Dirty Little Secrets
Infection control expert Nancy Andrews answers your questions
Editor’s Note: Are your customers asking tough hygiene questions? Here is your chance to ask someone "In the Know." Nancy Andrews, RDH, BS, will take your questions and tell your tales. Pulling from centuries of experience, endless education, lots of research, and occasional consultation with other experts, Nancy invites your emails at Infectioncontrol@mdsi.org. The best question or tale at the end of the year gets $100.
Too harsh?
Q: An assistant from a group practice in Illinois posed an interesting question to me: "My office uses Drano as an evacuation line cleaner. Isn’t that too harsh of a product?" What do you think?
A: First, this fits in to this month’s Infection Control column on page 28. Customers might think they are making smart business decisions using home-use products, especially if the product isn’t a critical patient care item. Drain (or suction) cleaner would seem to fit this category. However, while Drano might be OK for pipes leaving sinks, the tubing and fittings in the dental unit can be damaged by Drano and similar products. Even some professionally sold suction cleaners can damage tubing and fittings over time, so it makes sense to provide customers with less corrosive options such as enzyme cleaners. Always reference the chair manufacturer’s directions. You could save your customers’ investments from going down the drain!
Slippery situation
Q: I have a large account that is purchasing one-gallon bottles of antibacterial hand soap to refill operatory dispensers: some from distribution and some from restaurant supply stores. The bottles differ in each operatory, therefore, no one in the office has a clue of what they are using because the dispenser bottles being used are not labeled with the actual product name. How can I overcome the "It’s only soap" argument?
A: Try these points with your customer:
- One-gallon bottles save money, but cost time, because refilling dispensers requires cleaning out the dispensers each time to avoid contaminating the soap.
- All products must be correctly labeled (OSHA Hazards Communication rule), with ingredients and MSDS sheets available. In this case dispenser bottles are "secondary containers" under OSHA laws. All rules apply. If different brands of soaps are used, the labels on dispensers must be changed accordingly.
- If they’re alternating use of alcohol sanitizers with handwashing, they should be using plain (non-antimicrobial) soap to avoid skin irritation during routine hand antisepsis.
- Restaurant soap may cut grease, but may not protect skin or be compatible with gloves. This is not a good thing to guess about.
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