Amber Clark's toes are in bad shape.

"It's discolored under the skin, it's purple, it's swollen up and out," Clark said. "It hurts to wear shoes. The pressure on the swollen outer toe causes me to not be able to walk."

The southeast King County woman's doctor diagnosed her with a staph infection, and because it didn't heal even after weeks of different antibiotics, the doctor wondered if it might be the drug-resistant, and sometimes fatal, MRSA.

"Not only is it ugly, but it's painful. And it's something that's not going away, and I'm concerned that you know, could there be something really wrong?" said Clark.

Clark says her doctor believes her toes got infected because of a pedicure at a neighborhood salon.

She filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and is telling her story to warn others.

"It hurts to wear tight socks on this toe," said Clark.

Dr. Steve Greene is a dermatologist at Group Health in Seattle.

"This time of year we start seeing these types of infections," said Greene.

Green says anyone who gets pedicures, manicures or uses a footbath at a salon is at risk of contracting bacterial, viral and fungal infections if the salon doesn't properly sterilize its equipment.

"There are patients who have had their infections spread from their skin into the blood stream, effecting bone and a need to lose fingers and toes," said Greene. "Infections have, in a few cases, been very serious, even life-threatening, and theoretically, HIV infection could also be transmitted."

So who makes sure your nail salon is safe and clean? That's the job of the folks at the Department of Licensing, which takes consumer safety very seriously when it comes to salons.

According to the Department of Licensing there are nearly 12,000 licensed nail salons in Washington, 14,000 licensed nail technicians and eight inspectors to make sure they're all operating within state regulations and properly cleaning and maintaining equipment that comes in contact with customers.

If not, that salon is given a warning.

"We give them a certain amount of time to clean up their act and then we go out and visit them again, and if it's still considered to be a serious safety violation, we can shut them down," said Christine Anthony with the Department of Licensing.

The DOL, which does 500 inspections a month, says it's added more inspectors recently because of increased demand.

Each licensed salon is inspected every two years, but before you get your nails done, the Department of Licensing recommends that customers look around.

Make sure a state-issued license is clearly displayed, proving that the facility has passed inspection, and that the technician working on your nails also has his or her own license with a photo ID attached.

"The license tells the consumer that person has received their 600 hours of training to be a manicurist. That they have passed a written and practical exam issued by the state, and that they're keeping up with that," said Anthony.

"And if you don't see evidence that a salon is in compliance?" asked KIRO 7 consumer reporter Amy Clancy.

"You have every right to ask them about their sanitation practices, and I would ask whether or not the tools had been cleaned from the previous customer," said Anthony.

But Amber Clark says she'll never have to look around a salon again, because she'll never again have her nails done professionally.

"I won't. Ever. Absolutely never. I will do it myself, or have ugly toes for the rest of my life," said Clark.

In California, an outbreak of skin boils in hundreds of women linked to spa footbaths prompted officials to tighten regulations.

Many salons there encourage customers to bring their own tools to prevent the spread of infection. But the DOL in Washington says that's not a good idea, because it may actually bring infection in the salon door, instead of keeping it out.

If you believe a salon is not adhering to safety and health regulations, you should report it to the Department of Licensing. It can fine a salon or even yank its license.