Sanitation and Infection Control: Cleaning, Disinfection, and Sterilization
This domain tests the difference between cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization, and whether you apply each one to every implement, surface, and pair of hands in the salon. Indiana salon sanitation rules and OSHA bloodborne-pathogen standards both apply.
The three levels
- Sanitation is soap-and-water scrubbing that removes visible debris and lowers the microbial count. It is a prerequisite for disinfection, never a substitute.
- Disinfection uses an EPA-registered hospital-grade (tuberculocidal) product on pre-cleaned nonporous items, fully immersed for the label contact time - often 10 minutes.
- Sterilization destroys all microorganisms including spores, using a moist-heat autoclave at about 250°F (121°C), 15-20 psi, for 20-30 minutes. UV cabinets store clean tools; they do not sterilize.
Implements and surfaces
- Nonporous items (metal, glass, hard plastic): clean, rinse, dry, immerse, then store in a covered container.
- Porous items (emery boards, buffers, orange sticks, cotton, wooden spatulas): single-use, discarded after each client.
- Pedicure basins: scrub with soap, then disinfect per the label; remove and clean whirlpool screens and jets.
- Keep dirty and clean zones separate, label every container, and dispense with pumps or a clean spatula - never double-dip.
Hands, blood, and products
Wash hands at least 20 seconds before and after every client; gloves supplement, not replace, hand washing. For a blood spill: stop the service, glove, absorb, disinfect, double-bag the waste, and report. Keep an SDS for every product and a stocked first-aid kit.
Worked example
A metal nipper drops on the floor mid-service. It is contaminated: retrieve it, scrub with soap and a brush to remove debris (disinfectant cannot penetrate organic soil), dry it, immerse it fully in hospital-grade disinfectant for the label contact time, and store it covered. A dropped emery board would simply be discarded.
Traps that cost marks
Topping off disinfectant, spraying instead of immersing, guessing contact time, leaving tools soaking overnight, trusting a UV lamp, and wearing one pair of gloves all day.