Spring Cleaning Guide: How to Check Your AED Devices 

 

Spring cleaning is a time individuals dedicate to cleaning out the old and bringing in the new. This is a great time to clean out desk drawers, throw away expired items, and prepare to replace and maintain any tools that need ongoing maintenance or repairs such as an automated external defibrillator (AED). If your organization or business owns a defibrillator, you may or may not know about the required AED maintenance that goes into keeping your device up to date. 

We’re giving you our Heartsmart Spring Cleaning Guide on How to Check Your AED Devices. Read along as we discuss the importance of back up batteries and pads, cleaning wipes, and inspection cards, so you can have peace of mind that your AED unit is well maintained and ready to spring to action during an emergency. 

AED Batteries 

AED batteries expire every 2-5 years (you can look for an expiration date on the battery), but it’s always a good idea to keep back up batteries in the event they expired early or are damaged. It’s crucial you store your backup battery with your AED as defibrillation can deplete the primary battery. In the event of cardiac arrest where you must use your battery and AED twice, backup batteries can help assure a full shock can be delivered. Be sure to review your user manual for more details on storage and battery maintenance as well. 

AED Pads

Electrode pads do expire over time. Even if they are not expired yet, depending on where you store your AED, the pads can lose their adhesiveness. As the adhesiveness wears, the AED may not be able to deliver the shock strength needed to revive a victim. Be sure to review expiration dates for both pads and batteries as part of your inspection. It’s important to remember that AED electrode pads are one-time use, and must be replaced after they are opened, whether or not they ended up being placed on the victim.

Cleaning Wipes

While your AED is on a wall mount or cabinet, it can collect dust and dirt over time, causing potential issues. Visually inspecting your AED, looking for dirt, damage, or contamination and wiping it down with cleaning wipes can give you the confidence to know your AED is ready in a moment’s notice. It’s important to remember that AEDs used in outside settings such as sporting events may need to be cleaned more often than those sitting inside a building. 

Inspection Cards

Inspection cards help you make sure the maintenance of your AED is logged monthly and are a great way to show your community that you have taken the initiative to keep your community safe and your AED ready for any emergency.   

Refresh Packs

To help make your spring cleaning easy, we recommend the Complete Refresh Packs to ensure you have the tools you need for your AED checks.   

These kits most commonly include: 

•   One replacement battery
•   One set of adult pads
•   One set of spare adult pads
•   One set of pediatric pads
•   Two Antimicrobial equipment wipes
•   One window decal
•   One AED check tag

As there is much more that goes into maintaining automated external defibrillators, these items in Heartsmart’s Refresh Packs can help make maintaining a life-saving tool like this easier. Let us help you be Heartsmart during your spring cleaning | Shop AED Refresh packs today.

 

AED Program Management for Maintenance Support 

While AEDs do utilize status indicator lights (or other forms of alert) to help you understand if your AED is ready for use, proper preventative maintenance of not only the AED machine, but the accessories discussed above is crucial for keeping your devices ready at all times, and ensuring no AED fails when needed most (ZOLL AED units are great examples of AEDs that use clear indicator lights). This can be a lot to handle and new AED owners can easily feel overwhelmed.  

 AED program management can be an excellent tool for helping you keep track of your AED or multiple AEDs, as well as their maintenance status, use history and more. Managing routine inspections, testing requirements and ensuring device readiness coupled with ongoing maintenance can be made much simpler with program management. AED maintenance programs are designed to run on manufacturer’s guidelines and help ensure you’re ready for a sudden cardiac arrest event.  

 

DISCLAIMER: Information and resources found on the Heartsmart website/blog is intended to educate, inform, and motivate readers to make their health and wellness decisions after consulting with their healthcare provider. The authors are not healthcare providers. No information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease or condition.