Thread: What happens to the blade at 473 °F (245 °C)

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

Have you looked into getting a UV sterilizing oven? I will be the first to admit that I don't know much about this area, but I have seen some UV devices being used here in the US. They may also be used to sterilize scissors and combs.
Josh

Hi,

I'm doing some periodical maintenance in Pliva pharmaceutical company (acquired by Barr recently), and they use UV sterilizators in microbiology lab, so I think that this kind of sterilization will be acceptable for barber shop also.
UV sterilization is also used in large air handling units to clean incoming air.

Zoltan

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"Loza" is another type of rakija, made from grape, and hers main power is to "correct" peoples mind and give super powers to people who drink it.

I believe UV will do an efficient job of disinfecting air and glass because they are transparent. Or a surface in direct “line of sight” with the UV light source, however microbes in the shadows (such as the pivot area on a razor) may live to infect another day.

EDIT:
If I am not mistaken, boiling items in water at 100°C for a minimum of 20 minutes will kill all fungi, protozoa and viruses, and most bacteria.

There are two types of clean. free of dirt and free of microrganisms. To be truly clean all the crud must be removed then your razor must be sanitized. You don't need the full 20 minutes at 100C to sterilze. Check out your local bar, just a few seconds in the sanitizer usually ...Yuuuuck.

A sterilizer might be had on the cheap if you get one second hand from a dentist or such. You might try the auction site at LabX.com Laboratory Equipment New and Used

Originally Posted by CraigJ

There are two types of clean. free of dirt and free of microrganisms. To be truly clean all the crud must be removed then your razor must be sanitized. You don't need the full 20 minutes at 100C to sterilze. Check out your local bar, just a few seconds in the sanitizer usually ...Yuuuuck.

A sterilizer might be had on the cheap if you get one second hand from a dentist or such. You might try the auction site at LabX.com Laboratory Equipment New and Used

I am sure that you are correct from a scientific point of view but I also have to conform to the regulations issued by the local health department which specify 120° for 20 minutes. I just bought a small, economical steam autoclave from a web site that supplies tatoo parlors. After we cover shaving at the hairdresser school, I'm going to start talking to barbers to find one that will let me work in his shop.

If you are going to be autoclaving your razors, you are going to have problems with rust unless you take appropriate measures. I don't know what will be most convenient for you in Italy or what will meet your inspectors' criteria, but you will need to lubricate the razors prior to autoclaving. I used to use a product called Instrument Milk for my surgical tools. You just soak the instruments in the lubricant to coat them with it prior to autoclaving. It is not greasy and of course is non-toxic. You will find several options if you google "surgical instrument lubricant."

Thank you very much for the heads-up. When I ordered the autoclave, I browsed the list of accessories and also took a bottle of Metrilube from a company called Metrex in Michigan, which does exactly what you say. Since you have experience autoclaving instruments, I have another question. As I mentioned, the autoclave I purchased is relatively inexpensive (ha-ha) and one of the features that it doesn't have is a drying cycle. I'm going to be individually bagging each razor to maintain sterility until use and I was thinking that the packages should really be dried, too. I was thinking about putting them in the oven at a low temperature to dry. Any suggestions?

Yes, that will be fine. When an autoclave exhausts its steam, the subsequent drying cycle is just dry heat so your oven will perfectly replicate that. If your autoclave does not have a drying cycle, it also might not have an automatic exhaust either. That means that when the cycle is complete, you will need to manually exhaust the steam immediately rather than allowing the steam in the pressure chamber to gradually come down in temperature. By doing this, your razors will come out of the autoclave much drier.

Are the bags specifically for autoclaves? They might be an unnecessary expense. An cheaper alternative would be to wrap the razors in aluminum foil. That is adequate to maintain sterility. Alternatively, you wouldn't necessarily need to maintain their sterility at all. Regular razors are not sterile. You are just autoclaving them to kill anything on the razor from the previous customer. Just a thought.

The autoclave does, in fact, have an automatic exhaust of the steam. The problem is that it is really just a glorified pressure cooker. There is a steel chamber with a heating element and temperature probe near the bottom. The bottom is filled with water to cover the element and probe. There is a basket whose bottom actually sits in the water. Then the water is heated and creates steam under pressure but after the steam is exhausted the instruments are still sitting in a little water and are not dry.

The bags are autoclave envelopes with a sterilization indicator spot. I agree with your point that the razors do not need to be sterile for use but rather to kill anything they may have picked up from the previous customer. However, I still need to be able to demonstrate to the health inspector that the razor was, in fact, sterilized. So, my thought is to write the date and the customer's name on the envelope when I open it and then file it. This way there is a paper trail. It would also be helpful in the case that someone wanted to come back later and claim that they caught something from the razor, if they were cut.

Perhaps you can elevate the basket or modify it by attaching a web of wires in it to make a new elevated bottom for the basket.
There should be some easy way to keep them out of the residual water. Also, there should be very little water left in there if the autoclave is automatically exhausting.

Is the autoclave shown online anywhere? I'm curious to see it if possible.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Perhaps you can elevate the basket or modify it by attaching a web of wires in it to make a new elevated bottom for the basket.
There should be some easy way to keep them out of the residual water. Also, there should be very little water left in there if the autoclave is automatically exhausting.

Is the autoclave shown online anywhere? I'm curious to see it if possible.

Raising the bottom is an excellent idea and it would be relatively easy to do. Here is the product data sheet (9-liter model, H 100). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find anything in English.