What the rule covers
Five subsections of §25-E502, “Additional Standards and Supplies – Nail Salons and Operations”, in DC Health’s facility regulations of December 10, 2021: §502.4 after each client; §502.5 at the end of each day of use, the screens and the pipe-free parts; §502.6 the end-of-day soak; §502.7 weekly; §502.8 the record. The scope is the subtitle’s definition, “Pedicure equipment – any equipment that holds water, including sinks, bowls, basins, pipe-less spas, and whirlpool spas”. There is no separate, shorter procedure for a bowl without pipes, and liners are not mentioned. All of it ends in the same place: a record of the dates and times of all pedicure cleaning and disinfection, kept in the pedicure area.
The disinfectant the rule names, and the weekly’s two choices
For the after-client clean and the end-of-day procedures the steps name a product by its registration: “an EPA-registered disinfectant and used according to the manufacturer’s instructions for at least ten (10) minutes” (§502.4(b)); “an EPA-registered disinfectant” for the screen, jet or foot plate (§502.5); “the correct amount of an EPA-registered disinfectant” for the soak (§502.6). The subtitle defines that term as “an antimicrobial pesticide regulated by EPA to destroy or suppress the growth of microorganisms on inanimate objects and surfaces”, and a product that claims to disinfect must carry an EPA Registration Number and Establishment Number. Its broader definition of a disinfectant lists, among its categories, “An EPA-registered bactericidal, fungicidal, and viricidal disinfectant (with the exception of formalin) used in accordance with manufacturer instructions”. A product with its registration number on the label and those three claims fits both definitions. “According to the manufacturer’s instructions” means mixed at the label’s strength, and the rule then floors the after-client contact time at ten minutes.
The weekly is different, and it gives a choice: “a solution of water containing one (1) teaspoon of 5.25% bleach for each gallon of water”, or “an alternative disinfectant that is an EPA registered Fungicide and Virucide” (§502.7(a), (b)). For the bleach you need the basin’s capacity in gallons and a measuring spoon; for the alternative, the label’s two claims.
After each client
Every unit, after every client. §502.4 says the equipment “shall be cleaned, disinfected, and sterilized after each client, as follows”; its steps, quoted as written:
- “Clean with a low-foaming soap or detergent with water to remove all visible debris” (a).
- “Disinfect with an EPA-registered disinfectant and used according to the manufacturer’s instructions for at least ten (10) minutes” (b).
- On a pipe-free foot spa: “If the pipe-free foot spa has a foot plate, remove the foot plate and clean, rinse, and wipe dry the area beneath the foot plate” (b).
- Record it: date, time, After Each Client, and who did it.
The rule lists no rinse or drain step after the disinfectant here; “according to the manufacturer’s instructions” means the label decides what happens when the ten minutes are up. Start the ten minutes when the disinfectant is in the unit at label strength, not when you start scrubbing.
At the end of each day of use
On every unit used that day. §502.5, the screens and parts, “At the end of each day of use”:
- “All visible debris in the screen and the inlet shall be removed and cleaned with a low-foaming soap or detergent and water” (a).
- For pipe-free systems, “the jet components or foot plate shall be removed and cleaned, including the removal of any debris” (b), then:
- “Completely immerse the screen, jet, or foot plate in an EPA-registered disinfectant and used according to the manufacturer’s instructions and replaced after disinfection process is completed” (b)(1).
- “Flush the pipe-free system with warm water and low-foaming soap for five (5) minutes, rinse, and drain” (b)(2).
§502.6, the soak, “After completing the procedures specified in § 502.4 and 502.5”:
- Fill the pedicure spa system or basin “with clean water and the correct amount of an EPA-registered disinfectant”.
- “Circulated through the pedicure spa system for ten (10) minutes and then turn the pedicure spa system off” (a).
- “The solution shall remain in the pedicure spa system or basin for at least six (6) to ten (10) hours before using the equipment again” (b).
- “The pedicure spa system or basin is then drained and flushed with clean water” (c).
- Record it: date, time, End of Day, and who did it.
Steps 2 to 4 are written for pipe-free systems. For a whirlpool system the list is step 1, under §502.5’s opening words that “all filter screens in whirlpool pedicure spa systems and basins for all types of foot spas shall be disinfected”, and then the soak; a bowl with no pump skips the parts it does not have (below).
