Sanitation, Safety, and Infection Control
What the exam tests
This domain tests whether you can separate cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization, choose the right product for each tool, and apply a blood-exposure protocol without contaminating the next client.
Core rules
- Clean first: remove hair and debris, wash with soap and water, dry, then disinfect with an EPA-registered hospital-grade product labeled bactericidal, virucidal, fungicidal, and tuberculocidal. Follow the label contact time.
- Porous items that cannot be disinfected, such as neck strips, cotton, and wooden sticks, are single-use. Nonporous implements must be cleaned and disinfected between clients.
- Wash hands before and after each client. Wear gloves for blood or body fluids. Use a fresh cape or clean neck strip per client, and launder towels after each use.
- Blood spill: stop the service, put on gloves, absorb with a disposable towel, clean the area, disinfect with a tuberculocidal product, bag waste, wash hands, and document.
- A UV cabinet does not replace chemical disinfection. Do not double-dip implements or carry a disinfectant-soaked tool to a skin surface.
Worked example
A clipper blade nicks a client and visible blood is on the blade. Stop, glove, and dispose of the contaminated towel. Clean the blade, then disinfect it with a hospital-grade tuberculocidal product for the full label time. If the blade is not immersible, use the manufacturer's wipe method and keep it out of service until the contact time is met. Wiping with alcohol alone is not enough.
Traps that cost marks
Calling every step “sterilization”; using a UV cabinet as the only step; skipping cleaning before disinfection; and forgetting that blood exposure requires a tuberculocidal product and waste handling.
Key points
- Clean before disinfect.
- Match disinfectant to label claims and contact time.
- Porous items are single-use.
- Blood spills need gloves, absorbent material, tuberculocidal disinfection, and documentation.
- UV cabinets are not a substitute for chemical disinfection.