2.3 Disinfecting Multiuse Implements, Clipper Blades and Linens Under 18VAC41-20-270

Professional barbers utilize a diverse inventory of cutting, styling, and grooming tools throughout the working day. These implements come into direct, repetitive contact with the client's hair, scalp, facial skin, and neck. If systematic decontamination protocols are not rigorously executed between every single client, barbering tools become vectors of indirect disease transmission. Under Virginia administrative code 18VAC41-20-270, licensed barbers must implement standardized protocols tailored to each implement category: non-porous multi-use tools requiring liquid immersion, electrical cutting machinery requiring specialized spray decontamination, and porous linens requiring high-temperature laundering.

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Multi-Use Implements: The Six-Step Decontamination Protocol

Multi-use implements are items manufactured from rigid, non-porous materials—such as high-carbon Japanese steel shears, stainless steel thinning shears, hard rubber or carbon-fiber styling combs, aluminum sectioning clips, and straight razor chassis (handles without blades). Because these materials do not absorb liquids, they can be safely decontaminated and reused indefinitely if proper procedures are observed.

18VAC41-20-270 B 2 sets out the steps required for multiuse implements before each client. The six-step workflow below follows that rule:

Step 1: Mechanical Pre-Cleaning

• Immediately after finishing a service, take the soiled multi-use tools to the dispensary or designated sanitation sink.
• Remove all foreign matter, using a brush if needed, then wash every surface of the shears, combs and clips thoroughly with hot water and soap (Virginia's wording).
• Pay meticulous attention to tool junctures: between comb teeth, around shear pivot screws, and inside the blade slots of razor handles where cut hairs, dead skin cells, styling pomades, and natural sebum accumulate.
• Scientific Rationale: Organic matter forms a microscopic biofilm that shields pathogenic microbes from chemical contact. Scrubbing mechanically strips away this protective biofilm.

Step 2: Thorough Rinsing

• Rinse the implements under hot running tap water to remove all traces of dislodged hair, dirt, and soap suds.
• Residual soap films must be eliminated to prevent neutralization of quaternary ammonium compounds in the subsequent immersion step.

Step 3: Complete Drying

• Pat the implements completely dry using a fresh, clean disposable paper towel.
• Crucial Board Exam Detail: Submerging soaking-wet implements into a disinfectant bath introduces excess water, which progressively dilutes the chemical active ingredient below the EPA-registered germicidal threshold. Drying tools preserves the chemical concentration.

Step 4: Total Liquid Immersion

• Submerge the clean, dry implements completely into an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant bath (such as a properly mixed quat solution).
• Immersion Criteria: All working surfaces, cutting edges, pivots, and handles must be 100% submerged beneath the surface of the liquid.
• Mandatory Immersion Time: Virginia requires full immersion for a minimum of 10 minutes, or longer if the product label requires it.

Step 5: Post-Disinfection Rinsing and Drying

• Remove implements from the disinfectant bath using clean gloved hands, clean tongs, or by lifting the sanitizer jar's internal draining basket.
• Rinse the tools thoroughly under clean running water to remove chemical residues that could cause chemical dermatitis, scalp irritation, or allergic reactions on the next client.
• Dry the implements thoroughly with a clean disposable paper towel to inhibit oxidation, pitting, and rusting of metal cutting edges.

Step 6: Sanitary Storage

• Immediately store the disinfected implements in a clean, predisinfected and dry cabinet, drawer or sealed covered container, or leave them in a wet disinfection unit used according to the manufacturer's directions (18VAC41-20-270 B 2 e). A UV cabinet can serve only as clean, closed storage; UV light does not replace immersion.
• Implements must never be placed back onto an unsanitized workstation countertop, carried in an apron pocket, or left exposed on open shelves where airborne hair dust and respiratory droplets can re-contaminate them.

