What the rule covers
One section of the Board’s shop rules, Bar 302.05 “School and Shop Additional Requirements”, readopted with amendment effective May 13, 2021 and in force to 2031. Its (a) defines the equipment (“any basin using circulating water”), and (p) to (u) are the foot spa parts: (p) after each patron, (q) at the end of each day, (r) every week, (s) pipeless units, (t) the record, (u) who sees it. There is no separate procedure for a plain basin, which is outside the definition (Bar 302.07(m) has its surfaces sanitized after each service instead), and liners are not mentioned in 302.05. All of it ends in the same place: a record of the date and time of each end-of-day and weekly cleaning, labeled daily or weekly.
The bleach measures and the disinfectant the rule names
Each procedure names its own solutions. After each patron, (p)(2) circulates one of two through the unit for ten minutes: “Two tablespoons of automatic dishwashing powder and ¼ cup of 5.25% chlorine bleach to one gallon of water”, or “Surfactant or enzymatic soap with an EPA-registered disinfectant with bactericidal, fungicidal, and viricidal activity which is used according to manufacturer’s instructions”. At the end of the day, (q)(3) immerses the screen for ten minutes in “a chlorine bleach solution of ¼ cup of 5.25% chlorine bleach to one gallon of water” or in “an EPA-registered disinfectant with bactericidal, fungicidal, and virucidal activity”. A pipeless unit takes “an EPA-registered disinfectant according to manufacturers’ instructions” (s). The weekly names bleach alone: “¼ cup of 5.25% bleach for each one gallon of water” (r).
So the quarter-cup-a-gallon bleach measure runs through every procedure but the pipeless unit’s, and an EPA-registered disinfectant with the three claims is an option everywhere but the weekly. You need the basin’s capacity in gallons, a measuring cup and a tablespoon. The rule spells the third claim “viricidal” in (p) and “virucidal” in (q); the guide quotes each as printed. The record does not ask for the product’s name; keep the label where an inspector can read it.
After each patron ((p), every whirlpool, foot spa or spa)
(p): “After each patron, each whirlpool, foot spa, or spa shall be cleaned and disinfected as follows:”
- “All water shall be drained and all debris removed from the spa basin;” (1).
- “The spa basin shall be disinfected by filling spa basin with water and by circulating:” either “a. Two tablespoons of automatic dishwashing powder and ¼ cup of 5.25% chlorine bleach to one gallon of water through the unit for 10 minutes; or” “b. Surfactant or enzymatic soap with an EPA-registered disinfectant with bactericidal, fungicidal, and viricidal activity which is used according to manufacturer’s instructions through the unit for 10 minutes;” (2).
- “The spa basin shall be drained and rinsed with clean water; and” (3).
- “The spa basin shall be wiped dry with a clean towel.” (4).
- Record it, if you log the after-patron cleaning: date, time, After Each Client, and who did it. The rule’s (t) does not ask for this row; our guide to the printable New Hampshire pedicure cleaning log says why ReadyPedi keeps it.
For a pipeless unit, (s): “Pipeless pedicure units shall be sanitized and disinfected after each use with an EPA-registered disinfectant according to manufacturers’ instructions.”
At the end of each day ((q), every whirlpool, foot spa or spa)
(q): “At the end of each day, each whirlpool, foot spa, or spa shall be cleaned and disinfected as follows:”
- “The screen shall be removed and all debris trapped behind the screen removed;” (1).
- “The screen and the inlet shall be washed with surfactant or enzymatic soap or detergent and rinsed with clean water;” (2).
- “Before replacing the screen, one of the following procedures shall be performed:” either “a. The screen shall be totally immersed in a chlorine bleach solution of ¼ cup of 5.25% chlorine bleach to one gallon of water for 10 minutes; or” “b. The screen shall be totally immersed in an EPA-registered disinfectant with bactericidal, fungicidal, and virucidal activity, and used in accordance to the manufacturer’s instructions for 10 minutes;” (3).
- “The inlet and area behind the screen shall be cleaned with a brush and surfactant soap and water to remove all visible debris and residue; and” (4).
- “The spa system shall be flushed with low-sudsing surfactant or enzymatic soap and warm water for at least 10 minutes, and then rinsed and drained.” (5).
