Infection Control, Sanitation, and Safety Practices
Know the vocabulary first
Pathogenic bacteria (cocci, bacilli, spirilla), viruses, fungi (molds and yeasts), and parasites are what you defend against; spores are the dormant, highly resistant form that ordinary disinfectants cannot kill. Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, and MRSA are the organisms exam writers reach for.
Cleaning, disinfection, sterilization
Cleaning removes visible soil with soap and water. Disinfection destroys most microorganisms on nonporous surfaces using an EPA-registered product mixed and timed exactly as labeled. Sterilization destroys all microorganisms including spores and generally requires an autoclave - a UV cabinet is not sterilization. Nonporous items (metal implements, glass, hard plastic) can be disinfected; porous items (files, buffers, wooden sticks, cotton, gauze) cannot, so they are single-use and discarded. Implements are washed, dried, then fully immersed.
Exposure and safety
Use standard precautions with every client: treat all blood and body fluids as infectious. For a bleeding nick, stop, glove, clean the implement, then disinfect with a tuberocidal hospital disinfectant; wash hands. Keep an SDS for every chemical, label secondary containers, and never store chemicals near food or beverages. Electrical: unplug before cleaning, keep cords away from water, and use a Class C extinguisher on electrical fires.
Traps and a rule of thumb
Questions love sanitize versus disinfect, sterilize versus disinfect, and the myth that a disinfectant still works when it is cloudy, diluted, or past its contact time. It does not.
Worked rule: if an item can absorb liquid, it cannot be disinfected - throw it away.