Thermal Imager Maintenance: Cleaning
Thermal imager and charger decontamination should start at the fire scene. On-scene cleaning helps reduce potential contamination of the apparatus or the station. This is an important step in any fire department's cancer mitigation and decon program. Before beginning any cleaning process, ensure that you are wearing surgical type gloves to protect yourself any potential contaminants. Deeper cleaning may also be appropriate when returning to the station. Detailed steps follow below.
On-Scene Decon
⇒ Wipe with Bullard Decon Cloth
Complete a quick on scene cleaning with a Bullard Decon Cloth. Open up the cloth and completely wipe down the imager to remove all the soot and contaminants. Remember to clean around the imager's rubber display boot. Wipe the front display window, and pay close attention to the front germanium lens, as that area can build up a lot of soot.
Follow-up Decon
⇒ Advanced Deep Cleaning
Use a bucket of mild soap and warm water. Briefly dunk and wipe the imager and battery (if removable). Note: All Bullard imagers are tested to IP67, which means they are waterproof to 3 feet underwater for 30 minutes.
⇒ Additional Cleaning
Use general cleaning products such as Windex or Fantastic to aid in the removal of soot and contaminants. Simply spray the imager with the cleaning solution and wipe clean. For stubborn stains you may use isopropyl alcohol. For imagers with removable batteries, remove the battery, cleaning the battery itself, as well as the battery compartment and battery contacts.
After any cleaning step, always thoroughly rinse the imager and battery from the cleaning products and soap, make sure everything is completely dry before placing the thermal imager into the charger and back into service again.
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