Gather your supplies:
- 3 large bowls
- 1 bottle dishwashing detergent
- Dry towels
- 1 bottle hydrogen peroxide
- 1 bottle sterile water
- Suction machine
- Dry container to store catheter
- 1 pair of clean gloves - optional
- Dirty catheter(s) - you can wait until the end of the day and clean several at one time
Cleaning the catheter:
- Fill the 1st bowl approximately 1/3 full with tap water and 1 squeeze of dishwashing soap.
- Fill the 2nd bowl approximately 1/4 full with hydrogen peroxide.
- Fill the 3rd bowl approximately 1/4 full with sterile water. You can use homemade sterile water.
- Suction soapy water through catheter to clean the inside. You can dip the catheter in and out of the water to agitate the soap for more thorough cleaning.
- Rinse the outside of the catheter and wipe off any debris.
- Use the suction machine to suction tap water through the catheter and rinse the soapy water out.
- Suction a small amount of hydrogen peroxide through the catheter, then place catheter in hydrogen peroxide and soak for approximately 20 minutes.
- Suction sterile water though the catheter to rinse the hydrogen peroxide from the inside of the catheter, then place in the sterile water to rinse off the hydrogen peroxide from the outside of the catheter.
- Suction air into the catheter to dry the inside and wipe the outside of the catheter with a clean towel. Store the dry catheter in a clean, dry container. Close the cover when not in use.
Things to remember:
- Clean catheters completely of all mucous.
- Follow each step.
- Dry catheters completely and store dry.
- Throw out catheters that become cloudy, develop cracks or have mucous that cannot be removed. All such catheters should not be used again!
