits its solubility in water to about a 10 percent solution. By comparison, IPA is miscible in water at all concentrations.”
Need IPA Cleaning Liquid?
If so, Ecolink can supply a stock or custom solution that meets your needs perfectly with an eco friendly IPA-based cleaners.
We also supply high-purity industrial-grade IPA so you can use in it concentrated form or create your own IPA cleaning liquid. If you decide to use an IPA cleaning liquid from us, feel free to order a free sample, so you can see just how well it works.
For more information about how IPA cleaning liquid compares to cleaners containing other types of alcohol, or to place an order, please call us today at 800-563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you!
Medical Equipment Cleaners: Comparing Industrial Strength Alcohols
/in Medical/by Industrial DegreasersIn hospital settings, medical instruments are typically cleaned in an autoclave, but an autoclave isn’t useful for cleaning electronic medical equipment. In fact, it would ruin the equipment due to water damage.
To clean electronics, hospitals and other organizations often turn to medical equipment cleaners containing industrial grade high-purity alcohol, especially for removing oil accumulations. Isopropyl alcohol (IPA), methyl alcohol (a.k.a. methanol), ethyl alcohol (a.k.a. ethanol), and butyl alcohol (a.k.a. n-Butanol) are four options, but most hospitals choose IPA. Let’s compare the four alcohols to see why.
Methanol
The vapor pressure of methanol is three times higher than the vapor pressure of IPA. This means methanol has an exceptionally high evaporation rate. The high rate of evaporation produces a high density of methanol vapor in the work area. It also makes using ethanol for hand wipe applications impractical, as the evaporation rate makes it difficult to keep wipes properly saturated during use.
Ethanol
Ethanol is the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. Drinking industrial grade ethanol would taste absolutely terrible, but it’s been done. This is why the federal government requires aqueous medical equipment cleaners that contain industrial strength ethanol to be denatured with solvents you can’t consume, such as IPA and acetone.
However, you can apply for government permission to use undenatured ethanol. But, as Berkshire notes, “[Using] pure ethyl alcohol… would require applying for government permits and complying with usage tracking procedures — more trouble than it’s worth.”
n-Butanol
This type of alcohol has a vapor pressure ? as strong as the vapor pressure of IPA, making it a good option in terms of controlling alcohol vapor in the work area and keeping wipes saturated. However, n-butanol’s high hydrocarbon content limits its solubility in water to a roughly 10% n-butanol solution. If you need to use an aqueous n-butanol solution that contains less than about 90% water, you’re out of luck.
IPA
Unlike n-butanol, IPA can be mixed with water in any concentration. This is why you commonly find industrial strength IPA in a concentration of roughly 1% water and 99% IPA. In addition to offering excellent flexibility in terms of alcohol/water concentration, IPA has a fast evaporation rate that makes it excellent for cleaning electronics.
However, unlike methanol, the evaporation rate is low enough for IPA to be used in the form of hand wipes, with excellent efficacy, and without producing exceptionally high levels of alcohol vapor in the work area.
Contact Us Today
If you need IPA as one of your medical equipment cleaners, getting it from Ecolink is a great option. We offer stock IPA, as well as customized IPA formulations that address the unique requirements of specific users. We also provide free test samples, so you can see how a solution works before you place an order.
To get started on choosing the right IPA formulation for your lineup of medical equipment cleaners, call us today at 800-563-1305, or send us an email using the contact form on our website. We look forward to providing IPA drop-in solutions you can use for years!
Selecting Medical Cleaning Solvents: 3 Crucial Considerations
/in Ecolink News/by Industrial DegreasersWhen we think of what leads to good health outcomes in medical patients, any number of medical procedures could come to mind. But behind those procedures, helping to make them effective, are medical cleaning solvents for equipment ranging from scalpels to electronic diagnostic machines.
We rarely think of medical cleaning solvents as playing an important role in health outcomes. However, as the following three considerations for choosing medical solvents demonstrates, medical cleaning solvents can indeed underpin health outcomes for better or worse.
The flashpoint of a solvent is the temperature at which it combusts. If there are no ignition sources in the environment where they are used, low flashpoint solvents are relatively safe.
An example of when using a low flashpoint solvent (e.g., one with a high concentration of isopropyl alcohol) would not be safe, is spot cleaning the skin of a patient while he or she undergoes an electrocautery procedure, cleaning skin near the point of the procedure.
Especially when choosing medical cleaning solvents for surgical utensils and other medical equipment that directly contacts patients, it’s important to use solvents that kill four elements: viruses, bacteria, fungi, and bacterial spores.
Choosing a solvent that kills all of these microbial elements can be tricky. For example, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) kills viruses, fungi, and bacteria, but not bacterial spores.
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note, “Steam under pressure, dry heat, EtO gas, hydrogen peroxide gas plasma, and liquid chemicals” are often used to kill microbials. Ecolink can provide custom chemicals that fully sterilize medical equipment and instruments to help prevent health outcomes that opportunistic infections complicate.
To get the best result, cleaning the rubber and plastic parts on medical equipment can require using a different cleaner than one used to remove soils from metal in the equipment. For example, IPA can clean most metal parts well, but repeated use can prematurely age certain grades of plastic and rubber, causing them to malfunction during medical procedures.
Using two cleaners for a single piece of equipment may be logical, but it’s also a hassle. If you can’t find a stock solvent that cleans multiple materials without corroding some of them, inquire with Ecolink about producing a custom formulation.
Need Medical Cleaning Solvents?
If so, you can choose from hundreds of solvents that fall within this category. If you operate a hospital, finding a single medical cleaning solvent to meet all of you solvent needs is unlikely.
