If you're getting ready to open your first tattoo salon then make sure you have an autoclave on your equipment list. Long gone are the days when you can just use a pressure cooker and a hot plate. These days the health and safety regulations are much more strident and you're going to be required to have an actual certified autoclave on the premises at all times.
A century ago tattoo artists might have use boiling water or heat, or even alcohol, to sterilize their needles and tools. While these methods were better than nothing, they did very little to help stop the spread of disease or infection. However, at the time, it was the best they had.
Over the years we've learned that it takes much more than heat to kill bacteria and spores. Contaminated equipment must be exposed to pressurized steam for an extended period of time in order to eliminate spores. Temperature, pressure and exposure times are critical and alcohol, fire, and boiling water simply won't get the job done.
Most local and state regulations regarding tattoo salons include the following criteria:
There must be a working autoclave in every body art studio.All non-disposable equipment must be kept in a separate container until it can be brush cleaned and hot soapy water and then sterilized in an autoclave.
All equipment must be bagged, labeled, dated and sealed before it's placed in the autoclave.
Only one piece of equipment may be placed into each autoclave bag.
The user's manual that came with your autoclave must be available at all times, and also during regulatory inspections.
Weekly spore tests and results must be logged and kept on file, available during inspections, for at least three years.
All sterilized needles and equipment must remain in their bags and are to be opened in front of the clients when ready for use.
As you can see, the regulations regarding autoclaves in body art studios are pretty strict. In most cases you won't even be able to get a license to open up unless you have one and it's passed an inspection.
While it might seem like an unnecessary obstacle you have to overcome before you can open your salon, in the long run, having an autoclave will actually help your business. These days, people expect much more than a dark, dingy backroom when they enter a body art salon. In fact, most won't even stick around if they don't see a clean, sanitary shop.
And the bacteria and viruses that we have today are much more resistant than they were back in the day so obeying the law is just a secondary concern. You'll be doing your clients and yourself both a favor by putting an autoclave on your equipment list when you're getting ready to open your first tattoo salon.
Wally Ashbaugh is an expert in autoclave repair and maintenance. Visit his blog at http://www.autoclaverepairtips.com/ for helpful tips that will save you thousands of dollars in repair costs and lost billings, and visit his website AllClaveParts.com for autoclave repair parts and information.
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