Infection Control, Sanitation, and Client Safety
The hierarchy
Cleaning removes soil and organic matter. Disinfection kills most pathogenic organisms on inanimate surfaces. Sterilization destroys all microbial life including spores. You cannot disinfect dirt, so cleaning always comes first. Disinfectants must be EPA-registered, hospital-grade, and used at the label's dilution and contact time - the clock matters as much as the chemical.
Classify the item
Critical items penetrate skin or contact blood and must be sterile. Semicritical items contact intact or broken skin and must be disinfected at minimum. Noncritical items contact intact skin only and still require cleaning and disinfection between clients. Anything that cannot be cleaned is single-use. Porous items such as towels, cotton, and paper are single-use and laundered or discarded.
Practice
The chain of infection: infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, susceptible host. Break it at any link. Wash hands before and after every client and after glove removal; hand sanitizer is not a substitute when hands are soiled. Wear gloves for blood or body fluid contact and for broken skin. No double-dipping into product. Implements that touch skin are disinfected between clients and stored clean. Blood exposures follow a written protocol with gloves, an EPA-registered disinfectant, and reporting. Keep safety data sheets accessible for every chemical in the room.
Traps
- Treating sanitize, disinfect, and sterilize as synonyms.
- Shortening contact time because the room is busy.
- Assuming a disinfectant wipe sanitizes a reusable tool.
- Using hand sanitizer in place of handwashing after restroom or visible soil.
Rule of thumb
If it touches skin, it is disinfected between clients. If it penetrates skin, it is sterile and single-use. If it cannot be cleaned, it is thrown away.