How to Calibrate Your Autoclave in 12 Simple Steps Written by: Scott Mechler Calibration is an important but often misunderstood maintenance requirement for steam sterilizers. Done correctly, it ensures that the temperature your autoclave displays is the same as the temperature the chamber actually reaches, which has a direct and measurable effect on sterilization efficacy. In this article, we’ll explain what calibration is, what equipment you need to […] Tweet Like Share
Biosafety Levels 1, 2, 3 & 4: What’s the Difference? Written by: Arthur Trapotsis Biosafety levels (BSL-1 through BSL-4) are a set of containment classifications defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that govern how laboratories handle biological agents. Each level introduces new requirements, covering personnel practices, protective equipment, and facility design, in addition to the previous level’s requirements. The higher the level, the more dangerous […] Tweet Like Share
Why To Autoclave Liquids With a Load Probe Written by: Amit Gupta In our previous Sterilization Cycles post on the F0 Cycle, we briefly reviewed the process for autoclaving liquids with a load probe. This post further discusses the benefits of using a load probe for sterilization validation. A load probe is a temperature sensing probe located inside the laboratory’s autoclave chamber. It is configured such that […] Tweet Like Share
Bowie-Dick & Vacuum Leak Tests: Autoclave Sterilization Cycles Written by: Arthur Trapotsis Key Takeaways A Bowie-Dick test demonstrates proper air removal from the chamber of a pre-vacuum autoclave. To run a Bowie-Dick test, warm up your autoclave, place a test pack in the chamber, and initiate a test cycle. A test pack that’s a uniform dark black color indicates a successful cycle. No color change or partial […] Tweet Like Share
Steam Sterilization Cycles, Part 7: Product Lifecycle Testing in an Autoclave Written by: Arthur Trapotsis In our 7th installment of the Advanced Cycles Series, we explore automated product lifecycle testing in an autoclave. Repeated exposure to an autoclave chamber’s extreme temperature and pressure conditions allows Quality Control Specialists to sharply accelerate product aging and evaluate the lifecycle of a product. Typically, this process requires that an individual (e.g. technician, scientist, engineer, etc) spend countless hours in front of an autoclave. What if you could program the autoclave to run multiple sterilization cycles (over multiple hours or days) with the press of a single button? Read more → Tweet Like Share
Autoclave Steam Sterilization Cycles, Part 6: F0 Cycle Written by: Arthur Trapotsis Autoclave efficacy is highly dependent on time, temperature, and pressure, and these parameters can be manipulated and optimized to create specific sterilization cycles for each application. To help your facility get the most out of your autoclave, we introduce the sixth article in our Steam Sterilization Cycles series: The F0 Cycle (pronounced f-sub-zero or f-sub-oh). Read more → Tweet Like Share
Properly Sizing an Autoclave Chamber for Your Animal Lab Written by: Mike Peters Steam sterilization is routinely used in animal laboratories for two reasons: 1) to sterilize animal cages in order to create a pathogen-free housing environment and 2) to properly dispose of harmful waste products. Since autoclaves are essential for everyday laboratory operation, it is important to select a chamber size with enough capacity to meet the […] Tweet Like Share
University Sustainability Projects: 3 Innovative Schools Making a Creative Difference Written by: Scott Mechler Today, sustainability initiatives are being adopted by nearly every business, organization, and project in the United States—and for good reason. “Going green” not only helps reduce waste and conserve environmental resources, it enables organizations to promote a healthier workplace and save money. Read more → Tweet Like Share
Steam Sterilization Cycles, Part 5: Low Temperature Cycle Written by: Arthur Trapotsis Steam sterilizers play a pivotal role in your lab’s research capabilities and throughput. However, how can you safely and properly sterilize load types that are more temperature-sensitive than others? To help you avoid overheating a specific load type, thereby compromising it, we introduce the fifth article in CSS’ ongoing Steam Sterilization Cycles series: Read more → Tweet Like Share
Common Steam Autoclave Maintenance Questions, Answered Written by: Amit Gupta Keeping your steam autoclaves in proper working order improves productivity, reduces downtime, extends the life of the autoclave, and helps to ensure overall safety in the workplace. To help you with autoclave upkeep, we wrote about the importance of maintenance and shared some basic tips to maintain your equipment in a prior post. In this post, we take the conversation a little deeper, answering common sterilizer maintenance questions and identifying the critical components on an autoclave that should be inspected periodically by a trained service provider. This is not an exhaustive list of all the autoclave components that should be inspected but merely the major ones. Read more → Tweet Like Share
5.29.26 Protect Your Sterilizer & Keep Your OR Running With SterilSource → For sterile processing teams at healthcare facilities, providing purified water for their autoclave has historically meant accepting tradeoffs around floor space, budget, and throughput. Ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) and other, smaller healthcare facilities have felt this most acutely, with many having to choose between installing a bulky reverse osmosis (RO) system that takes up significant […]
5.28.26 Consolidated Sterilizer Systems Introduces SterilSource, a Premium Water Purification System for Healthcare Facilities and Life Science Labs → May 2026, Billerica, MA — Consolidated Sterilizer Systems is proud to announce the launch of SterilSource, a compact wall-mounted water purification system designed to meet the demanding water quality regulatory requirements of healthcare and life science environments. SterilSource is available in three configurations, offering scalable water treatment solutions from basic mineral and contaminant removal to […]
5.14.26 Consolidated Selected as Small Business Manufacturer by the University of California → What Set Us Apart Throughout the RFP process, Consolidated stood out for our: Relationship with UC, which predates this agreement, with many campuses already standardized on our autoclaves Low cost of ownership through non-proprietary parts and third-party service models, including local service Built-in water- and energy-saving features Support for both in-house and generator steam Custom […]
