Subject: | |
From: | |
Reply To: | |
Date: | Sun, 15 Feb 1998 02:17:40 -0500 |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
For reusing pump parts: I like the idea of absurd overkill, so I use hot
soapy water, then a bleach soak (a healthy dollop of bleach in a bowl of
water) for at least a minute, then I autoclave... in a pressure cooker.
According to the temp/pressure guidelines in Medela's pump info booklet,
hospital sterilization is 15 min at 250 degrees F for 15 min at 15 pounds
of pressure. Well, guess what! A plain old kitchen pressure cooker
operates at 250 degrees, 15 pounds.
I bought a pressure cooker just for my pump parts ($30 to $50, depending on
size) so no one would find bits of potato on the flanges. I use a
vegetable strainer inside to keep the parts out of the boiling water, and
there are *no* mineral deposits, even though we have really hard water.
Then I "cook" for 20 min rather than 15.
So my procedure is overkill both by adding a bleach soak and by cooking
longer than required. If that's not enough to kill litigation concerns
right along with germs, then I'm ready to move to a more common sense
country.
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, LLLL Ithaca, NY
|
|
|