17.3 Disinfecting Non-Electrical and Electrical Tools

OAR 817-010-0068 is Disinfecting Non-Electrical Tools and Implements. OAR 817-010-0069 is Disinfecting Electrical Tools and Implements. Facility Standards writes both. The theory paper’s six Safety items will also ask whether a razor belongs in high-level or a comb belongs in 1,000 parts per million (ppm) of quaternary ammonium compound (quats).

OAR 817-005-0005(10) defines disinfect as using a process to destroy harmful organisms, including bacteria, viruses, germs, and fungi. OAR 817-005-0005(24) defines high-level disinfectant as a chemical agent that has demonstrated tuberculocidal activity and is registered with the EPA. OAR 817-005-0005(26) defines low-level disinfectant as a chemical agent that has demonstrated bactericidal, germicidal, fungicidal, and limited virucidal activity and is registered with the EPA. OAR 817-005-0005(38) classifies razors and shears as sharp-edged or pointed, non-electrical tools — items that may contact bloodborne pathogens.

Before each client — or throw it away

OAR 817-010-0068(1): all tools and implements used within a field of practice must be disinfected or sterilized before use on each client. OAR 817-010-0068(2): tools that come in direct contact with clients and cannot be disinfected or sterilized must be disposed of after use. There is no third path called “wipe it on the cape.”

OAR 817-010-0068(11) names the usual cannot-disinfect list: nail files, pumice blocks, cosmetic sponges, buffer blocks, sanding bands or sleeves, orangewood sticks, disposable nail bits and other similar articles must be given to the client or discarded after use. Barbers do not run a nail table, but the sentence still sits in Division 10 and still appears on the laws exam. A porous emery board is not a comb. A used changeable razor blade is not a reusable shear: if it contacted blood, it is waste under 817-010-0060(6), not a jar item.

Nonelectrical sequence — never skip to the jar

OAR 817-010-0068(5) is a sequence, not a splash:

1. Remove all hair and all foreign material.
2. Clean thoroughly with soap or detergent and water.
3. Rinse thoroughly with clear, clean water.
4. Then complete (6) or (7), or sterilize under (8).

Dropping a hairy razor into the high-level jar skips (a) through (c). Hair and soil bind disinfectant and leave a soiled tool. The jar is step four, not step one.

Non-sharp versus sharp

OAR 817-010-0068(6) — tools without sharp edges or points, including but not limited to combs, brushes, rollers, rods: completely immerse according to manufacturer’s instructions in a solution containing 1,000 ppm of a commercial quaternary ammonium compound or other low-level disinfectant used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The official text prints “l,000”; the concentration is 1,000 ppm.

OAR 817-010-0068(7) — tools with sharp edges or points: completely immerse in a high-level disinfectant used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Shears, reusable razor bodies, and other edged or pointed nonelectrical tools live here. A 1,000 ppm quat jar is not a substitute for a straight razor.

Immersion means the whole tool goes under. A shear with the pivot above the liquid is not completely immersed. Contact time is the manufacturer’s, not “until the next client walks in.”

Sterilization is optional equipment, not a shop guess

Oregon does not require every barber shop to run an autoclave. OAR 817-010-0068(5)(e) and (8) allow sterilization instead of chemical disinfection if the equipment is maintained and used per the manufacturer. Approved sterilization equipment is:

• a steam sterilizer, registered and listed with the FDA; or
• a dry heat sterilizer or autoclave, registered and listed with the FDA.

A kitchen pressure cooker, a toaster oven, and a microwave are not FDA-registered sterilizers. OAR 817-010-0069(3) still cites OAR 817-010-0065(5)(b) or (c) for electrical-clipper sterilization methods; Division 10 no longer prints 817-010-0065. The live approved list in the same division is 817-010-0068(8). If the stem offers steam or dry-heat/autoclave that is FDA registered and listed, that is the sterilization path. If it offers “boil the clipper,” that is not.

Electrical tools — clipper blades are the exception

OAR 817-010-0069(1) — all electrical tools and implements, with the exception of clipper blades, must be disinfected before each use by (a) removing all hair and foreign material and (b) disinfecting with a low-level disinfectant used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Clipper bodies, trimmers’ housings, blow-dryers, and similar electrical tools take low-level. Do not immerse a motor.

OAR 817-010-0069(2) — electrical clipper blades must be disinfected before each use by (a) removing all hair and foreign material and (b) completely saturating the clipper blade with a high-level disinfectant solution, spray, or foam used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Saturate is the verb. A wipe of the housing is not a saturated blade. Blades may instead be sterilized by an approved method.

Strength, cleanliness, volume, and open hours

OAR 817-010-0068(3) and (4) send low-level and high-level products back to the 817-005-0005 definitions. OAR 817-010-0068(9): adequate disinfecting and sterilizing equipment must be maintained for the volume of business and usage requirements for the number of authorization holders performing services. One small jar for six chairs at Saturday rush is not adequate.

OAR 817-010-0068(10): all listed disinfectants must be kept at adequate strengths to maintain effectiveness, be free of foreign material, and be available for immediate use at all times when the facility is open for business. Hair floating in the jar, a cloudy week-old mix, and a jug locked in the trunk during open hours all fail (10). Mix and replace per the manufacturer. If the high-level jug is empty, you do not downgrade razors into the comb jar — you stop using the sharp until a proper high-level solution is ready.

A Grants Pass jar that skipped the wash

Luis finishes a skin fade and a neck shave in Grants Pass, knocks hair off the shears with his palm, and drops the shears and the comb into the same 1,000 ppm quat jar because the high-level jug is empty. He wipes the clipper housing and leaves the blades packed with hair. Three misses. OAR 817-010-0068(5) required remove hair, soap or detergent and water, and rinse before any immersion. OAR 817-010-0068(7) required the shears in high-level, not the comb jar. OAR 817-010-0069(2) required the blades cleared of hair and completely saturated with high-level solution, spray, or foam. OAR 817-010-0068(10) required high-level disinfectant at adequate strength, free of foreign material, and available while the facility was open. “The quat was right there” is not the rule.