Challenges

The spray system makes it difficult to measure in a washer disinfector. When using measurement equipment with long cables it is an imperative not to be tangled into the spray arm which is rotating as this will break and ruin the equipment - thus usage of data loggers would be the best choice.

Another point to consider is the entrance ports on a washer disinfector - most often they do not have any except for the front door, so choosing measuring equipment such as data loggers would be the best solution as no entrance ports are needed.

A third point is the ability to measure on the surface of instruments or the walls of the washer disinfector - here flexible teflon sensors are the easiest to mount and they give the most real and accurate measurements. Mounting the measurement equipment is real important as it is needed to know where the measuring tip has been placed and to avoid being caught by the spray arm.

A critical factor when validating any washer/disinfector is the calibration of measurement probes, especially temperature probes. It is essential that the user can demonstrate that the probes were within an acceptable accuracy when they were used. This means calibrating shortly before the validation run (referred to as Pre Calibration) and then checking the accuracy afterwards to ensure that they are still within predefined tolerances (referred to as Post Calibration). If the post calibration check reveals the accuracy is outside the required limits, the validation study is invalidated. For Washer disinfectors an accuracy of +/-0.5°C or better is required.