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Cleaning works
It is always better to use a new set of works for every injection, but if this is not possible, cleaning works will offer some protection against HIV and other infections. All these methods rely on the availability of running water and other household items – in other words, they aren't going to be practical in many street situations. In the USA, many drugs projects have adopted the bleach method and distribute small quantities of bleach to drug users on the street. In the UK, drugs agencies have been free to offer clean needles instead, and these methods should only be seen as a back–up in situations where clean needles are unavailable.
Bleach method
- Fill a container with clean cold water
- Draw the water up the needle and fill the syringe
- Flush out the syringe (not into the clean water) and do it again
- Now fill the container with household bleach, and repeat the cleaning process
- Then repeat the process with clean cold water to flush out all the bleach.
Pros and cons of this method:
- Bleach is easily available, and will kill HIV if it's sufficiently strong
- Not all bleach is of the same strength, and some may be so thick it will be difficult to draw up into fine needles
- Bleach may harden spots of blood in the syringe and make them more difficult to flush out
- Bleach is also difficult to flush out so it is important to flush out with cold water after flushing with bleach.
Washing-up liquid method
- Fill a container with clean cold water
- Draw the water up the needle and fill the syringe
- Flush out the syringe (not into the clean water) and do it again
- Now put a generous squirt of washing up liquid into another container and dilute this with cold water; then repeat the cleaning process. Don't squirt the washing up liquid in the works back into the container
- Repeat the cleaning process once more with clean cold water to flush out all the washing up liquid.
Pros and cons of this method:
- Washing up liquid is easily available, and will kill HIV if it's sufficiently strong
- However, the washing up liquid needs to be diluted sufficiently to allow it to be drawn up by fine needles
- You are likely to have to dismantle the injecting equipment to get all the bubbles out when cleaning with washing up liquid.
Boiling method
Pros and cons of this method:
- Boiling for 5 minutes will kill HIV
- However, most disposable syringes in use will melt if boiled, therefore in most cases this is not a viable option.
There are no easily available lists of those syringes that are most resistant to melting when boiled.
Where someone has successfully boiled their 'works' over a period of time this should not be discouraged.