This is why many healthcare organizations turn to Ecolink for assistance identifying and procuring the right solutions. What’s more, when you work with us, you receive solutions that are environmentally preferred, containing no ingredients that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to regulate.
To get started on selecting the right medical cleaning solvents for your requirements, call us today at 800-563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We look forward to supplying you with best-in-class solvents!
6 Steps for Choosing Precision Cleaning Solvent Substitutes
/in Ecolink News/by Industrial DegreasersThere are several reasons why an organization could need precision cleaning solvent substitutes, such as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) measures that regulate toxic chemicals, new business practices that involve new cleaning needs, recent discoveries about environmental dangers of a particular solvent, or simply the need to reduce solvent cost.
Regardless of why an organization needs precision cleaning solvent substitutes, there are six crucial steps for selecting the right solution. Taking the steps below helps ensure that you choose the right “drop in” solvent substitute for your precision cleaning requirements.
First, you need a solvent substitute that won’t harm the materials you clean. This can be a bit challenging if you’re cleaning a part that includes multiple materials, such as metal, plastic, and rubber — and may even include different classes of these materials. After identifying a solvent that’s safe for the materials you need to clean, it’s time to progress to step two.
Most industrial solvents are formulated for general cleaning or removing specific types of accumulations, such as grease, dirt, rust, adhesive residue, and the list goes on. If you can’t find a solvent that removes all applicable soils, there are two options: Use more than one solvent for the cleaning operation, or formulate a custom solvent that does the job in a single application.
If your precision cleaning operation uses a parts washing system, your solvent substitute should conform to the requirements of the washing system. You can often find information about solvent compatibility in the owner’s manual for a parts washing system. If you need assistance choosing a compatible solvent, contact Ecolink; we can help.
You want a solvent whose formulation isn’t toxic to humans or the environment. The EPA continues to ban and severely regulate toxic solvents, and such solvents can reduce worker productivity due to negative health effects. Choosing an “environmentally safe” or an “environmentally prefered” replacement solvent is the best option.
Can you receive the solvent in the type of container you need (e.g., aerosol, drum, spray bottle, etc.)? Can you receive orders in the size you need on the schedule you require? Because they affect how solvent is deployed and how much reserve solvent you can purchase in a single order, these basic questions are important to answer before you choose a solvent and a supplier.
If you order precision cleaning solvent substitutes from Ecolink, you have the option of receiving a free test sample of the solution. This lets you see if the new solvent you plan to use is truly a “drop in” substitute for your cleaning operations. After you see how well the solvent performs, you can order it with confidence in any supply size you choose.
Need a New Precision Cleaning Solvent?
If you need precision cleaning solvent substitutes, get the substitution process rolling by calling Ecolink at 800-563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We specialize in providing stock solvents and custom solvents that fit our customers’ requirements perfectly. For assistance with selecting the best substitution, contact us today!
Choosing Precision Cleaning Chemicals for Electronics: Key Questions
/in Electrical Contact Cleaning Solutions/by Industrial DegreasersHow you clean electronics can have a major impact on how they perform. If your organization has business-critical objectives that rely on electrical equipment, choose an electronics cleaner carefully. It could affect the operation of the equipment, the safety of those who clean it, and how often the equipment is cleaned.
To help ensure you purchase the right precision cleaning chemicals for electronics, ask the following questions before you select a solvent and place an order.
What types of soils need to be removed?
Step one is choosing a cleaner that removes the soils you want gone. For example, if you need to remove soldering flux, engine oil accretions, or an organic substance such as bitumen, limit your search to eco friendly cleaners that are designed to remove the soil in question. If more than one accumulation of soil must be removed, you may need more than one type of cleaner.
What type of materials need to be cleaned?
Choose a cleaner that’s compatible with every material it touches during the cleaning operation. For example, if you’re cleaning stainless steel electrical contacts, be sure the solvent doesn’t degrade plastic or rubber wire coatings that lead away from the metal contacts.
Does the hardware have complex geometries?
If so, using a cleaner in aerosol form may offer the highest level of cleanliness. Particles of aerosol distribute evenly across the surface areas that have intricate spatial configurations. Trying to clean these areas with wipes is an exercise in futility, and using cleaner in pump spray form can result in overusing solvent in order to saturate and cleanse hard to reach places.
Will the hardware be cleaned while energized?
If so, be sure the cleaner you use contains a dielectric buffer that prevents electricity from traveling through the solvent stream, potentially exploding the solvent container and causing the worker to be shocked and or burned. If you can’t find the cleaner you need in dielectric form, Ecolink can produce a custom formulation that contains the dielectric capacity you need.
Will cleaning occur near sources of ignition?
Some precision cleaning chemicals for electronics have a low flashpoint, which means they ignite rather easily. If you’ll clean electronics in areas where ignition sources (e.g. open flames, sparks from grinders, orange hot electrical filaments, etc.) are present, it’s ideal to use a cleaner that has no flashpoint. It helps prevent burn injuries and building fires.
Is residue on cleaned components acceptable?
In most cases, users of precision cleaning chemicals for electronics don’t want the cleaner to leave a residue. The reason why is simple: Residue tends to attract dirt and grime, which means the equipment needs to be cleaned more often than if a non-residue electronics cleaner were used instead.
Get Precision Cleaning Chemicals for Electronics
Ecolink offers a variety of environmentally preferred cleaners that are designed to clean electronics. For assistance selecting the right precision cleaning chemicals based on your wants and needs, please call us today at 800-563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We look forward to supplying you with affordable, efficacious, eco friendly cleaning solvents!