Place these three in order from lowest to highest level of decontamination: sanitation, sterilization, disinfection.

From the lowest to the highest level of decontamination, the order is sanitation, then disinfection, then sterilization. Sanitation (cleaning) reduces the number of pathogens to a safer level but does not kill all of them. Disinfection uses chemical agents to destroy most pathogens on nonporous surfaces (the level used for most salon tools). Sterilization destroys all microbial life, including spores, and is used mainly in medical settings. Most salon services require thorough cleaning followed by disinfection of nonporous tools.