Apparatus for washing and decontaminating articles

Claim 1

In an apparatus for washing and decontaminating articles including a bowl having a motor driven impeller located therein and a top cover for sealing said bowl, a motor driven pump for supplying pressurized fluid to a support means having pipes connected thereto located within said bowl, each of said pipes having at least one outlet orifice and being adapted to have some articles connected thereto in a manner such that in use fluid from said pipes passes through the interior of the articles and into said bowl, said bowl having passage means connecting the interior of the bowl with the inlet of said pump and having a valve controlled drain, a heating coil located within said bowl, a storage tank for a decontaminating fluid, sAid fluid having a fixed effective life, means for bringing the decontaminating fluid into effective contact with said articles located within said bowl, means for returning the decontaminating fluid from said bowl to said storage tank at the end of a decontaminating cycle, and electrical control means for affecting the operation of said motor driven impeller, said motor driven pump, said bowl drain valve, said decontaminating fluid bringing means and said decontaminating fluid returning means; the improvement comprising: means associated with said bowl for promoting self-draining of bowl surfaces when a fluid is drained from the bowl; and means associated with said electrical control means for regulating the operational life of said decontaminating fluid.