10 Reasons Why Stainless Steel is Recommended for Healthcare Equipment

Stainless steel is a common choice for healthcare equipment. Healthcare providers love it for its awesome qualities. There is no doubt stainless steel hospital equipment beat other types of equipment. Here are some reasons why steel is a good choice for your healthcare facility.

Stainless steel is self-healing. For nearly a half-century, stainless steel has been used for a variety of industrial, architectural, chemical, and consumer purposes. It is essentially low-carbon steel that contains 10.5 percent or more chromium by weight. It is the addition of chromium to the steel that gives it its distinctive stainless, corrosion-resistant, and increased mechanical qualities. The steel’s chromium content enables the production of a rough, adherent, corrosion-resistant chromium oxide coating on the steel surface. If this film is damaged physically or chemically, it will self-heal if oxygen, even in trace amounts, is present. This is an important point to make since other solid surface materials, including corian, porcelain, and vitreous china, are frequently affected by micro-fissures, which usually appear where the material meets the perimeter of the drain. These little cracks, which can’t be seen by the naked human eye, are ideal breeding grounds for bio-load bacteria, which flourish in warm, moist habitats like sinks, drains, and adjacent surface surfaces. Self-healing stainless steel surfaces do not develop microfractures.

Stainless steel offers a high degree of cleanliness. Stainless steel surfaces have a higher hygiene value and require lower disinfectant concentrations to reach the desired degree of cleanliness. This is especially critical in healthcare settings, where chemical compounds like iodine, bleach, peroxide, dyes, human tissue, blood, and physiological fluids may wreak havoc on solid surface sinks, worktops, tables, bathroom fixtures, and fabric-covered chairs. Cleaning chemicals are three to four times more effective on stainless steel than on polymers or aluminum. Stainless steel surfaces, when properly cleaned and maintained, minimize bio-burden, which can cause illness and infection. Because stainless surfaces are easily cleaned, they are the ideal choice for strict hygiene settings such as food service, hospitals, clinics, and medical office buildings.

Long-lasting beauty and resistance to scratches and stains. Stainless steel’s brilliant, easily maintained surface creates a current and appealing aesthetic impression that lasts year after year. Stainless steel is commonly used in commercial kitchens, and as a result, the aesthetic lends itself nicely to patient room ‘Healing Environments.’ Stainless steel has proven to be a superior material to polymer solid surfaces, porcelain, or vitreous china due to its resistance to chipping, cracking, staining, scratching, and general porosity issues. Stainless steel can sustain daily use in high-traffic business situations without needing to be repaired. Other solid surface materials, such as corian and other plastics, are more susceptible to scratching and small fissures. To eliminate these defects and avoid the formation of dangerous bio-load bacteria, these surfaces must be sanded on a regular basis. Sanding creates airborne dust particles that can be harmful to one’s health if inhaled, as well as depressions in the material that can lead to more problems in the future. Stainless steel, on the other hand, preserves its original beautiful appearance even under intensive usage conditions or when exposed to materials that scratch and discolor.

Easily-shaped. Type 304 austenitic steels are nonmagnetic stainless steels with high chromium and nickel content and low carbon content. Type 304 stainless steel, known for its formability and simplicity of fabrication, can be cut, welded, formed, machined, and fabricated as easily as traditional steels, making it highly appropriate for the largest variety of applications in all types of goods and architectural work. Type 304 stainless steel is composed of 18% chromium and 8% nickel, and it is nonmagnetic and cannot be toughened by heat treatment. The number of possibilities for stainless steel in a healthcare center is nearly limitless. Stainless steel is the material of choice in healthcare facilities worldwide, from medical gadgets, trays, bedpans, and bedrails to chairs, tables, worktops, hand washbasins, scrub sinks, drinking fountains, soap dispensers, and more.

Structural strength and durability. Steel is one of the most powerful materials known to man. Stainless Steel offers a great strength-to-weight advantage over other forms of solid surface products, making it perfect for healthcare situations that rely on liquid containment and hygienic conditions. Stainless steel toilet sinks are resistant to impacts and heat extremes, making them ideal for medical, laboratory, and industrial applications.

Corrosion-resistant. Increased nickel/chromium concentration and the inclusion of additional elements such as molybdenum and nitrogen improve the corrosion resistance and other important qualities of stainless steel. Because the corrosive impact on surfaces is dictated by exposure to chemicals and their concentration, air conditions, temperature, and time, healthcare design experts must understand the nature of the environment and the degree of corrosion that will be present. Lower-alloyed stainless steel grades, in general, resist corrosion in atmospheric and pure water settings, but higher-alloyed grades can withstand corrosion in most acids, alkaline solutions, and chlorine-containing environments. Type 304 stainless steel, in particular, is widely used in healthcare contexts due to its resistance to organic chemicals, dyestuffs, and a wide range of organic compounds. Type 316 stainless steel, on the other hand, with its enhanced nickel content and inclusion of molybdenum, is preferred when severe corrosion conditions prevail and pitting is to be avoided, such as in chloride environments.

Impact-resistant. The austenitic microstructure of Type 304 stainless steel provides excellent durability, making these steels ideal for use in healthcare settings. There’s no need to be concerned about dropping something heavy into a metal bowl sink because experience has shown that stainless steel outperforms ceramics, porcelain, vitreous china, and other solid surfaces utilized in the manufacture of sinks and other medical fixtures and equipment.

Hygienic and easy to clean. Stainless steel’s hard metallic surface makes it difficult for bacteria, mold, and germs that cause disease to cling and survive. Furthermore, cutting-edge die-drawn technology lets manufacturers create seamless items, fixtures, and other equipment that do not gather bacteria-filled debris or waste. Because of its ease of cleaning, it is the top choice for strict hygiene requirements. Because stainless steels, particularly Type 304, can be kept meticulously clean and tolerate strong chemicals, they have essentially replaced conventional sink materials such as vitreous china. In fact, a new research commissioned by Team Stainless has shown the continued safety of utilizing stainless steel in hospital contexts. Researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University and AgroParisTech discovered no noticeable difference in disinfection efficiency across a range of grades and finishes, or whether the stainless steel was new or old. This demonstrates the efficacy of cleaning stainless steel against germs associated with HAIs (healthcare-acquired infections), as well as its continued viability as a material for use in clinical settings.

Cost-effective long-term value. Due to its longevity and little maintenance, stainless is often the least expensive material option when considering complete life cycle costs. Stainless steel sinks generally last 15 to 25 years and are typically changed due to interior renovations or improvements rather than sink degeneration. Furthermore, stainless steel requires less maintenance, which is both cost-effective and beneficial to the environment and society. Long-term savings can vary from 30 to 40% when compared to other materials owing to lower repair and maintenance expenses. Discerning engineers, designers, and specifiers assess the long-term value of stainless goods against the potentially higher initial costs and find that stainless is generally the best value option throughout the life of a project.100% recyclable. Stainless steel is completely recyclable and widely accessible from domestic steel factories. Indeed, more than 95% of newly milled stainless steel is derived from recycled stainless steel waste, completing the whole life cycle. The alloy composition contributes to the material’s longevity, and as a result, it possesses inherent corrosion resistance. Nothing is applied to the surface that might potentially pollute the ecosystem. The inherently sanitary features of stainless steel do not require harsh cleaning chemicals that would otherwise be flushed down the drain, thus decreasing its environmental effect over the whole life cycle. Because fresh resources are not required as frequently to replace corroded or failed items, the life cycle of stainless steel products helps in resource minimization. When stainless steel products reach the end of their useful life, there is less anxiety about disposal because this material is 100% recyclable.