Medical gas analyzer
Medical gas analyzer

Cleaning any equipment you wear or use in any way is extremely important to ensure precise reading and to avoid contamination due to dirt and other bacterial deposition. Medical gas analyzer for example is used in hospitals with patients suffering from critical illness and any dirt and bacterial growth in the devices used can cause infection to the admitted patients which can even be fatal. This is the reason, no matter where the gas detectors are used, they must always be thoroughly cleaned.

Maintaining the cleanliness of your gas detector is a vital component of keeping it compliant and working. Cleaning should be done with caution since cleaning chemicals include solvents and lubricants that might harm your gas detector. Using these can contaminate and poison your sensors, perhaps resulting in irreparable harm.

Need for cleaning a gas detector

It should not be necessary to clean your gas monitor with hot water. Drager has put their products through their paces and found that cold water and a sponge will suffice. You may need to disinfect your MRU instruments on a daily basis depending on your application to guarantee that:

  •  There are no contaminants on it that might affect the sensors or the monitor itself.
  • No microorganisms have remained on the detector that might impair your hygiene or immune system.
  • There are no contaminants on the instrument’s body, such as biological substances.

This is likely to be the case in businesses such as wastewater treatment, emergency services like medical and hospitals, and hazardous applications.

Understanding your gas detector’s IP rating is vital since some are more water resistant than others. Detectors may lose their water resistance over time as a result of increased use or exposure to cleaning chemicals. Sensors or the capacity to monitor gas might be harmed as a result of this. It is essential to choose a cleaning procedure with caution and attention so that the water resistance of these costly equipment is not degraded or disturbed.

Never use regular disinfectants

Since many chemicals, like alcohol and other disinfectants, are particularly sensitive to the precise sensors in your monitor, using them might prevent your monitor from alerting you to gas risks. Additionally, alcohol-based cleansers will set off an alert on your monitor. If you zero the monitor too soon, it may display a falsely low reading, possibly placing you in danger.

The disinfection chemicals can also be absorbed by the rubber, plastics, and barriers in your monitor. This is an issue since they are the same substances that you may be monitoring. This effect does not last long, but the amount of time you must wait before zeroing varies, so there is a lot of room for error with this method which might be a cause of worry for people measuring gases. 

How to clean a gas detector without causing any damage to it

Wiping down your gas detector with a soap and water mix of 8 to 10 parts water to one part dish soap is advised for regular dirt and grime. This cleans the monitor while reducing the danger of harming the sensors or causing a fault. The soap and water method, on the other hand, cleans the monitor of daily accumulation but does not destroy germs or viruses that may be present on the surface.

The majority of manufacturers advocate utilizing water-based or alcohol-free cleaning. It is recommended that you wipe the outside of your emission gas analyzer using a soft, moist cloth rather than soaps, polishes, or cleaning chemicals. Wipe off your monitor using a bleach and water solution of roughly 50 parts water to one part bleach, as suggested by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Things to keep in mind while cleaning gas detectors

Since gas detectors are extremely sensitive instruments, any sort of negligence while cleaning or maintaining them could cause the equipment to malfunction and give inaccurate readings which could be a big problem. There are few things which must be kept in mind before and while cleaning the gas detectors so that no harm is done to its sensitive parts.

  1. The first and the most important thing that must be remembered is that before starting the cleaning process, the gas detectors must be switched off completely because the solvents and other liquids used for the cleaning purpose might short-circuit the sensors inside if the instrument is switched on
  2. After using any kinds of disinfectants or any other products that are listed above for the cleaning purpose, make sure you give some time for the vapours to get evaporated. 
  3. Before you start to clean the gas detectors and its parts, make sure your hands are cleaned completely and thoroughly with a non-harmful substance so that no harm is done to the gas detector you are cleaning
  4. Every gas detector manufacturer provides a manual with the instrument which consists of details on how to properly clean and maintain the equipment in various steps. Make sure you take out that manual for your reference before you start cleaning and also follow every instruction provided in the manual so that your equipment is safe
  5. If you are doing the cleaning process in a closed space or indoors, make sure the whole process is carried out under an extractor hood. 
  6. After the whole cleaning process is completed, make sure each and every part of the gas detector is wiped and cleaned thoroughly using a clean and a dry towel so that any moisture present inside is dried off completely.
  7. Never switch on the instrument unless the whole system is completely free from moisture. If possible, put the instrument to dry for few hours before switching it on as one wrong step could completely ruin all your efforts.
  8. If you are still not sure about how to clean the instrument, it is also advisable to contact professional services for this task as they have a better knowledge of the whole process and they can do it keeping your instrument safe.

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