The short answer
| Schedule | When | Which units | What it involves |
|---|---|---|---|
| After each client | Between every client | Every unit: whirlpool foot spa (26.276), basin (26.272), liner and jet (26.275) | Whirlpool: drain and remove debris, clean the basin with soap or detergent and water, disinfect it with an EPA-registered bactericidal, fungicidal and virucidal disinfectant per its label, wipe dry. Basin: drain, scrub with a clean brush, soap or detergent and water, disinfect per the label, rinse, empty and wipe dry. Liner: pull the tab, discard the liner, sanitize the jet, rinse and drain the spa, wipe the basin and foot rest with disinfectant wipes |
| End of day | Closing, on a spa that served clients | Whirlpool foot spa | Remove the screen, the other removable parts and the debris behind the screen; disinfect the screen, the inlet and the parts per the manufacturer; before the screen goes back, wash the screen and parts in a bleach solution (one-third cup of 5.25 percent bleach to a gallon of water) or immerse them totally in an EPA-registered disinfectant (26.277, 26.278) |
| Every other week (bi-weekly) | Every fourteen days, after that day’s end-of-day steps | Whirlpool foot spa | Fill the spa with water and one-third cup of 5.25 percent bleach per gallon, flush the system 5 to 10 minutes with that solution or an EPA-registered disinfectant and let it sit 6 to 10 hours, drain and flush with water before the next client, then rinse, empty and wipe dry (26.279) |
Each is its own row on the Program’s log, with its own box: After Client, End of Day, Bi-Weekly. The steps, in the rule’s own words and order, are in our guide to how to clean a pedicure foot spa in Maine.
Which units the schedules cover
Maine defines a whirlpool foot spa as “any basin using circulating water either in a self-contained unit or in a unit that is connected to other plumbing in the establishment” (26.271), which is Texas’s definition word for word, so a pipe-less unit is a whirlpool foot spa here and takes all three schedules. A non-whirlpool foot basin, “any basin, tub, footbath, sink or bowl that holds non-circulating water” (26.272), takes the after-client cleaning only. A disposable spa liner (26.273) sits inside a whirlpool foot spa with a portable jet (26.274), and 26.275 gives the pair an after-client sequence of its own; the spa under the liner is still a whirlpool foot spa, and ReadyPedi reads it as keeping its end-of-day and bi-weekly cleanings. That is our reading: the rule does not say so in as many words. ReadyPedi sets each Maine unit as Whirlpool, Basin or Liner: a Whirlpool or Liner takes all three, a Basin offers After Client alone.
After each client
The one that happens all day. For a whirlpool foot spa (26.276), “after each client service”: the water drained and the debris removed, the basin cleaned with soap or detergent and water, disinfected with “An EPA-registered bactericidal, fungicidal, and virucidal disinfectant” used “in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions”, and wiped dry with a clean towel. For a basin (26.272): drain, scrub the inside surfaces with a clean brush, soap or detergent and water, disinfect per the label, then rinse, empty and wipe dry. For a liner and jet (26.275): pull the heat-sealed tab, discard the liner in a covered trash receptacle, sanitize the jet with an EPA-registered disinfectant, rinse the spa with warm water and drain it, and wipe the basin and foot rest with EPA-registered disinfectant wipes. Every one of those is logged, with the After Client box. The exact steps the rule lists are in our guide to how to clean a pedicure foot spa in Maine.
End of day
At closing, every whirlpool foot spa that had a client that day gets the deeper clean (26.277, “At the end of each day and after performing a service on a client”): the screen and the other removable parts come out, the debris trapped behind the screen is removed, and the screen, the inlet and the parts are disinfected per the manufacturer. Before the screen goes back, 26.278 asks for one of two things: a wash of the screen and parts in a chlorine bleach solution of one-third cup of 5.25 percent bleach to a gallon of water, or total immersion in an EPA-registered disinfectant. It is in addition to the after-client cleanings, not instead of them, and it is its own row with the End of Day box. Basins do not take it.
Every other week
The bi-weekly cleaning (26.279) runs “after cleaning and disinfecting as provided in this subsection”, so the end-of-day steps come first. Then the spa is filled completely with water and one-third cup of 5.25 percent bleach for each gallon, the system flushed for five to ten minutes with that solution or an EPA-registered disinfectant and allowed to sit six to ten hours, then drained and flushed with water before the next client, and the basin rinsed, emptied and wiped dry. In practice that is overnight. On the night you do it, log a Bi-Weekly row and no End of Day row: the form says to check one box only, and the bi-weekly procedure contains the end-of-day steps.
