Sanitation and Infection Control
What the exam tests
Sanitation and infection control asks you to distinguish cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization and to apply the right level to every item you touch. Cleaning removes visible debris, oils, and many microorganisms with soap or detergent and water. Disinfection destroys most pathogenic microorganisms on nonporous surfaces using an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant mixed and used per label. Sterilization destroys all microbial life, including spores, and is reserved for items that penetrate skin or contact blood; most nail implements are disinfection-level, not sterilization-level.
Core rules
- Wash hands before and after every client and between glove changes; gloves do not replace handwashing.
- Clean implements with soap and water, dry them, then fully immerse in disinfectant for the label contact time. Blood or body-fluid exposure requires gloves and a tuberculocidal disinfectant labeled for bloodborne pathogens.
- Porous items such as files, buffers, wooden sticks, foam separators, and most pedicure slippers cannot be reliably disinfected; discard them or give them to the client.
- Foot spas and whirlpool basins require cleaning and disinfection of the screen and internal lines per manufacturer and board rules; drain and dry between clients.
- Keep clean and dirty implements separated, and never reach into a disinfectant jar with contaminated hands.
Worked example
A client's artificial nail is lifted and the natural nail has green-black discoloration. Reasoning: the discoloration may indicate bacterial involvement, and the file is porous. Remove the product with a disposable file, discard that file and any buffing block, clean and disinfect the reusable metal pusher, wear gloves, and refer the client for evaluation. Do not soak the finger in a shared bowl or reuse the file.
Traps
Calling a spray sanitizer a disinfectant; skipping label contact time; using a UV cabinet as a substitute for chemical disinfection; and wiping a porous file and reusing it.