[Histonet] Cleaning molds

[Ford Royer]

>From the service side, I have experienced what Dorothy has described...
especially on older model tissue processors.  A good percentage of service
calls are for plugged reagent, overflow, and/or air lines that have simply
been overpowered by excessive amounts of paraffin during the cleaning cycle.
This has been true even with processors that melt the residual paraffin
first and pumps it back into the last paraffin station (i.e. VIP's).
However in some of these cases, it should be noted that the amount of
paraffin on molds, forceps, and other metal items that were placed in the
retort for cleaning was very excessive.  I am a believer that you can still
use your processor as a mold cleaner if you limit the amount of residual
paraffin on the molds (forceps, etc.) by scraping off as much as possible
prior to placing them in the retort.  You should also orient items so that
melted paraffin can drip down to the bottom of the retort so it can actually
be pumped out.  It does no good to put molds and boats in the retort face up
so that all the melted paraffin is simply held in the mold itself and not
allowed to drain to the bottom of the retort to be pumped out.

If used as a "dish washer", you should also change the "Cleaning Xylene"
reagent more frequently.

~ Ford

Ford M. Royer, MT(ASCP)
Minnesota Medical, Inc.
7177 Madison Ave. W.
Golden Valley, MN 55427-3601
CELL:  612-839-1046
Phone:  763-542-8725
Fax:  763-546-4830
eMail:  clinicallab <@t> minnesotamedical.com


-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
[mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Webb,
Dorothy L
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 12:34 PM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Cleaning molds

At the previous facility I worked at, we daily cleaned our mold in the
cleaning cycle until we had a problem with the processor and was told by
the field service engineer and then the company that doing this was hard
on the machine with all of the excess paraffin in the tubing.  I do not
know if that has any merit, but, we quit doing that and never had that
type of problem again.  Just a thought!!

Dorothy Webb, HT (ASCP)
Histology Technical Supervisor 
Regions Hospital, Pathology Department 
640 Jackson Street, Saint Paul, MN 55101-2595 
Phone: 651-254-2962
Fax: 651-254-2741 
Regions Hospital is part of the HealthPartners family of care
________________________________________
This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and are
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are
addressed. If you are not the intended recipient or the individual
responsible for delivering the e-mail to the intended recipient, please be
advised that you have received this e-mail in error and that any use,
dissemination, forwarding, printing, or copying of this e-mail is strictly
prohibited.
 
If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the
HealthPartners Support Center by telephone at (952) 967-6600. You will be
reimbursed for reasonable costs incurred in notifying us.
_______________________________________________
Histonet mailing list
Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet