The cleaning process is intended to remove what types of materials?

• A. Remove organic and inorganic materials
• B. Remove microbes only
• C. Remove dust only
• D. Add cleaning agents

Answer: (A)

Cleaning aims to remove all contaminants from surfaces so that there’s no carryover of residues or particles that could pose a risk. This means targeting both organic and inorganic materials—the organic residues include drug remnants, soils, and organic matter, while inorganic materials cover dust, minerals, and other non-organic debris. Removing these broad categories makes disinfection more effective and prevents cross-contamination or exposure. Microbes are addressed after cleaning through disinfection, so focusing only on microbes would miss the residues that can shield them or cause contamination. Dust-only misses drug residues and other soils, and adding cleaning agents isn’t cleaning but applying products—the goal is to remove materials.