More about cleaning methods
Methods of cleaning or re-sterilising catheters include:
There is currently little agreement on which is the best method however information on the methods commonly used is shown below.
Soaking in antiseptic solutions
Research has shown that three antiseptic solutions effectively clean catheters:
- Cleaning non-coated catheters using soap and water and a 15-minute soak in Sodium Hypochlorite (Milton) solution has been shown to leave them free of the organisms that can cause urinary tract infection.12
- 0.6% hydrogen peroxide
- bleach in a 1 in 4 solution with tap water
- betadine in a 1 in 2 solution with tap water
With each of these solutions, researchers found that none of the cleaned catheters showed detectable bacterial growth after 48 hours.
Rinsing and drying following use
Research has found that immediate rinsing (with tap water) and drying after use was found to be an effective method of reducing bacteria to near zero.