“Every other week” means every fourteen days, not “once in any two calendar weeks”. Pick a fixed night, usually the slowest, and keep to it; a sheet with Bi-Weekly rows at regular fourteen-day intervals is what an inspector is looking for. ReadyPedi reminds you every two weeks and shows a chair overdue when the fourteen days have run.
Basins and liners
A non-whirlpool foot basin has no pump, no screen and no inlet, so there is nothing for an end-of-day or bi-weekly flush to run through; the rule gives it the after-client cleaning only, and still asks for the log entry every time. A disposable liner is single use: a new liner per client, the liner discarded after the service, the jet sanitized, the spa rinsed and wiped. The spa under it keeps its own schedules in ReadyPedi’s reading (above). Both are logged after every client: the basin on its own sheet, the liner’s spa on the spa’s sheet.
Days a unit is not used, and units out of service
A day with no pedicures on a unit is logged as “no services performed”, which is what the rule asks for (“shall indicate if a spa was not used during any individual work day”) and what the form’s instructions spell out: the date, the initials of the person verifying it, and the words. A foot spa, basin or jet taken out of use for any reason has the date of its removal from service written on its record (26.281); when it comes back, note the date. Neither is a cleaning, but both are rows, because an unexplained gap on the log reads as a missed cleaning, and under 26.281 a unit whose record is not maintained is removed from service until the record is brought up to date.
If you ran a shop in Texas
Texas and Maine ask for the same three cleanings on the same cadence, after each client, at the end of the day and every two weeks, so the rhythm does not change. The bi-weekly night is logged the same way too: one Bi-Weekly row that stands in for that night’s End of Day. What changes is the paper: Texas mandates its form while Maine lists its sheet as a sample, and Texas’s “Not Used” box becomes Maine’s “no services performed”, written across the boxes with your initials.
Where it is logged
All three schedules go on the Program’s log, one sheet per chair or tub per month, one row per cleaning, the licensee’s initials on each, the daily-or-bi-weekly question answered by the box. Every row answers the rule’s record sentences:
For whirlpool foot spas or basin, a record shall be made of the time and date of each cleaning and disinfecting that indicates whether the cleaning was a daily or bi-weekly cleaning. This record shall be made at or near the time of cleaning and disinfecting and shall indicate if a spa was not used during any individual work day. The record shall be maintained for a period of one (1) year from the date of the last entry and shall be presented to the Director upon request.
Our guide to the Maine pedicure cleaning log walks through the form box by box. ReadyPedi logs each cleaning at the chair in three taps and prints the Program’s log for any unit and month; a unit set up as a basin offers After Client alone. The rule next to the app is on the Maine page.
Frequently asked questions
Does the bi-weekly cleaning replace that day’s end-of-day cleaning?
Yes, on that night only. The bi-weekly procedure follows the end-of-day steps and leaves the solution in the spa six to ten hours, and the form says to check one box only, so the night you run it has one Bi-Weekly row and no End of Day row. Every other night has an End of Day row.
Do I have to do the end-of-day or bi-weekly clean on a plain pedicure bowl?
No. A non-whirlpool foot basin (26.272) takes the after-client cleaning only. You still log every after-client cleaning for it, on its own sheet.
What if a chair had no clients today?
Log the day as “no services performed” on that chair’s sheet, with the date and your initials. The rule asks the record to say so.
Is a pipe-less foot spa cleaned on the same schedule as a whirlpool?
Yes. Maine defines a whirlpool foot spa as any basin using circulating water, and a pipe-less unit circulates. All three schedules apply.
Does “every other week” mean any two calendar weeks?
It means every fourteen days. Pick a fixed night and keep to it, so the sheet shows the Bi-Weekly row at a regular interval.
How long does the bi-weekly solution have to sit?
Six to ten hours: the rule says the solution is “allowed to sit for 6 to 10 hours”. Most shops run it overnight after closing and flush before opening.
This guide explains Maine’s foot spa cleaning schedules in plain language and is not legal advice. The rules of Maine’s Barbering and Cosmetology Licensing Program, in the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, are the authority on Maine foot spa cleaning and recordkeeping requirements.