The short answer
| Schedule | When | Which units | What it involves |
|---|---|---|---|
| After each client | Between every client | Every unit that holds water: sinks, bowls, basins, pipe-less spas, whirlpool spas | Clean with a low-foaming soap or detergent and water until no visible debris remains, then disinfect with an EPA-registered disinfectant per its label for at least ten minutes. On a pipe-free spa with a foot plate, take the plate off and clean, rinse and wipe dry under it (§502.4) |
| End of each day of use | Closing, on every unit that had a client that day | Every unit | The filter screens and inlet cleaned, a pipe-free system’s jet components or foot plate out, cleaned, immersed in disinfectant and replaced, the system flushed five minutes (§502.5); then the unit filled with clean water and disinfectant, circulated ten minutes, left in six to ten hours, drained and flushed before use (§502.6) |
| Weekly | In addition to that night’s end-of-day procedures | Every unit | One teaspoon of 5.25% bleach per gallon of water, or an EPA registered fungicide and virucide, circulated five to ten minutes and left in the basin at least six hours, drained and flushed before use (§502.7) |
Each is its own row in the record. On the weekly night the record shows both the End of Day row and the Weekly row.
Which equipment the schedules cover
The rule’s definitions do the work: “Pedicure equipment – any equipment that holds water, including sinks, bowls, basins, pipe-less spas, and whirlpool spas”, and a foot bath is any basin that holds water “circulating or not”. §502.4 opens with “All manicure and pedicure equipment that holds water”, and §502.5 to §502.7 name “pedicure spa systems and basins”. There is no shorter schedule for a bowl without jets, and §502 never mentions a liner, so a liner does not take a bowl off the schedule either. ReadyPedi sets each District unit as Whirlpool, Pipe-less or Basin, and every one of them takes all three procedures. What the end-of-day and weekly steps look like on a bowl that has no pump is in our guide to how to clean a pedicure foot spa in DC.
After each client
The one that happens all day. The rule’s words, §502.4: “All manicure and pedicure equipment that holds water shall be cleaned, disinfected, and sterilized after each client, as follows: (a) Clean with a low-foaming soap or detergent with water to remove all visible debris; and (b) Disinfect with an EPA-registered disinfectant and used according to the manufacturer’s instructions for at least ten (10) minutes.” On a pipe-free spa with a foot plate, the plate comes off and the area beneath it is cleaned, rinsed and wiped dry. The ten minutes is contact time with the disinfectant, not the length of the whole job. Every one of these is a row, After Each Client, with its own time. The steps in order are in the procedure guide linked above.
End of each day of use
Two words in the rule’s opening matter. “Each day”: this is in addition to the after-client cleanings, not instead of the last one; the last client’s row is written, and then the end-of-day procedure is its own row. “Of use”: a unit that had no client that day owes no end-of-day procedure, and the rule asks for no note saying the unit sat idle. (Texas asks for a Not Used row; the District does not, and ReadyPedi’s District record has no such row.)
What the procedure involves, in two sections. §502.5: at the end of each day of use, “all filter screens in whirlpool pedicure spa systems and basins for all types of foot spas shall be disinfected”: the visible debris in the screen and the inlet removed and cleaned with a low-foaming soap or detergent and water; for a pipe-free system, the jet components or foot plate removed and cleaned, completely immersed in an EPA-registered disinfectant per its label and replaced, and the system flushed with warm water and low-foaming soap for five minutes, rinsed and drained. §502.6: “After completing the procedures specified in § 502.4 and 502.5”, the unit is filled with clean water and the correct amount of an EPA-registered disinfectant, circulated through the system for ten minutes, left in the system or basin “for at least six (6) to ten (10) hours before using the equipment again”, then drained and flushed with clean water. In practice the unit sits overnight.
Weekly
The rule’s words, §502.7: “In addition to the required end-of-day cleaning procedures specified in § 502.4 and 502.5, all pedicure spa systems and basins shall be disinfected on a weekly basis as follows: (a) Pedicure spa systems and basins may be filled with a solution of water containing one (1) teaspoon of 5.25% bleach for each gallon of water; or (b) Pedicure spa systems and basins may be filled with an alternative disinfectant that is an EPA registered Fungicide and Virucide; and (c) The solution shall be circulated through the pedicure spa system for five (5) to ten (10) minutes and then the solution shall remain in the basin for at least six (6) hours. Before use, the pedicure spa system shall then be drained and flushed.”
