Salon disinfection rules, step by step

This is the heaviest domain on the theory exam, and it is also the one where guessing from salon habit costs the most. Nearly every answer traces back to one sentence: do what the product's label says, because the label is what the efficacy claim was tested at.

Who registers salon disinfectants	The EPA — disinfectants are pesticides under federal law
Claims to look for on the label	Bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal
Before the disinfectant	Clean off all visible debris — disinfectant cannot penetrate residue
Contact time	Whatever the label states, not a remembered ten minutes
Dilution	Exactly the label's ratio, in both directions
Changing the solution	At the label's interval, and at once if it is cloudy or soiled
Removing implements	Gloves, tongs, or a lift-out basket
Storage after disinfection	A clean, covered container, separate from soiled implements
Porous items	Discarded after one client — paper-backed files, buffers, cotton
Between every client	Every surface the skin or hair touched, chair, headrest and armrests included

Where the point is lost: Two rules exist for your safety rather than the client's, and both are tested. Never mix two disinfectant products: chlorine bleach with an ammonia-based cleaner is the best-known combination that releases toxic gas, and small unventilated back rooms are where that has caused real injuries. And any container you decant a concentrate into needs a label naming the contents and their hazards — an in-house color code means nothing to a visitor or an inspector.