How to Clean a Pedicure Tub: The Florida Rules, Step by Step

Why tub cleaning is a real rule, not a nicety

Whirlpool foot baths have a documented history of causing infections. In 2000, health investigators in California traced a boil outbreak (Mycobacterium fortuitum) among more than 100 customers of one nail salon to its whirlpool footbaths. A follow-up study in the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases swabbed 30 footbaths in 18 salons and found mycobacteria in 29 of them. The authors suspected organisms came in with municipal tap water and thrived in the debris that collects behind the footbath's recirculation screens.

That is the reason the Florida Board of Cosmetology wrote the routine into Rule 61G5-20.002 of the Florida Administrative Code. It applies to "any pedicure equipment that holds water, including sinks, bowls, basins, pipe-less spas, and whirlpool spas." If your salon uses any of those, the rule applies to you.

The American Academy of Dermatology also tells clients to check that foot baths and filters are thoroughly disinfected before use, since improperly cleaned units can harbor bacteria and fungus. Clients are looking.

The cleaning schedule at a glance

This is a summary of the rule as published. The rule can change, so before you write your salon's procedure, read the current text on the Florida Administrative Code or ask the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).

After each client: clean first, then disinfect

Cleaning and disinfecting are two separate steps, and the rule defines both. "Clean" means removing visible debris, for example washing with soap and water. "Disinfect" means using a chemical to destroy potential pathogens. A disinfectant cannot do its job through a layer of dirt, which is why the order matters.

1. Drain the tub and remove the liner if you use one. Throw it away.
2. Scrub the basin with a low-foaming soap or detergent and water. Low-foaming is the rule's wording and there is a practical reason: foam is hard to rinse out of jets and screens.
3. Remove visible debris from the basin, including hair, skin and nail dust.
4. Apply the disinfectant per the manufacturer's directions: correct dilution, correct amount, and in contact with every surface for a minimum of 10 minutes. Set a timer.
5. Remove and clean the foot plate if the spa is pipe-free. Clean the area underneath, rinse and wipe it dry.
6. Rinse and dry as the product directs.
7. Write it in the log with date and time.

End of day: screens, jets and the overnight soak

This is the step most often skipped. It is also the step aimed at the problem found in the California outbreak, which was debris behind the recirculation screen.

1. Take out the filter screens in whirlpool spas. For pipe-free systems, remove the jet components or foot plate.
2. Remove visible debris from the screen and the inlet, and clean with low-foaming soap and water.
3. Immerse the screen, jet or foot plate completely in an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant, mixed per the label.
4. Put them back after disinfection and flush the system with warm water and low-foaming soap for 5 minutes. Rinse and drain.
5. Fill the basin with clean water and the correct amount of EPA-registered disinfectant.
6. Circulate the solution for 10 minutes, then turn the unit off.
7. Leave the solution in the basin for at least 6 to 10 hours. Before the next use, drain and flush with clean water.
8. Log it.

In practice this means the last person to close the salon starts the overnight cycle, and the first person to open drains it. Put both jobs on the opening and closing checklist so they have an owner.

The weekly bleach flush

Once each week, after the end-of-day steps, the rule calls for a bleach solution: one teaspoon of 5.25% bleach for each gallon of water. Circulate it through the spa for 5 to 10 minutes. Then let it sit in the basin for at least 6 hours. Drain and flush before use.

Two practical notes. First, the rule is written for 5.25% bleach. Some bottles contain a different strength, so read the percentage on yours. If it is not 5.25%, ask DBPR how to adjust, instead of guessing. Second, never mix bleach with other cleaning products or disinfectants. Run the weekly flush on a day with the longest closed period, such as Sunday night if your salon opens Monday, so the 6 hours fit.

The log book: what to write and where to keep it

The rule requires a record or log book with the dates and times of all pedicure cleaning and disinfection procedures, kept in the pedicure area, and made available for review by a consumer or a Department inspector on request. A clipboard with a printed sheet works.

The example row is a format only. Use your own times and initials. Add a column for "weekly bleach" so that one glance shows the last one done.

Common mistakes and fixes

The tub is one rule; your tools follow another

The same Florida rule covers hand tools. Clean the article with soap and water first, then disinfect with a hospital-level or EPA-approved disinfectant, mixed and used per the manufacturer's directions. In the rule's wording:

• Metallic instruments (nippers, pushers) are immersed in the disinfectant.
• Instruments with a cutting edge may be wiped with the disinfectant. Many salons immerse them anyway.
• Implements may be immersed in the solution.
• Wet disinfection containers must have a lid and be big enough for complete immersion.
• After disinfecting, store articles in a clean, closed cabinet or container, apart from pens, money, paper and other unclean items.

An implement that has contacted blood or body fluids needs a disinfectant whose label shows EPA registration under the bloodborne pathogens standard (29 C.F.R. 1910.1030). Keep styptic powder and a first-aid kit at the station so a nick does not turn into a scramble.

What to keep stocked

See the full pedicure supplies list for the whole station. For tub cleaning specifically you need: a low-foaming detergent, an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant with the label claims the rule lists, measuring cups or pumps, plain household bleach (for the weekly step), a small brush for screens, gloves, a timer and the log. Browse disinfectants and sterilizers and gloves. We cannot tell you from a listing page whether a given product meets the rule. Check the label and the manufacturer's directions.

Using a home foot tub? The Florida rule is written for licensed salons. For a home unit, follow the maker's manual and keep it dry and clean between uses. The salon routine above is a good model for what a thorough cleaning looks like.

Questions we get at the counter