3 Common Cleanroom Problems
Cleanroom classifications depend upon adherence to protocol to keep contaminants and particulates from infiltrating your strictly regulated environment. But even with the most extensive training and preparation, you may find fighting contamination is an uphill battle. At Medco Supplies, we’ve taken a closer look at 3 common ways contaminants can be introduced into a cleanroom setting and given you a suggestion for combating each of them.
Trash Cans
Cleanrooms’ gowning chambers have well thought out trash systems, starting with a receptacle by the employee lockers for drinks, gum, and wrappers and ending with a trash can for dirty gowning gloves. But what about the sticky mats? You already know that when a sticky mat becomes soiled, it has to be removed carefully and rolled up to capture the contaminants inside for disposal purposes. But where is the nearest trash can for that dirty layer of sticky mat? If it requires too much backtracking, the employee risks attracting contaminants before entering the cleanroom.
Do this: Make sure your employees are trained in sticky mat handling and disposal and keep a trash can next to the entryway door to contain the dirty layers of adhesive mats.
Pens & Pencils
One easily overlooked contaminant in cleanrooms is pens or pencils that are brought in from outside. They can be loaded with bacteria, mold, or even particulates. Employees might not even realize they have brought in an object that is not allowed, or they might not realize the hazard of carrying in a pen.
Do this: Get a jump on this problem by providing a documentation station that has everything they need in one place. Paper, hole-punched paper, binders, tab dividers, clipboards, notebooks, pens, tape, and sticky notes should all be provided inside the cleanroom.
Hands
When donning cleanroom attire, gloves are the first layer of defense. But after employees touch their phones, an outside pen, their face, a coffee cup, or other object, their gloves need to be changed. But it is an easily overlooked issue.
Do this: Add double gloving to your protocol. Employees can then remove the contaminated outer layer of glove after coughing, sneezing, or touching a contaminant, and still have a clean layer to use before needing to don a different pair.
Get your cleanroom supplies today
Make sure your cleanroom supplies are in stock and easy to access by all of your employees. Give us a call for a quote on a bulk quantity of cleanroom supplies and keep contaminants away from the cleanrooms in your facility.
