Infection control is organized into three levels that describe how thoroughly you reduce or eliminate microbes: sanitation, disinfection, and sterilization. Sanitation involves cleaning to remove dirt and reduce microbial load to a safe level. Disinfection uses chemical agents to kill most pathogenic organisms on surfaces or instruments that don’t penetrate the body. Sterilization is the highest level, destroying all forms of microbial life, including spores, for items that will contact sterile tissues or breach the skin. Decontamination is the overall process of removing or reducing contaminants from equipment and surfaces so they’re safe to handle and ready to undergo cleaning, disinfection, or sterilization. Because it’s a broad process rather than a discrete level of control, it isn’t counted among the three levels. In practice, you often start with decontamination (cleaning) before moving on to disinfection or sterilization.