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Wet Sanitizer Jars: Construction and Maintenance Standards

The classic glass disinfectant jar (wet sanitizer) is a required fixture at every barber workstation. Its operation is governed by strict sanitary guidelines:

• Virginia Requirements: Each barber must have a wet disinfection unit at their station. It must have a cover, be large enough to completely immerse the objects being disinfected, and hold an EPA-registered bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal solution (18VAC41-20-10 and -270 B 1).
• Construction: A professional wet sanitizer typically has a heavy, non-tip glass cylinder, a non-slip rubberized shock-absorbing base, a fitted stainless steel lid, and an internal self-draining stainless steel basket assembly. When the lid is lifted, the basket rises out of the chemical solution, allowing the barber to retrieve tools without immersing their fingers into the chemical bath.
• Liquid Volume: The jar must contain sufficient fresh disinfectant solution to ensure that combs, shears, and razor handles are fully submerged up to and including the handles.
• Solution Replacement Schedule:
  • Virginia requires disinfection solutions to be used according to the manufacturer's directions (18VAC41-20-270 B 1). Many manufacturers direct a fresh solution daily, so follow your product's label.
  • If hair clippings, debris, sediment, or cloudiness appear in the jar at any point during the business day, the solution must be dumped, the jar washed and rinsed, and fresh disinfectant prepared immediately.
  • Using cloudy or hair-choked disinfectant ignores the manufacturer's directions and the duty to prevent disease transmission.

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Decontamination Protocols for Electrical Tools

Electric clippers, detail trimmers (outliners), and rotary or foil shavers cannot be immersed in liquid sanitizer jars due to the risk of electrical short-circuiting, motor destruction, and electrocution hazards. Consequently, electrical tools require specialized mechanical and chemical surface protocols:

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Barbershop Linen, Cape, and Towel Handling Protocols

Linens represent one of the highest-volume surfaces in the barbershop. A typical shop processes dozens of cotton towels, chemical capes, cutting drapes, and headrest covers daily. Contaminated linens can transfer staphylococcal bacteria, lice nits, fungal spores, and scabies mites between clients.

1. The Single-Service Mandate

Under 18VAC41-20-270 D 1, clean towels, robes and other linens must be used for each client. Capes can be reused between clients only because a clean towel or neck strip keeps them off the client's skin (270 D 2). Once removed from a client, an item is legally classified as "soiled" and can never be re-draped or reused on another patron under any circumstances until it has been professionally laundered.

2. Soiled Linen Management

• Immediately after removing a towel or cloth cape from a client, fold the soiled surface inward to trap loose hair clippings and dead skin cells.
• Deposit the soiled linen directly into a container enclosed on all sides, including the top (unless it is kept in a separate laundry room), as 18VAC41-20-270 D 1 requires.
• The soiled linen hamper must have a tight-fitting, closed lid to prevent airborne dispersion of hair particles and odor. It must be lined with a washable fabric or disposable plastic bag.
• Dirty towels must never be tossed onto countertops, draped over the backs of barber chairs, left in sinks, or accumulated on the floor.

3. Laundering Standards

To destroy dermatophytes, bacterial vegetative cells, and animal parasites, barbershop linens must be laundered under strict thermal and chemical parameters:

• Water Temperature: CDC healthcare laundry guidance uses hot water of at least 160°F (71°C) for 25 minutes. Virginia's rule requires only that linens be clean, so follow the detergent and machine directions.
• Chemical Sanitizing: If water temperatures cannot reach 160°F, laundry detergents must be augmented with an EPA-registered laundry bleach (sodium hypochlorite) or chemical disinfectant sanitizer added during the wash cycle according to EPA label specifications.
• Drying: Linens must be dried thoroughly at high heat in a commercial clothes dryer. Damp linens left in a warm environment promote rapid mildew and fungal proliferation.

4. Clean Linen Storage

• Clean, freshly laundered towels, drapes and neck wraps must be stored in a clean, predisinfected, dry cabinet, drawer or nonairtight covered container (18VAC41-20-270 D 1).
• The clean linen storage unit must be completely isolated from soiled laundry hampers, chemical storage areas, and work sinks.
• If a clean towel falls onto the barbershop floor, it is immediately deemed contaminated and must be placed into the soiled laundry bin.