Sanitation, Sterilization, and Infection Control
The three levels, in order
- Sanitation - cleaning with soap, detergent, and water to remove soil and reduce microbes. This is not optional prep: organic residue (blood, sebum, cream) inactivates disinfectants, so cleaning always comes first.
- Disinfection - a chemical process that destroys most pathogenic organisms on nonporous surfaces and implements. Florida requires an EPA-registered, hospital-grade disinfectant with tuberculocidal activity for implements that may contact blood or body fluids.
- Sterilization - destroys all microbial life, including spores. Autoclaves sterilize; UV cabinets do not - they are a disinfection/storage aid only.
The implement cycle
- Wash with soap and warm water, scrubbing hinges, seams, and textured grips; rinse and dry.
- Fully immerse in disinfectant mixed at the label dilution (never stronger or weaker) for the full label contact time - commonly 10 minutes. Shortening the time fails the process.
- Change solution per manufacturer direction, at least daily or whenever it is cloudy or soiled. Never "top off" a jar.
- Store disinfected implements in a clean, closed container, physically separated from soiled ones.
Porous or un-cleanable items - pumice, foam wedges, wooden sticks, cotton, gauze, wax strips, lancets - are single-use and discarded.
Hands, blood, and product
- Wash hands with soap and water before and after every client; alcohol rub is not a substitute when hands are visibly soiled.
- Wear gloves for any blood or body fluid contact. Blood spills: gloves, absorb with disposable material, double-bag, then disinfect the surface with a tuberculocidal hospital disinfectant or freshly mixed 1:10 bleach.
- Never double-dip wax, cream, or mascara. Use a spatula and a fresh stick per dip.
Worked example
During extractions a client bleeds. Correct sequence: stop, glove, apply pressure with sterile gauze, discard gauze in a doubled bag, disinfect the work surface with the tuberculocidal product, discard single-use items, then wash hands. The metal extractor is cleaned, then immersed for the full label time.
Traps
Answering "sterilized" when the item was only disinfected; believing UV or a quick alcohol wipe is disinfection; storing clean tools beside dirty ones; skipping the wash step; reusing a lancet or wax stick.