What the rule covers
One rule, 24.121.1511 “Sanitizing and Disinfecting”, in the Board’s Sanitary Standards subchapter, amended effective August 10, 2024. Two subsections for foot spas: (7), electrical equipment “providing circulating, whirlpool, or vacuum effects”, with its two cleanings and its documentation sentence; and (12), foot bath basins, with the after-use cleaning and (a), the end-of-business-day parts. Its opening subsection sends everything through the agents the rule names: “All implements, equipment, and electrical instruments must be thoroughly cleaned and subjected to approved sanitizing and disinfecting processes per this rule.” Those are (4) and (5). Neither (7) nor (12) lists steps, names a soak or sets an interval for the flush, and liners are not mentioned.
The agents the rule names
(7) and (12) name no product. The rule writes two processes. (4):
All equipment and implements must be cleaned and disinfected by complete immersion in an EPA-registered, bactericidal, virucidal, and fungicidal disinfectant that is mixed and used according to the manufacturer’s directions.
And (5):
All nonimmersible equipment must be sanitized with one of the following: (a) detergent solutions; (b) alcohol used at 70 percent or higher strength may be used as a sanitizer with a minimum of 20 minutes contact time; (c) standard industry disinfectant; or (d) chlorine compounds, hypochlorited in liquid or powder form (household bleach), may be used as a sanitizing agent at one part per 100 concentration with a five-minute contact time.
A foot spa’s screens, tubing and removable parts come out and can be immersed, which is (4)’s process; the basin itself and the areas behind the parts cannot, which is the equipment (5) is written for. The rule does not say which process it means for (7) and (12), and the Board has published no guidance on it. What the text does say: (7) and (12) ask for the foot spa to be disinfected as well as cleaned or sanitized, and (5) is written as a list to sanitize with. A disinfectant that meets (4)’s words, EPA-registered, bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal, used per its label, answers both. Household bleach appears once, in (5)(d), as a sanitizer at one part per 100 for five minutes; alcohol in (5)(b), at 70 percent or more for twenty. Those are the rule’s only contact times; for a disinfectant, the time is its label’s. The Board’s inspection rule adds the label itself: “Sanitizing and disinfecting agents must be available for inspection and clearly labeled to disclose contents and manufacturer’s directions.” (ARM 24.121.410(2)).
After each use ((7)(a) and (12))
What the rule says: circulating, whirlpool or vacuum equipment is “cleaned and disinfected after each use”; foot bath basins “must be sanitized and disinfected after each use”. What it does not say: how. No drain, scrub, fill, circulate, drain and rinse sequence appears in the rule. The guide says that, and then says what the words require on their own: the unit is cleaned (the water out, the debris and film off) and disinfected (with the agents above, at label strength, for the label’s contact time, on the surfaces the water touched) before the next client. The manufacturer’s directions for the unit and for the disinfectant are what the rule points to for the rest. No Board or Department procedure was found; the rule was read in full on the official host. Record it: date, time, After Each Client, and who did it.
At the end of each business day ((12)(a))
What the rule says: “All screens, tubing, other removable parts, and the areas behind each must be done at the end of each business day.” “Done” in that sentence reads with (12)’s own verbs, sanitized and disinfected. So: the screens, tubing and other removable parts come out and can go through (4)’s immersion, the areas behind them are cleaned and disinfected where they are, and the parts go back. The rule writes no further steps and names no soak. A plain basin has no screens or tubing and nothing behind them, and ReadyPedi reads (12)(a) as the circulating unit’s step (our guide to how often to clean a pedicure foot spa in Montana). Record it: date, time, End of Day, and who did it.
On a regular basis ((7)(b))
What the rule says: the equipment is “flushed, cleaned, and disinfected on a regular basis”. Three verbs and no interval. A flush is the system run through with clean water, then cleaned and disinfected as after a use; how deep, how long and how often are the shop’s and the manufacturer’s, since the rule sets none of them. Record it: date, time, Regular Flush, and who did it. The schedule guide linked above covers how to choose and keep an interval the record can show.
Writing it down
Each cleaning above ends in the same subsection of the rule:
Electrical equipment, whether professional or consumer designed, providing circulating, whirlpool, or vacuum effects shall be: (a) cleaned and disinfected after each use; and (b) flushed, cleaned, and disinfected on a regular basis. The licensee must maintain detailed cleaning documentation.
The rule names no fields. Date, time, which cleaning, who did it and which unit are what makes documentation detailed, and what every other record state names. One sheet per unit; one row per cleaning. There is no not-used row and no out-of-service notation in Montana’s rule. Our guide to the printable Montana pedicure cleaning log covers the record column by column and offers a blank, and the Montana page has the rule next to the app.
What to keep at the chair
A brush and a cleaner for the scrub. The disinfectant mixed at label strength, with its label (the three claims and the EPA registration number) where an inspector can read it, as 24.121.410(2) asks. A timer for the label’s contact time. The unit’s record or the tablet that holds it. ReadyPedi’s three taps at the chair log each cleaning 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?
For the time its label says: (4) names a disinfectant “mixed and used according to the manufacturer’s directions” and sets no minutes. The rule’s only contact times are in (5), for two of its sanitizers on equipment that cannot be immersed: twenty minutes for alcohol at 70 percent or more, five minutes for household bleach at one part per 100.
Can I use bleach in a Montana pedicure spa?
The rule names household bleach once, in (5)(d), “as a sanitizing agent at one part per 100 concentration with a five-minute contact time” on equipment that cannot be immersed. (7) and (12) ask for the foot spa to be disinfected as well, and (4) names an EPA-registered bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal disinfectant used per its label. A disinfectant that meets (4)’s words fits every part of the rule; read the label against them.
Does the rule say how to clean the spa, step by step?
No. It says what is cleaned and disinfected and when, and which agents count. The unit’s and the disinfectant’s directions are what it points to for the steps.
What are “the areas behind each”?
The spaces behind the screens, tubing and removable parts once they are out, which the rule says must be done at the end of each business day along with the parts themselves.
What if a step was missed?
The documentation is a record of what was done, not of what should have been. If a cleaning was missed, do it now and write the real time. A record that says every cleaning ended at 9:00 pm every night in the same handwriting is the thing that fails an inspection.
This guide explains Montana’s foot spa cleaning requirements in plain language and is not legal advice. The Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists’ rules are the authority on Montana foot spa cleaning and recordkeeping requirements.