Final answer:
In a beauty salon, the chemicals used to destroy bacteria on non-living surfaces and tools are called disinfectants. These are different from antiseptics, which are for living tissues, and soaps or detergents, which are not designed to kill microbes but to mechanically remove them. The correct answer is option: a) disinfectants.
Step-by-step explanation:
Chemicals that are used in a beauty salon to destroy bacteria are called disinfectants. These chemicals are crucial for maintaining hygienic conditions and ensuring that salon tools and surfaces do not become sources of infection. Unlike antiseptics, which are safe for use on living tissues, disinfectants are intended for use on non-living surfaces and instruments to kill microorganisms. An example of a disinfectant compound used widely in healthcare is phenol, which has historically been used as a standard to compare the effectiveness of other disinfectants.
Soaps and detergents have cleaning properties but are not considered disinfectants because they do not kill microbes; they work mechanically to carry them away. Detergents like quaternary ammonium compounds (quats), on the other hand, can disrupt bacterial membranes and are used in disinfectant products. However, the question refers specifically to substances used to destroy bacteria, hence disinfectants is the correct answer.