Which of the following is a step of the sanitization process?

Soaking in hot water may help to loosen debris but does not effectively sanitize the instrument on its own. While it can assist in the initial cleaning phase, it lacks the necessary properties to eliminate pathogens, which makes it insufficient as a standalone step in sanitization.

Using a 10% bleach solution is more aligned with disinfection rather than sanitization. Although bleach is effective at killing bacteria and viruses, it is not typically used as a rinsing step in the sanitization process and can leave harmful residues if not properly rinsed off.

Soaking instruments in a 70% isopropyl alcohol solution is primarily a disinfection method and not a step in the sanitization process. While it effectively kills a broad range of pathogens, it does not constitute a basic sanitization step, which focuses on reducing microbial load rather than full disinfection.