The spirometer should be cleaned in between each use to prevent the transmission of respiratory infections from subject to subject. Use gloves while cleaning the spirometer.
Undo the clips and disassemble the spirometer. Start by disconnecting the electronics in the orange and black housing and place this aside. Gently clean the electronics housing with a disinfectant wipe. Ensure that excessive amounts of liquid disinfectant are not used on the connector housing. Do not immerse this piece.
Next, disconnect the front housing, gray tubes and rubber gaskets inside these tubes, the Fleisch element, and then finally the handle. Note that the handle only slides off once the spirometer is disconnected for cleaning. Immerse these components completely in a pan containing warm soapy water or a 5% bleach solution for 5-10 minutes. Periodically, swish it back and forth in the cleaning solution for 10-15 seconds every minute.
At the end of the cleaning period, remove the components from the pan of cleaning solution. Set them on paper towels to drain as you put on clean gloves. Use a squirt bottle to rinse the lumen of the tubing and crevices of each component with deionized water several times, drain, then set on paper towels to dry completely before reassembly.
For the spirometer to function properly, the Fleisch element and gray tubing must be dry. Water on these components impairs airflow. To dry these components more rapidly, use a can of compressed air to blow away any moisture. If your laboratory has a compressed air system, do not use it unless the system has a filter to remove the oil that condenses in the air lines. Finally, to ensure there is no moisture remaining, dry the components with a hair dryer.
While disposable, bacterial-viral filters are to be used with the spirometer, they do not guarantee the removal of respiratory viruses from the air entering the spirometer. Most users purchase a second spirometer for each station, so each subject can use a clean spirometer, when waiting for the previous spirometer components to be cleaned and dried.
The whole cleaning process usually takes 20 minutes.
For further technical assistance with this or any other issue, please contact ADInstruments Technical Support by clicking HERE .