54. How should needles and syringes be cleaned?

Step 1. Rinse with water to remove blood from syringe/needle.

• Pour clean water into clean cup or bottle cap.

• Pull back on plunger and fill halfway with clean water.

• Shake syringe/needle and squirt water out through the syringe/needle.

• Repeat this at least twice with new water or until all the blood and drug

residue is gone.

Step 2. Rinse with full strength bleach.

• Pour full strength bleach (do not add water) into clean cup or bottle cap.

• Pull back on plunger and fill the syringe halfway with bleach.

• Shake syringe/needle and squirt bleach out through the syringe/needle.

• Repeat steps.

Step 3. Rinse syringe/needle with clean water three more times.

• Before injecting, always rinse syringe/needle with water to remove the

bleach.

• Keep the rinse water apart from water used to clean the syringe/needle and

to prepare drugs.

Things to remember:

• Do not reuse the cotton, water, bleach, or cooker. If the cooker must be reused, rinse it in bleach and then water.

• Store bleach in a container that is opaque (you can’t see through it). Bleach loses its effectiveness with exposure to light. Label the container “bleach.”

• Never assume that a syringe purchased on the street is new, even if it seems to be packaged as new. The easiest place to get new syringes is at an ESAP pharmacy or a Syringe Exchange Program.