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In the Pedicure Business? Employ these Safety Tips to Avoid Infections

When you are in the nail salon business, you see a lot of interesting things like ingrown fingernails and toe nails and some lovely foot fungus! Then there are the invisible germs that linger that can cause all sorts of problems long after a customer leaves the salon. That is why you need to practice some cleaning and disinfectant methods to ensure that your manicures and pedicures are always risk-free.

There are a number of ways that infections could crop up in the nail salon business. There is equipment for both manicures and pedicures that must be cleaned after each customer such as those foot spa whirlpool baths, regular foot and hand basins, sinks and even the manicure and pedicure bowls. Here are some essential safety tips to practice so that you and your customers avoid infections when receiving manicures and pedicures:

1. Immediately after each manicure or pedicure client you treat, you should do these four things:

Pour all the water from the basins, bowls or foot spa down the drain.

You will wan to clean all of the interior surfaces of the basins, sinks, foot spas and bowls with warm soap and water to ensure that any particles and debris are washed out. Rinse the items with clean water and dry.

Use an EPA approved disinfectant on the interior surface areas of the basins, foot spas, sinks and bowls. The disinfectant should be approved for treating bacteria, viruses and fungus contamination. You can also use a bleach solution to disinfect the interior surfaces of these containers.

Completely dry these disinfected containers as leaving them wet will attract airborne germs to it.

2. After each day of providing manicures and pedicures and after all customers have left, you should do these things:

Follow all of the steps in #1 above and ensure that everything has been washed, disinfected and dry appropriately.

For the foot spa whirlpool, remove the screen that traps debris and particles. Using a soft brush and soap and water, clean the screen thoroughly. Before replacing the screen, clean the foot spa again, getting into the orifice that was blocked by the screen. Again, use disinfectant or bleach solution to clean the foot spa.

Fill the spa with warm, soapy water and turn on. Allow the water to circulate so that the whirlpool foot spa can flush out. Turn off after about five minutes, rinse and then dry, replacing the screen.

3. The foot spa for the pedicure portion of nail salon business is the most vulnerable, so it is important to follow the rules in cleaning the whirlpool spa each and every day. In addition, there is some maintenance you should perform at least a week too:

Once a week, at the end of a client day, clean and disinfect as outlined in #1. Then, fill the foot spa with cold water and bleach and turn it on to circulate the water.

Allow the bleach solution to circulate in the foot spa for about 15 minutes, and then turn off the spa. Let the water and bleach solution overnight.

The next day, pour out the bleach solution and then fill the spa with water. Turn it on and allow the water to circulate so the bleach solution can be rinsed out of it.

Drain the water and dry the unit so it is ready for your first pedicure customer of the day.

If you own your nail salon, it is important that you keep a daily log of all your equipment cleaning and maintenance activities each day. City government health inspectors often come unannounced to survey cleanliness and adherence to proper cleaning and disinfecting policies. In addition, a log of your cleaning activities will serve you in good stead should someone complain of picking up an infection in your nail salon. However, if you follow proper cleaning and disinfectant protocols, you can and will avoid spreading infection to your staff and customers.