During the warmer months, when open-toed shoes and sandals are the norm, busy nail salons see even higher traffic than usual, as more customers come in seeking pedicures. Keeping the pedicure baths clean will ensure a safe experience for your customers, as these baths can quickly become infected with germs. Here are some daytime and nightly nail salon cleaning tips to keep things clean and germ-free.
Daily Cleaning after Each Customer Use
It's first important to make sure that salon employees know that they cannot let anyone use the foot baths if she has a skin wound on her legs or feet, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), because the chance of leaving bacteria behind is very high. Likewise, customers should never take a foot bath after having a pedicure because there's a risk to the customer's skin after nail cuticles have been treated.
Once a customer's feet leave the spa basin, employees should follow a standard disinfecting procedure beginning with rinsing the bath water and debris from the bowl. Afterward, they should use soap or a cleaning solution to thoroughly clean the bowl, and the surfaces should be scrubbed to dislodge remaining soil. The bowl should then be rinsed again with clean water.
Following cleaning, a hospital-use disinfectant registered with the EPA must be added to the bowl according to the manufacturer's instructions. These disinfectants can be effective against influenza, MRSA, swine flu, and other viruses.
Nightly Cleaning
While cleaning after every customer allows you to keep harmful bacteria out of the foot basins, the staff should also complete a deeper cleaning at the end of every business day. For whirlpool spas, the EPA recommends removing all movable parts from the basin, cleaning each one individually, and then disinfecting the entire basin. Finally, the staff should add disinfectant and run the machine for the manufacturer's specified amount of time for disinfection. The same process works for simple pedicure baths by leaving the disinfectant in the bowl for the specified amount of time.
It's also important to take care of the rest of the salon at night. Your crew should make sure the floors are thoroughly cleaned and dried with a wet/dry vac that can clean not only the floor tile, but also the grout lines, where germs can gather. Salon chairs and other touch points, such as the manicure tables and dryers, can be wiped down with a cleaning solution and a microfiber towel.
All aspects of nail salon cleaning require your employees' and cleaning crew's careful attention. Focusing on soil removal, establishing a clean slate for each customer, and never taking any shortcuts will make procedures safe for your clientele.
For more information about cleaning for disease prevention, click here.