The Why: Reducing Healthcare-Associated Infections
Healthcare professionals are at the front-line of patient care, ensuring safety through infection control. Consequently, device cleaning is the necessary first step of any sterilization or disinfection process. Together with emerging best practices in healthcare, mobile devices like scanners and terminals have worked to deliver better outcomes for patient care. While these devices have helped nurses and hospital staff become more mobile, they have also become an extension of the hand. With this in mind, device cleanliness requires more attention than ever in order to keep hospital staff safe. Both disinfecting and cleaning devices, as well as environmental surfaces, is crucial in reducing possible healthcare-associated infections.
In addition to keeping devices clean, hospitals need to have the right hardware. Traditional data collection hardware will not hold up to abrasive chemicals and disinfectants used in healthcare environments. Unlike traditional barcoding hardware, most healthcare products are made with antimicrobial plastics. In contrast to traditional plastics, antimicrobial material is non-porous. As a result, anti-microbial plastics keep both bacteria and chemicals from embedding into the plastic. However, anti-microbial plastic on its own is not enough to keep people safe. Healthcare workers should also use proper cleaning practices in addition to utilizing healthcare-grade devices.
Learn about the potential damage you can cause by not using the right device cleaning solutions 
The How: Use the Recommended Cleaning Solutions for Each Manufacturer
Honeywell Scanning and Mobility
- Sani-Cloth® HB
- Sani-Cloth® Plus
- 409® Glass and Surface Cleaner
- CaviWipesTM
- Clorox® Bleach – 10%
- Gentle Dish Soap and Water
- Virex® 256
- Windex® Blue
- Isopropyl Alcohol Wipes (70%)
- Super Sani-Cloth®
Learn more about cleaning your Honeywell healthcare devices
Motorola Devices
Zebra Technologies now owns Motorola. If you own Motorola devices, please use the following cleaning solutions.
- Isopropyl alcohol (Including Wipes)
- Bleach/sodium hypochlorite
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Mild dish soap
- Ammonium chloride
Learn more about cleaning your Motorola devices
Zebra Healthcare Devices
Zebra Healthcare DevicesCleaning and disinfection procedures are different for each of Zebra’s healthcare product lines.
Mobile computer disinfection guide
Before You Get the Unit Wet Find out Your IP Rating
An Ingress Protection rating is commonly expressed as “IP” followed by two numbers, for example IP65, where the numbers define the degree of protection. The first digit (Foreign Bodies Protection) shows the extent to which the equipment is protected against particles and other solid foreign objects. The second digit (Water Protection) indicates the extent of protection against water. However, if there is no protection rating for a criteria, the digit is replaced with the letter ‘X’. See our chart for all IP ratings