This article is a repost from the #IFUCan blog hosted on Linked In. The first two paragraphs are teased below, and the full article can be viewed by clicking here. By James Schneiter First of a two-part series Protecting patients from the dangers of a surgical infection caused by a device that remains contaminated after processing is the No. 1 responsibility of everyone who comes in contact with the device. The responsibility for safe, effective processing starts with pre-treating the device at point-of-use and continues all the way through its delivery back to surgery. Part of this responsibility includes ensuring the quality of the water that is used to process the device. While often overlooked, water is important for all stages of reusable medical device processing. Water is required for decontamination, soaking, manual or automated cleaning, rinsing and the final disinfecting rinse. Additionally, all concentrated instrument cleaners are over 90 percent water that acts as the solvent for all of the chemicals in the cleaner. Water quality is a key safety component of medical device processing to ensure that devices are safe for patient use and do not cause an adverse event in a patient. (1) Continue reading here