Foot soaking tubs are the source of at least 80% of salon acquired infections. Even if the tub were properly cleaned, you put your dirty feet in the tub when you get to the salon. Any cuts you have, or even microabrasions you get during your pedicure, are all now portals of entry for infection. The surface of most feet are covered in fungus, bacteria, and viruses, including staph. Staph infections are hard to kill and can be life threatening if they enter the blood stream. As long as it does not enter your body, it will not harm you. But getting a cut, and then swimming in a soup of germs, is asking for trouble.

Salons in Ohio are required to disinfect, not sterilize. Most salons are not even following the directions properly to disinfect. With our advanced training in infection control, we understand, not just the importance of sterilization, but the proper procedures as well. We start by scrubbing our tools with soap and water to remove all visible debris. This prevents our disinfectant from being overburdened by too much organic material. Next, we disinfect. This is our fail safe back-up in case of any issues with our autoclave. Next our tools go into an autoclave that uses steam under pressure to kill all organic material, including fungal spores. Another crucial step in our process is monthly laboratory testing of our machine to make sure it is working to completely kill all germs. If it does not pass laboratory tests then it is taken for repairs.

Anything we touch while doing a pedicure can cause cross contamination. That is why we clean and disinfect our pedicure room after each client. We disinfect the clent chair, client leg cushions, product bottles, cabinets, and so on. Typical salon disinfectant needs to remain wet for 10 minutes. Barbicide is not designed for surfaces specifically and would require multiple reapplications to keep a surface wet since a light spray will evaporate. We use a surface disinfectant that only takes 50 seconds and kills more germs than Barbicide. It cost a lot more money than most salons are willing to spend but we appreciate the peace of mind knowing that our room is clean and ready for the next cient.