Sanitation and Infection Control
This domain tests the difference between cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization, and whether you apply the right one to the right object for the full label contact time. It also covers blood exposure, foot-spa basins, and storage of clean implements.
The three levels
- Cleaning (sanitation): soap and water, friction, removes visible debris and reduces microbial load. It is a prerequisite - disinfectant will not penetrate debris.
- Disinfection: an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant with a tuberculocidal claim kills most bacteria, fungi, and viruses on nonporous surfaces. Efficacy depends on dilution and contact time.
- Sterilization: destroys all microorganisms including spores, via autoclave, dry heat, or chemical sterilant. Used where spores are a realistic risk.
- Porous items - files, buffers, wooden sticks, cotton, sponges, foam toe separators - cannot be reliably disinfected. Use once and discard.
Implement procedure
- Wash with soap and water, scrubbing hinges and seams.
- Dry.
- Immerse fully in correctly diluted disinfectant for the full label contact time, commonly 10 minutes.
- Remove with clean tongs or gloved hands, dry, store in a clean closed container.
Foot spa
Drain, clean the basin with soap, refill with water and disinfectant, run the unit for the label contact time so the internal plumbing is treated, drain, and dry. Remove and clean the screen and impeller area. Log the cleaning.
Worked example
A disinfectant label specifies 1:10 dilution and 10 minutes contact. A technician soaks implements for four minutes because the salon is busy. Reasoning: contact time is the killing mechanism, not a suggestion - four minutes means the items were cleaned but never disinfected. The load must be recleaned and soaked the full 10 minutes, or replaced with fresh implements.
Traps
- Topping off disinfectant instead of replacing it at the end of its use life.
- Treating alcohol, a UV cabinet, or an ultrasonic cleaner as a disinfectant.
- Gloving one pair across multiple clients.
- Storing disinfected tools in a dirty drawer or beside used ones.