4 Tips For Handcuff Use And Maintenance

Berry Mathew

Updated on:

Police handcuffs have a rich history. Although the first appearance of these cuffs dated back to around 70 BC, their purpose might’ve changed from when it was invented. However, we might never know as we were only left with archeological pieces.

Many might wonder how the handcuffs from centuries ago were able to be retrieved today. Well, it’s not exactly difficult to maintain a good pair of handcuffs.

It’s not uncommon for a good pair of handcuffs to become soiled with time. Handcuffs start to show signs of wear and tear if you use them often enough. But, that doesn’t mean that you need to replace your pair of cuffs. After all, a pair of handcuffs don’t always come cheap.

It simply means that you need to make an extra effort with maintaining your handcuffs. Here, we have a few tips to help you use and maintain your handcuffs the right way.

  1. Don’t Use Old Cleaning Methods For Police Handcuffs

Your pair of police handcuffs may be pretty dirty if you haven’t cleaned them before. Oil, grime, blood, and other substances can accumulate on these police handcuffs over time. It’s not easy to get these substances off if you don’t clean your police cuffs regularly.

Also, remember that contaminants can settle on the handcuffs when you use them. These contaminants on the cuffs can transfer from person to person pretty easily. You would likely fall sick if you use your police cuffs without cleaning them.

Contaminants can easily hide in the crevices between your cuffs. There are many spaces in a traditional pair of cuffs for the dust to settle into. Some police departments need their officers to clean their cuffs regularly. But, not all of them impose such rules for cuff maintenance.

It doesn’t matter if your police department requires you to clean your cuffs or not. If you want to stay safe and healthy, you should do it yourself often enough. Many police officers use traditional cleaning methods for their handcuffs. These methods include bleach to soak and clean the cuffs.

Often, these cleaning methods are abrasive and can damage the handcuffs. Also, the materials you use can have harmful fumes that cause health problems in the long run. It makes little sense to clean your cuffs only to damage your health.

  1. Inspect Your Cuffs Well

The first step to cleaning your cuffs is inspecting them properly. It’s possible that the cuffs you’re using appear clean but aren’t clean. Simple cleaning solutions like soap and water might seem effective at first. But, the truth is, these solutions aren’t nearly effective enough to clean the cuffs.

Remember to inspect the cuffs between the crevices and in places that attract dirt. Looking at the surface of your cuffs is not nearly enough to pick out the dirt. You would even need to Inspect the keyhole in your police cuffs to identify the dirt. Inspect the cuffs under enough light to pick out the smallest dirt particles.

This would be useful regardless of whether your cuffs are new or old. Once you see the amount of dirt in there, you’ll know why soap and water aren’t enough. You’ll need stronger cleaning solutions and methods to get rid of all the dirt and grime.

  1. Use Ultrasonic Cleaners For Police Handcuffs

Ultrasonic cleaners are one of the best cleaning solutions for police cuffs. These cleaners are powerful enough to get rid of all types of dirt present in the cuffs. Ultrasonic cleaners are a new and effective solution in handcuff maintenance.

The cleaners consist of a high-tech device and a cleaning solution. The device and solution work well to provide effective cleaning for your cuffs. Law enforcement departments usually use ultrasonic cleaners for firearms and other weapons.

But, these days they’re using these cleaners for police handcuffs as well. You can use ultrasonic cleaners to clean and disinfect your cuffs properly. There are three parts that you’ll find in an ultrasonic cleaner that allow it to function well.

These Ultrasonic Cleaner Parts Are As Follows:

  • tank
  • power generator
  • transducer

When you switch on the power of your ultrasonic device, the transducer vibrates. The electrical energy in it is then converted to mechanical energy. The fluctuation in the size of the transducer creates the perfect cleaning action. The fluctuation creates high-frequency sound waves in the tank of the device.

In this way, you can use the device to start cleaning your handcuffs. The high-frequency, high-intensity sound waves allow for better cleaning of the cuffs. Also, they can clean your handcuffs in a shorter period than other cleaning methods.

So, it makes sense for police officers on the go to use these cuffs whenever they need them.

  1. Choose The Right Cleaning Solution

Choosing an ultrasonic cleaning device is one part of your cuff cleaning journey. You would also need to pick out the right cleaning solution for your police handcuffs. You can choose from detergents and solutions to use with your ultrasonic device.

Your cleaning device won’t work properly if you don’t choose the right detergent for it. Special detergents are available online and offline for ultrasonic cleaners. If you want to save time and money on cleaning, opt for a germicidal detergent.

These detergents can clean and disinfect police handcuffs at the same time. So, you won’t have to use two separate processes to keep your cuffs in the best shape. A good germicidal detergent will kill germs and get rid of the grime on your police cuffs. Make sure that the cleaning solution you choose is effective on non-porous surfaces.

These solutions are for cleaning hard surfaces like the metal used in handcuffs. A good detergent will take no more than ten minutes or so of contact to kill germs. This should give the solution enough time to end the microorganisms in your police cuffs.

Conclusion

These tips are sure to help you clean your police cuffs better than ever before. Your cuffs might come into contact with different surfaces when you take them out. So, you shouldn’t skimp on keeping them clean as often as you can.

The tips we’ve outlined are easy to follow and shouldn’t take too much time. You can follow these tips to make sure you clean your cuffs the right way. Ultrasonic cleaners are the ideal solution for police officers wishing to save time.

These devices can clean your cuffs effectively within just a few minutes. But, make sure to pick the right device and detergent for the best cleaning results.