BRUSHING WITHOUT SCRATCHING – ISSUE NO. 378

Anyone who has a toddler at home can relate to the struggle of cleaning a sippy cup. These little tricky devices are composed of various channels, valves and spouts that, once assembled, are claimed to be "leak proof". When cleaning out my minivan over the holiday weekend, I found my son's sippy cup with remnants of what was once chocolate milk lurking inside. I immediately disassembled and scrubbed the unit, trying my best to get into all the crevices with soap and hot water (while thinking that I'd really just like to pitch this thing). What I really needed what a cleaning brush designed to clean the specific diameter size of the spout and valve. I was relieved to find a small cleaning brush designed just for the challenges of sippy cups and bottles. Like sippy cups, many medical devices have internal channels that can house debris and are difficult to clean. Healthmark offers a full line of LTA Brushes designed to limit micro-scratching on cannulated instruments. The new disposable brush heads pair with a reusable, autoclavable G-Flex Wand, and can be disposed and replaced between uses. Simply unscrew the existing brush head with minimal effort and replace with a new one. These brushes are offered in a range of diameter sizes and lengths to accompany numerous needs. The LTA brushes are designed to work with the traction cleaning mode, meaning non-brush end first. This one-way direction method helps to alleviate the potential for redeposit of debris in the instrument. So whether you are challenged with cleaning a medical device, or just a sippy cup, know that there are options out there.