Don’t sterilizers always sterilize the load?
No. Sterilizers can have the parameters set wrong, can be overloaded, or can have the items to be sterilized wrapped incorrectly. In an autoclave, steam must come in contact with everything in the load. That is another reason why items must be very clean before being wrapped. Air pockets in the load can also prevent steam from reaching the product. We see about a 1-3% failure in spore tests on steam sterilizers.
