Thread: Autoclaving a used razor(?)

I'm not 100% sure, but I think about 450F is the tempering heat for razors, so that would rule out the dry heat with quartz autoclave that Chimensch talks about above.

I don't have any worries about microbes being killed by leaving the blade in the open air (I suppose dessication and UV rays play a part) but what is 'in the open' at a microscopic level? Even mirror finished steel has plenty of nooks and crannies in it at a microscpic level, so well-used and pitted razors must have enormous fall-out craters in them as far as microbes are concerned!

The tang pivot area is another problem. I routinely repin razors, and even those that have been dry for years and look pristine have an enormous amount of oily/watery/rusty crud in this area.

FWIW, here's a link to a page about Barbicide.

Regards,
Neil.

A little research shows there are a ton of high level disinfectants (US FDA/CDRH: Sterilants/High Level Disinfectants Cleared by FDA in a 510(k) with General Claims for Processing Reusable Medical and Dental Devices) for use on critical items (stuff that breaks skin) in medical facilities for use on heat sensitive items. Looks like a bit more steps in cleaning and more care in the process, but there are a bunch some available easily such as Cidex.

Here's the definition for a HLD (high level disinfectant) as:

High-level disinfection (HLD) refers to t the destruction of all microorganisms with the exception of high levels of bacterial spores (Rutala, 1996). High-level disinfectant/sterilant refers to a chemical germicide that has been cleared by the FDA as capable of destroying all microorganisms, including all bacterial spores. When used at a shorter exposure time it destroys all viruses, vegetative bacteria, fungi, mycobacterium and some, but not all, bacterial spores (Rutala).

I don't have any experience with these, just got to looking around a bit on the web.

Here's one: http://www.vitalitymedical.com/Produ...tion-2786.html

Although sterilization temperatures in autoclaves never go beyond 200 C, I would stay away from autoclaves. I am not sure that sterilization of blades is required or even desirable, particularly if you are a single user of the razor. There are some chemical methods that are used by the food industry that may be appropriate for "sanitation" of razors. One thing to bear in mind is that steel is not flat at the molecular level, which means that there are places where such chemicals would not reach unless a surfactant is added.

Al raz.