How to Clean a Pedicure Foot Spa in Georgia: the Board's Procedure, Step by Step

What the rule covers

One rule, 240-4-.04 “Cleansing and Disinfection of Implements and Equipment”, and one subsection of it, (4), for pedicure equipment: “all pedicure equipment that holds water including sinks, bowls, basins, pipe-less, and whirlpool spas”. Four paragraphs: (a) after each client, (b) at the end of each day of use, (c) once each week, (d) the log. Disposable liners are not mentioned, so there is no liner exception and no liner procedure. The rule was adopted in December 2016, took effect January 10, 2017, and has not been amended since; the state’s rules site still prints the chapter it replaced, 130-5, and the difference matters for one number below.

The disinfectant the rule means

The after-client paragraph names it: “a disinfectant that indicates on its label that it has been registered with the EPA as a disinfectant”, for at least fifteen minutes. That is a label test, not a brand or a chemistry: the product’s label has to say it is EPA-registered as a disinfectant, and an inspector reads the label. The clause stops there; it does not read “hospital grade” or list organisms the way Florida’s does. The weekly paragraph names a different product for a different job: 5.25% EPA-registered bleach, a teaspoon per gallon of water. Keep the after-client disinfectant’s bottle, with its label readable, at the chair.

After each client

Every unit, after every client, in the order of 240-4-.04(4)(a):

1. Clean the unit with a chelating soap or detergent and water to remove all visible debris (“must”).
2. Disinfect it for at least fifteen minutes with a disinfectant whose label says it is registered with the EPA as a disinfectant (“must”).
3. If the unit has a foot plate, remove it, and clean, rinse and wipe dry the area beneath it (“should”).
4. Log it: date, time, technician name, initials, After Each Client.

The fifteen minutes is contact time with the disinfectant in the unit, not the time the whole procedure takes; start the clock when the product is in the water. The paragraph does not say whether the disinfectant circulates or stands, and it names no rinse or dry step for the unit itself; the rinse and the wipe-dry it does name belong to the area under a foot plate.

Fifteen minutes, not ten

The chapter this rule replaced, 130-5-.05(5), is still printed on the state’s rules site with near-identical log language and a ten-minute contact time. The operative rule is 240-4-.04, effective 2017, and its after-client disinfection is fifteen minutes. A shop that learned the procedure before 2017, or from a copy of the old chapter, is five minutes short on every client. The research could not settle which chapter individual inspectors cite; build the habit to the current one.

At the end of each day of use

On every unit that had a client that day, “the following procedures shall be used”, in the order of 240-4-.04(4)(b):

1. Sanitize all filter screens, in whirlpool pedicure spas or basins, for all types of foot spas, “according to International Nail Technician Association (INTA) disinfecting procedures” (“must”).
2. Remove all visible debris from the screen and the inlet and clean them with a chelating soap or detergent and water (“must”).
3. On every unit, remove the jet components and/or foot plate, remove any debris and clean them (“must”).
4. After those steps, fill the basin with clean water and the correct amount of a disinfectant whose label says it is registered with the EPA as a disinfectant (“should”).
5. Circulate the solution “through foot spa system for 10 minutes and the unit then turned off” (“must”).
6. Before using the equipment again, drain the basin system and flush it with hot clean water for 10 minutes to remove residual solution (“must”).
7. Wipe the unit dry (“should”).
8. Log it: date, time, technician name, initials, End of Day.

This is done on every unit that had a client that day, after the last client’s after-client cleaning, and it is its own row.

Once each week

The rule writes this paragraph as a recommendation: “Once each week, additional procedures should be performed”, and every verb in it is “should”. Our guide to how often to clean a pedicure foot spa in Georgia explains why we suggest doing it anyway. In the order of 240-4-.04(4)(c):

1. Complete the end-of-day procedures above (“After completing the required cleaning procedures for the end of the day”).
2. Fill the basin with water that contains “one teaspoon of 5.25% of EPA registered bleach for each gallon of water” (“should”).
3. Circulate the solution through the spa system for five to ten minutes (“should”).
4. Before the unit is used again, drain and flush the system according to the manufacturer’s instructions (“should”).
5. Log it: date, time, technician name, initials, End of Week, on its own row after that night’s End of Day row (one check per row).

Set a fixed night for it, so the sheet shows the End of Week checks at regular intervals.

Writing it down

Paragraph (4)(d) is the log sentence, and it is written as “must”: “A record or log book containing the dates and times of all pedicure equipment cleaning and disinfection procedures must be documented and kept in the pedicure area by the salon or shop and made available for review upon request by a consumer and/or an inspector from the Board.” The rule asks for dates and times; the Board’s form (SOS Form 28) asks also for the spa unit number, the technician’s name and initials, and which of the three cleanings it was, one check per row. No signature, no disinfectant column, no not-used box. Our guide to the Georgia pedicure log (SOS Form 28) covers the form column by column, and the Georgia page has the rule next to the app.

What to keep at the chair

The chelating soap or detergent; the disinfectant mixed per its label, with the label readable; a timer for the fifteen minutes (and for the two ten-minute runs at closing); a measuring spoon and the 5.25% bleach for the weekly run; clean towels or paper towels for the wipe-dry step; the unit’s log sheet or the tablet that holds it. ReadyPedi’s three taps at the chair log each cleaning with the time it was finished, and the printed SOS Form 28 carries the technician’s name and initials from the roster. A shop can start a free trial today.

Frequently asked questions

This guide explains Georgia’s pedicure equipment cleaning procedure in plain language and is not legal advice. The Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers’ rules are the authority on Georgia pedicure equipment cleaning and recordkeeping requirements.