Infection Control, Sanitation, and Safety
The vocabulary carries the points
Infection control questions reward precision. Cleaning (soap and water or an ultrasonic unit) removes debris but kills nothing. Sanitizing reduces the number of bacteria on a surface. Disinfection destroys most pathogens on nonporous implements, and in a salon must be done with an EPA-registered, hospital-grade, tuberculocidal disinfectant mixed and timed exactly as the label directs. Sterilization (autoclave at 15 psi, 250°F/121°C, 15–20 minutes) is the only process that destroys spores and is reserved for implements that cut or pierce skin.
Know your pathogen families: cocci (round), bacilli (rod), spirilla (spiral) bacteria; viruses such as HBV, HCV and HIV, which are bloodborne; fungi like onychomycosis and tinea; parasites such as pediculosis. Separate a local infection (redness, pus-filled pocket, heat) from a systemic one (fever, general illness) and refer the client out. Standard precautions mean treating every client's blood and body fluids as infectious: gloves and eye protection, handwashing before and after gloves, no food or drink at the station, and immediate cleanup of a blood spill with a disinfectant labeled for bloodborne pathogens.
Traps: any option claiming a UV lamp "sterilizes," that soap "disinfects," or that a standard disinfectant kills spores. Porous items - files, buffers, wooden sticks, cotton - cannot be disinfected and are single-use only. Implements must be scrubbed before immersion, because organic debris inactivates the disinfectant.
Worked example: a metal pusher is used. Wash it with soap and water, dry it, submerge it completely in hospital-grade disinfectant for the label contact time (commonly 10 minutes), rinse, dry, and store it covered. Rule of thumb: clean first, then disinfect for the full label time - no shortcuts on either step.