- Record it: date, time, End of Day, and who did it. This is the record’s “daily” cleaning. The last patron’s after-patron cleaning is done first; this is a separate procedure and its own row.
Every week ((r), after that day’s end-of-day cleaning)
Every whirlpool, foot spa or spa, in the order of (r):
- Complete the end-of-day cleaning above first (“after cleaning and disinfecting pursuant to (q) and (r) above”).
- “The whirlpool, foot spa, or spa basin shall be filled completely with water and ¼ cup of 5.25% bleach for each one gallon of water;” (1).
- “The whirlpool, foot spa, or spa system shall be flushed with the bleach and water solution pursuant to (r) (3), above, for 10 minutes and allowed to sit for 6 to 10 hours; and” (2).
- “Whirlpool, foot spa, or spa system shall be drained and flushed with water before use by a patron.” (3).
- 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.
The rule’s cross-references in (r) read “(q) and (r) above” and “pursuant to (r) (3), above” as printed; the guide quotes them as they stand and does not correct the rule. The sense is plain: the end of day first, then the weekly flush and soak.
One night, two cleanings
The rule orders the two procedures and gives the weekly a six-to-ten-hour soak after the end-of-day cleaning is complete. It does not say how a shop fits both into one night, and the sources this guide rests on found no Board guidance on it. What the guide can say is what the text says: the end of day first, the weekly after it, the soak not cut short, and each row written at the time its cleaning was done. Pick the night with the most hours between the last patron and the first one the next day. Our guide to how often to clean a pedicure foot spa in New Hampshire covers how the weekly interval is counted.
Pipe-less units
A pipe-less spa circulates water, so it is a “whirlpool, foot spa, or spa” under (a) and takes (p), (q) and (r). (s) adds its own sentence: sanitized and disinfected after each use with an EPA-registered disinfectant per the label. Read the two together: the after-use disinfection of (s) and the three procedures of (p) to (r), each recorded as the rule asks. ReadyPedi’s Pipe-less kind takes all three rows.
Writing it down
Each end-of-day and weekly cleaning above ends in the same sentences of the rule:
A record shall be made of the date and time of each cleaning and disinfecting as required by (q) and (r) above, including whether the cleaning was a daily or weekly cleaning. The record pursuant to (t) above shall be made available upon request by either a patron or inspector.
The date, the time and daily-or-weekly are the fields the rule names. Name the spa and the person as well, or the record cannot show which chair was closed down and by whom. One sheet per spa; one row per cleaning; 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 New Hampshire’s rule. The printable-log guide linked above covers the record column by column and offers a blank, and the New Hampshire page has the rule next to the app.
What to keep at the chair
Surfactant or enzymatic soap or detergent, low-sudsing soap for the end-of-day flush, and a brush for the inlet. For the after-patron solution, either automatic dishwashing powder and 5.25% chlorine bleach with a tablespoon and a measuring cup, or the EPA-registered disinfectant mixed per its label, with its label where an inspector can read it. A timer for the ten-minute circulations and soaks. For the weekly: 5.25% bleach, a measuring cup, and the basin’s capacity in gallons written somewhere you will find it. The spa’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 spa and month. A shop can start a free trial today.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the weekly bleach solution sit?
Six to ten hours, after the system is flushed with it for ten minutes, and the system is drained and flushed with water before a patron uses it.
How much bleach goes in?
For the weekly, ¼ cup of 5.25% bleach for each gallon of water, the basin filled completely; know the basin’s capacity. The after-patron solution and the end-of-day screen soak use the same ¼ cup a gallon, the first with two tablespoons of automatic dishwashing powder.
Does the end-of-day cleaning count as the last patron’s after-patron cleaning?
No. The after-patron cleaning is done first; the end-of-day cleaning is a separate procedure, the record’s daily cleaning, and its own row.
What does a pipe-less unit take?
All three procedures, since it circulates water, plus (s)’s after-use sanitizing and disinfecting with an EPA-registered disinfectant per its label.
What if a step was missed?
The record 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 soak started at 9:00 pm every night in the same handwriting is the thing that fails an inspection.
This guide explains New Hampshire’s foot spa cleaning procedure in plain language and is not legal advice. The New Hampshire Board of Barbering, Cosmetology and Esthetics’ rules are the authority on New Hampshire foot spa cleaning and recordkeeping requirements.