What are Sunbed Cleaning BEST PRACTICES?
In the April issue of IST Magazine, I wrote about using proper tanning bed disinfectants and not substituting janitorial cleaners, beauty product cleaners, or home-made “cleaners” that are potentially dangerous to tanner’s skin, harmful to acrylic shields and simply not disinfecting to the required standards. I hope you also remember that the product that is required to be used after every tanner’s session is properly called a “disinfectant.” A bed “cleaner” is actually more of a polish, meant to buff scratches on acrylics, shine the handles and get into the tiny corners – best used for weekly detailed cleaning.
For many salons, this is a typically slower time of year – a good time to do some deep cleaning. So, now that I’ve convinced you to use proper hospital-grade disinfectants made specifically for cleaning sunbeds, I’d like to cover HOW to do it properly.
First, make sure you mix disinfectant solution properly. I can’t tell you how many salons I’ve been in where they
just add more concentrate to “make it better!” It doesn’t make the solution better; it makes it strong enough to irritate tanners’ skin! It’s critical that you mix disinfectant to the exact label specs.
Second, you must check your solution with a quaternary (“quat”) test strip. This litmus paper is similar to what is used to test pool water. Sunbed disinfectants require specific ratios based on their ingredients.
Third, use a fresh towel to disinfect each bed. Here is a tanning horror story: I was training a salon team and noticed a towel draped over a bottle of disinfectant. They used that towel on every bed, all day long … terrifying! Tingle products, sweat (and whatever else) being smeared from one sunbed acrylic to the next. I don’t need to say it: don’t do this.
The sunbed disinfectant experts advise you to spray the solution on the acrylic and wait 60 seconds. It takes that long to sanitize the acrylic – don’t just spray and wipe! Waiting 60 seconds sanitizes and kills 99.9% of fungus and germs. So, spray…
