2.5 Arizona Infection Control Standards in Daily Practice

The Rule an Inspector Reads From

Section 2.2 covered the science of decontamination. This section covers the legal text Arizona enforces. A.A.C. R4-10-114(C)(3) requires the inspector to document that "all procedures, including those in R4-10-112, are followed by establishment and school employees," and R4-10-111(E) requires a copy of R4-10-112 to be prominently posted in every establishment and school. It is the one rule you will look at on the wall every working day.

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Minimum Equipment and Supplies — R4-10-112(A)

Every establishment and school must have and maintain:

Note the two triggers for changing the disinfectant: the manufacturer's schedule or visible cloudiness or contamination, whichever comes first. "It was mixed this morning" is not a defense if the solution is cloudy at 4 p.m.

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Disinfection Procedures — R4-10-112(B) and (D)

Non-Electrical Equipment (B)

1. Clean with soap or detergent and warm water, rinse with clean water, and pat dry.
2. Totally immerse in the wet disinfectant required by subsection (A)(5), following the manufacturer's recommended directions.

"Totally immerse" is the operative phrase — a shear resting with its finger holes above the waterline has not been disinfected.

Electrical Equipment (D)

Electrical equipment must be in good repair and disinfected before each use:

1. Remove all foreign matter.
2. Clean, then spray or wipe with an EPA-registered disinfectant compatible with electrical equipment, holding contact for the time specified on the disinfectant label.
3. Store the disinfected equipment in a clean place separated from its cords.
4. If the equipment has removable parts, disinfect those parts by the immersion procedure in subsection (B).

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Storage: "Dirty" and "Ready to Use" — R4-10-112(C)

[Tool used on a client or soiled in any manner]
            |
            v
   COVERED RECEPTACLE LABELED "DIRTY"
            |
     clean -> rinse -> dry -> total immersion
            |
            v
   DISINFECTED, DRY, COVERED CONTAINER LABELED "READY TO USE"
            (isolated from contaminants)

Arizona names both labels in rule. An unlabeled drawer of clean tools is a citation even if the tools are genuinely disinfected. Schools must supply each enrolled student a nonreturnable training kit containing at least one disinfected covered container for disinfected tools and one container for contaminated tools (R4-10-306).

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Tools, Instruments, and Supplies — R4-10-112(E)

1. Dispose immediately of anything that directly contacts a client and cannot be disinfected — the rule names cotton pads, sponges, porous emery boards, and neck strips.
2. Never store or carry disinfected tools in a leather or cloth pouch or pocket. Porous carriers recontaminate.
3. Dispose of sharps by sealing them in a rigid, puncture-proof container and discarding them so licensees, students, clients, and sanitation workers stay safe.
4. Never place clips or other tools in the mouth, a pocket, or any holder that cannot be cleaned and disinfected.
5. Sharpen pencil cosmetics before each use, and clean and disinfect the sharpener after each use.
6. A client's own tools brought in and used in the establishment must comply with these same rules.

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Blood Exposure — R4-10-112(F)

If blood or other body fluid is exposed during a service, stop the service and:

1. Hand wounds on the licensee, registrant, or student: antiseptic solution, then a sterile bandage, then a glove or finger cover over the bandaged area.
2. Discard all blood-stained tissue, cotton, or other blood-contaminated material.
3. Disinfect all equipment, tools, and instruments that contacted blood or body fluid using the subsection (A)(5) disinfectant and the subsection (B) immersion procedure.
4. Disinfect electrical equipment by the subsection (D) procedure.

Section 2.4 walks the full workflow; the four numbered duties above are the ones an Arizona inspector cites.

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Personal Cleanliness and Client Protection — R4-10-112(H), (I), (J)

Hand hygiene (H). Wash thoroughly with soap and warm water — or an equally effective hand sanitizer — immediately before every client, before checking a student's work on a client, and after smoking, eating, or using the restroom. Before any nail technology service, including a pedicure, wash the client's skin with soap and warm water or wipe it with a waterless sanitizer approved for skin. Wear clean, fluid-proof, single-use gloves whenever any bodily discharge is present or likely, and discard them immediately after use.

Service refusal (I). Do not perform a service on a person who has a contagious disease that may be transmitted by performing the service, or who is exhibiting a sign of infection such as reddened, erupted, or open skin. A.R.S. § 32-574(A)(7) reinforces this: no service to a person with visible disease, pediculosis, or open sores suggesting a communicable disease until they furnish a physician's signed statement that the condition is not infectious, contagious, or communicable.

Client protection (J). Protect the client's clothing from direct contact with shampoo bowls or headrests using clean linens, capes, robes, or protective neck strips. Maintain infection control and perform services safely. Use bracing when working around the client's eyes, ears, lips, fingers, and toes. When applicable, give the client a pre- and post-analysis with follow-up instructions.

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Linens, Products, and Fixtures — R4-10-112(K), (L), (N), (S)

The "never return a dispensed product" rule is the single most-violated line in subsection (L). Once conditioner, wax, or color has left the jar, it is contaminated by the applicator and the room; unused product goes in the trash, not back in the tub.

Pedicure tub and spa cleaning is set out in R4-10-112(G) and is covered in detail in Section 8.5. Lash-specific requirements in R4-10-112(R) are covered in Section 7.5.