Sterilization
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Sunday October 26th, 2008 @ 4:48 PM
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I was wondering if using a pressure cooker set for an hour on the maximum temperature setting is suitable to sterilize jewellery that only myself will wear?
I usually boil my metal pieces of jewellery but I was told by a friend (who recently started working at a not so good piercing place just to get his foot in the door) that boiling was not the best option and can still leave a lot of bacteria on the jewellery.
Also what is a good way to clean acryllic jewellery? I’ve just been running them under tap hot water then leaving them in a shallow bath of 25% Hydrogen Peroxide overnight.
Keep in mind that the best answers to these questions may vary depending on some specifics on your end. If you are planning to sterilize new jewelry to use for a piercing procedure, you can likely go to a professional piercing studio and pay to have them process/sterilize it on your behalf. I don’t condone re-sterilizing used body jewelry that has been in another person’s body for your personal use.
I’m not sure about your location, but in Canada a pressure cooker does not meet Canadian Health Standards for sterilization for professional use in studios. Regulations will vary from place to place, so check with your regional municipality to find out your local standards.
As for private personal use, I don’t see why sterilization can’t be achieved with this equipment. If you go this route, be sure that the pressure cooker reaches a temperature of 132 degrees celsius for a full 30 minutes.
In regards to cleaning (not sterilizing) your acrylic jewelry; an ultrasonic cleaning machine will do a great job. Many different types of detergents and cleaning agents can be used in an ultrasonic cleaning machine. Professional piercing studios will likely have these on hand as well.
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5 Responses to “Sterilization”
I’m not 100% thrilled with the idea of a pressure cooker, but if it’s for your own personal use, it’s better than nothing.
Keep in mind too when you take the jewelry out, you’ll recontaminate it. My suggestion short of having a cold sterile protocol is pressure cook some forceps (or tweezers) and use those to take the jewelry out and onto a sterile surface.
Xan on October 26th, 2008 at 7:38 pmGiven time and heat, a pressure cooker will work, but it’s easier just to go to a studio and throw them $10 to bag and sterilize them for you. If you must, make sure the pressure seal and gauges on the cooker are in good shape with a dry run first.
redeye on October 26th, 2008 at 8:59 pmjust out of curiosity though why do you feel the need to sterilize your own jewelry that’s only being used on yourself?
How often is your jewelry coming in contact with other peoples pathogens?
So long as you are not sharing your jewelry, theres no reason why you need to sterilize it. Unless you are swapping old piercing jewelry into fresh holes?
An Ultrasonic is most likely what you’re looking for in order to clean your jewelry.
Warren Hiller on October 30th, 2008 at 12:15 pmI guess I just assumed the jewelry was being used in a fresh piercing. And no way in hell would I want anything but a microbe free piece of SSS to go in my body initially.
That being said, even in a healed piercing I’d want my jewelry as clean as possible. From manufacturing to your body, if you don’t sterilize the jewelry, it passes through a lot of hands. Ick.
Xan on October 30th, 2008 at 11:17 pmXan: Any studio worth their salt will properly process (ultrasonic and sterilize) their jewelry before selling it to you.
again there is no need for a person to sterilize their own jewelry unless they are coming in contact with various harmful pathogens.
A simple purchase of a jewelry ultrasonic with an anti-bacterial or anti-microbial solution will achieve what is essentially required.
If its for a fresh piercing though, it should be sterilized…although that should really be done in a studio and not with a pressure cooker….Since most pressure cookers will fail spore testing thus not achieving sterilization effectively.
Warren Hiller on October 31st, 2008 at 12:46 amLeave a Comment