Three things to notice. The District gives a choice: bleach at a stated strength and measure, or an EPA registered fungicide and virucide. It sits at least six hours, so it is an overnight job. And it comes “In addition to the required end-of-day cleaning procedures”: the end of day first, then the weekly.
“On a weekly basis” is all the rule says about the interval; it does not define the week. Pick a fixed night and keep to it. A record that shows the Weekly row at regular seven-day intervals reads as a routine; one where the weekly drifts from Monday to Thursday to the following Tuesday reads as improvised.
The weekly night has two rows
This is the point owners get wrong most often, especially ones who ran a shop in Texas, where the two-week soak takes the place of that night’s End of Day row. In the District the weekly does not replace the end of day. §502.7 says so in its first words, “In addition to the required end-of-day cleaning procedures”, and §502.8 records “all pedicure cleaning and disinfection”. Two procedures, two times, two rows: End of Day, then Weekly.
ReadyPedi logs it that way. A Weekly row does not close the day; the app still expects that night’s End of Day, and the screen says so if a tech tries to log the Weekly as the deep clean on its own: “A Weekly cleaning is its own entry in the District of Columbia, logged after that night's End of Day.” Both rows print on the record.
The rule orders the two procedures and gives each a soak (six to ten hours for the end-of-day disinfectant under §502.6, at least six hours for the weekly solution), and it does not say how a salon fits both into one night. This guide says what the rule says: do the end-of-day procedures, then the weekly, in that order, and write each row when its procedure is done. The procedure guide linked above has the steps.
If you ran a shop in Texas
Four differences. Texas asks for its deep clean every two weeks; the District asks for it weekly. In Texas the two-week soak stands in for that night’s End of Day row; in the District the weekly comes in addition to the end of day, and both rows are written. Texas has a Not Used row for an idle day; the District’s rule asks for nothing on an idle day. Texas mandates its form and keeps records sixty days; the District has no form and keeps all records three years (our guide to the printable DC pedicure cleaning log).
Where it is logged
All three schedules go in the same record: the dates and times of every procedure, kept in the pedicure area, shown on request to a consumer or the Department during an inspection, and kept at the facility three years. There is no District form; the printable-log guide linked above covers what the record must show and offers a blank. ReadyPedi logs each cleaning at the chair in three taps, with the time stamped and the tech’s name beside it, and prints the record for any unit and any month. The rule next to the app is on the District of Columbia page.
Frequently asked questions
Does the weekly cleaning replace that day’s end-of-day cleaning?
No. §502.7 opens “In addition to the required end-of-day cleaning procedures”, so the end of day is done first and the weekly after it, and the record shows both: an End of Day row, then a Weekly row.
Do I have to do the end-of-day and weekly clean on a plain pedicure bowl with no jets?
The rule’s definition of pedicure equipment is “any equipment that holds water, including sinks, bowls, basins, pipe-less spas, and whirlpool spas”, and §502.5 to §502.7 name “pedicure spa systems and basins” together. Our guide to how to clean a pedicure foot spa in DC explains what the steps look like on a bowl with no pump.
What if a chair had no clients today?
The end-of-day procedure is for “each day of use”, so a unit with no clients owes none, and the rule asks for no note. That unit’s record is simply empty for the day. Write “no clients” in the margin if you like; the rule neither asks for it nor forbids it.
How long does the weekly solution sit?
At least six hours, after circulating for five to ten minutes, and the system is drained and flushed before the unit is used again. The end-of-day disinfectant sits six to ten hours.
Can I use something other than bleach for the weekly?
Yes. §502.7 allows either one teaspoon of 5.25% bleach per gallon of water or “an alternative disinfectant that is an EPA registered Fungicide and Virucide”. Read the product’s label against those words.
Does “weekly” mean any day of the calendar week?
The rule says “on a weekly basis” and does not define it. Pick a fixed night and keep to it, so the record shows the Weekly row at regular intervals.
This guide explains the District of Columbia’s pedicure equipment cleaning schedules in plain language and is not legal advice. DC Health’s regulations are the authority on District of Columbia pedicure equipment cleaning and recordkeeping requirements.