Weekly
Every unit, in addition to that night’s end-of-day procedures, in the order of §502.7:
- Complete the end-of-day procedures above first (“In addition to the required end-of-day cleaning procedures specified in § 502.4 and 502.5”).
- Fill the system or basin with either “a solution of water containing one (1) teaspoon of 5.25% bleach for each gallon of water” (a), or “an alternative disinfectant that is an EPA registered Fungicide and Virucide” (b).
- “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” (c).
- “Before use, the pedicure spa system shall then be drained and flushed.”
- Record it: date, time, Weekly, and who did it. The End of Day row for that night is already written; this is a second row, not a replacement.
One night, two soaks
The rule orders the two procedures and gives each a soak: the end-of-day disinfectant “shall remain in the pedicure spa system or basin for at least six (6) to ten (10) hours”, and the weekly solution “shall remain in the basin for at least six (6) hours”, after the end-of-day procedures are complete. It does not say how a salon fits both into one night, and the sources this guide rests on found no DC Health guidance on it. What the guide can say is what the text says: the end of day first, the weekly after it, no soak cut short, and each row written at the time its procedure was done. Pick the night with the most hours between the last client and the first one the next day. Our guide to how often to clean a pedicure foot spa in DC covers how the weekly interval is counted.
Bowls and basins with no pump
The rule names sinks, bowls and basins in its definition of pedicure equipment and writes “pedicure spa systems and basins” through §502.5 to §502.7. Some of its steps name a part a bowl does not have: filter screens, a foot plate, a system for the solution to circulate through. Skip the part, not the procedure: clean and disinfect after each client, fill and soak at the end of the day, fill with the weekly solution once a week, drain and flush before use, and record each one. ReadyPedi asks for all three procedures on every District unit, basins included, because the rule makes no exception. The sources this guide rests on found no DC Health reading of those steps for equipment with no circulation system.
Writing it down
Each procedure above ends in the same sentence of the rule:
The licensee shall maintain a record or log book containing the dates and times of all pedicure cleaning and disinfection which is kept in the pedicure area and made available for review upon request by a consumer or the Department during an inspection.
The date and the time are the fields the rule names. Name the procedure and the person as well, or the record cannot show which of the three was done. One sheet per unit; one row per procedure; on the weekly night, an End of Day row and then a Weekly row. There is no not-used row and no out-of-service notation in the District’s rule. Our guide to the printable DC pedicure cleaning log covers the record column by column, the three-year rule and the electronic-record rule, and offers a blank, and the District of Columbia page has the rule next to the app.
What to keep at the chair
A low-foaming soap or detergent and a brush for the scrub. The EPA-registered disinfectant mixed at label strength, with its label (the registration number) where an inspector can read it. A timer for the ten minutes and the five-minute flush. For the weekly: a bottle of 5.25% bleach and a teaspoon measure with the basin’s capacity in gallons written somewhere you will find it, or the alternative product with its fungicide and virucide claims on the label. The unit’s record or the tablet that holds it, in the pedicure area. ReadyPedi’s three taps at the chair log each procedure with the time it was finished and the tech’s name, and print the record for any unit and month. A shop can start a free trial today.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the disinfectant have to work?
At least ten minutes after each client. At the end of the day, the solution is circulated for ten minutes and then left in the system or basin for at least six to ten hours. The weekly solution is circulated five to ten minutes and sits at least six hours.
Can I use bleach for the after-client clean in DC?
The rule’s after-client and end-of-day steps name “an EPA-registered disinfectant” used per its label. Bleach at one teaspoon of 5.25% per gallon is what the rule names for the weekly, as one of two choices. Read the product’s label for its EPA registration number, and for the bactericidal, fungicidal and virucidal claims the subtitle’s definition of a disinfectant names.
Do I have to take the foot plate off after every client?
Yes, on a pipe-free foot spa that has one: §502.4 says to remove the foot plate and clean, rinse and wipe dry the area beneath it.
Does the end-of-day cleaning count as the last client’s after-client cleaning?
No. The last client’s after-client clean is done and recorded first; the end-of-day procedures are a separate breakdown of the unit with their own soak and their own row.
What if a step was missed?
The record is a record of what was done, not of what should have been. If a procedure was missed, do it now and write the real time. A record that says every soak started at 9:00 pm every night in the same handwriting is the thing that fails an inspection.
This guide explains the District of Columbia’s pedicure equipment cleaning procedure 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.