What the rule covers
Four paragraphs of one rule. Paragraph (o) defines the equipment: “‘whirlpool’ or ‘footspa’ means any basin using circulating water”, which takes in a piped whirlpool chair and a pipe-less unit alike. Paragraph (p) is the procedure after each patron. Paragraph (q) is the procedure at the end of the day. Paragraph (r) is the record: a row for each cleaning, with the date, time, reason and the name of the staff member, one record per unit, kept ninety days. There is no weekly paragraph, and nothing in Subchapter 14H mentions a still bowl, a portable tub or a liner. Both procedures end the same way: in a row on the record.
The disinfectant the rule means
The rule names a standard, not a brand. Under .0403(a) a disinfectant is one “EPA registered as effective against” four classes of organism, each with named examples: bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA and pseudomonas aeruginosa; viruses including HIV and hepatitis B and C; fungi including Trichophyton mentagrophytes; and human coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2. It is used according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and the after-patron step circulates it for ten minutes. What an inspector checks is the label: the EPA registration number and the organisms the label claims. The same rule asks, in (u), that a manufacturer’s label for every disinfectant concentrate be available at all times.
After each patron
“After use by each patron each whirlpool or footspa shall be cleaned and disinfected as follows”, in the order of .0403(p):
- Drain all the water and remove all debris from the basin.
- Disinfect the basin by filling it with water and circulating a surfactant or enzymatic soap with a disinfectant, used according to the manufacturer’s instructions, through the unit for ten minutes.
- Drain the basin and rinse it with clean water.
- Wipe the basin dry with a clean towel.
- Record it: date, time, After Client, the staff member’s name.
The ten minutes is circulation time with the soap and the product in the water and the pump running; start the clock then, not when you begin draining. The rule reads the soap and the disinfectant as one circulation, not two.
At the end of the day
“At the end of the day each whirlpool or footspa shall be cleaned and disinfected as follows”, in the order of .0403(q):
- Remove the screen and remove all debris trapped behind it.
- Wash the screen and the inlet with surfactant, enzymatic soap or detergent, and rinse them with clean water.
- Before replacing the screen, immerse it totally in disinfectant, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Clean the inlet and the area behind the screen with a brush and surfactant soap and water to remove all visible debris and residue.
- Flush the spa system with low-sudsing surfactant, enzymatic soap and warm water for at least ten minutes, then rinse and drain.
- Record it: date, time, Daily, the staff member’s name.
This is the form’s Daily row. It does not stand in for the last patron’s After Client cleaning; that is done and recorded first, and the breakdown follows as its own cleaning and its own row. The paragraph names no circulation of disinfectant through the system: the disinfectant’s part at the end of the day is the immersed screen, and the system itself gets the soap flush.
No weekly step
There is no third procedure. The rule asks for nothing weekly, biweekly or monthly, and the Board’s form has no column for one. Our guide to how often to clean a pedicure foot spa in North Carolina covers the two schedules and what an owner who came from Texas or California will find missing.
A bowl without jets
The two procedures above are written for “each whirlpool or footspa”, and (o) says that means a basin using circulating water. A bowl with no pump, a portable tub and a disposable liner are not mentioned in Subchapter 14H, so on the text they are outside (p) to (r). Whether an inspector applies the rule to a still bowl is not verified, and the Board is the one to ask. This guide lists no procedure for one, because the rule lists none.
Writing it down
Each procedure ends in the same paragraph of the rule, (r): “A record shall be made of the date and time of each cleaning and disinfecting as required by this Rule including the date, time, reason, and name of the staff member who performed the cleaning. This record shall be made for each whirlpool or footspa and shall be kept and made available for at least 90 days upon request by either a patron or inspector.” On the Board’s form that is one row per cleaning: the date, the time, After Client or Daily (the reason), and the name in the Employee Signature column; one sheet per unit, the unit number written at the top because the form has no field for it; ninety days in the binder. Our guide to the North Carolina footspa sanitation form covers the form column by column, and the North Carolina page has the rule next to the app.
What to keep at the chair
A brush for the inlet and the area behind the screen, since the rule says they are brushed; the surfactant or enzymatic soap for the after-patron circulation and a low-sudsing one for the flush; the disinfectant, mixed per its label, with the label (or its EPA registration number) where it can be read, which (u) asks for in so many words; clean towels, because the rule says “wiped dry with a clean towel”; a timer for the ten minutes; and the unit’s sheet, or the tablet that holds its record. ReadyPedi’s three taps at the chair record each cleaning with the time it was finished, print the staff member’s name from the roster in the signature column, and print the Board’s form one sheet per unit. A shop can start a free trial today.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the disinfectant have to circulate after each patron?
Ten minutes, per the manufacturer’s instructions, with the pump running. The clock starts when the soap and the product are in the water and circulating.
Which disinfectant does North Carolina require?
One EPA registered as effective against bacteria (the rule names Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA and pseudomonas aeruginosa), viruses (HIV, hepatitis B and C), fungi (Trichophyton mentagrophytes) and human coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2, used per its label. The rule names the standard, not a brand; check the product’s label against it.
Does the end-of-day cleaning count as the last patron’s cleaning?
No. The after-patron cleaning is done and recorded first; the end-of-day breakdown (screen out, inlet brushed, system flushed) is a separate cleaning and its own row on the form.
Is there a weekly or biweekly soak in North Carolina?
No. The rule has two procedures, after each patron and at the end of the day, and the Board’s form has two columns to match.
What do I write after each cleaning?
The date, the time, which cleaning it was (After Client or Daily), and the name of the staff member who did it, on that unit’s own sheet. Keep the sheet at least ninety days and show it to a patron or an inspector who asks.
This guide explains North Carolina’s foot-spa cleaning procedure in plain language and is not legal advice. The North Carolina Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners’ rules are the authority on North Carolina foot-spa cleaning and recordkeeping requirements.