SOP on “Operation and Cleaning of Vertical Autoclave”
A. Precautions during the handling of Autoclave:
- Before switching “ON” the heaters of Vertical Autoclave ensure that the water is filled in the boiler till the gauge glass indicates 3/4th level of the total marked level.
- Do not overfill the boiler otherwise, it will wet inside the material. After every cycle watch the water level through the glass tube and fill the water till the desired level if the water level is below the required level.
- Open the lid only when the pressure gauge indicates “0”. And steam flow from the exhaust valve is completely stopped.
B. Procedure of Vertical Autoclave
Operation :
- Ensure visual cleanliness of the autoclave.
- Ensure that the drain valve of the autoclave is closed.
- Fill purified water in autoclave through funnel provided on autoclave by opening the water inlet valve till the glass-tube shows about ¾ the level of the total market level.
- If excess water is filled, open the drain valve provided at the bottom of the autoclave & drain out the excess water from the autoclave.
- Then open the lid of autoclave by opening the wingnut. Arrange the material to be sterilized along with the chemical indicator in the autoclave chamber.
- Close the lid & tighten it with a wing nut securely.
- Set the sterilization time by setting the knob of the timer provided on the control box.
- Switch on the main power supply switch of the autoclave & then switch on the toggle switch provided on the control box of the autoclave.
- When the pressure shown by the in-built pressure gauge of the autoclave reaches to15 17lb /m2 & temperature reaches to 121°C, the LED “ON” on the timer glows i.e. sterilization cycle is on.
- On completion of the sterilization cycle, LED “R” on the timer glows.
- Reduce the pressure by opening the exhaust valve, provided on the top of the autoclave.
- When the in-built pressure gauge shows a “0” reading, open the autoclave lid by opening the wingnut.
- Un-load the material from autoclave.
- Observe the indicator strip for colour change. The colour of the white band must change to black.
C. Cleaning:
- Wipe the outer surface of autoclave with a wet cloth.
- Cleaning agents like Teepol, MOCIDETM300 or any other equivalent cleaning agents shall be used.
- 0.1% v/v (5 mL in 5 L of water) solution shall be prepared as a cleaning solution.
- Clean the inside chamber once in a week with a cleaning solution and then wash with purified water. Finally, wipe the chamber with a clean and dry cloth.
- Change the purified water in the jacket of the autoclave at least once in a month.
- Label the equipment suitably and make the relevant entries in the equipment log book.


Related:
- Autoclaving
- Vertical Autoclave Manufacturer
- Difference between a Class B and Class N Autoclaves
- Bowie Dick Test Vacuum leak test in Autoclaves
- Types of Autoclaves
- LAL test
- LAL test Procedure
- TLC & HPTLC
- GxP in Pharmaceuticals
- Types of chromatography
- CIP and SIP in Pharmaceuticals
- Positive control and negative control in Microbiology
- Types of biological indicators for sterilization
- Sterility Assurance Level (SAL)
- D value and Z values in Microbiology