The coronavirus outbreak has taught, or reminded, us of the importance of cleanliness. Not only are people cleaning their homes more thoroughly than ever, but they are washing their hands and being more cautious to not spread germs.
As business owners, stylists, barbers, and any beauty professional, it is our duty to provide a clean, comfortable, and safe environment for our customers and employees. Given the nature of our profession, we know and understand how important this is more than ever.
While we want to keep a clean and safe environment for our clients, we also want to make sure we are not damaging our furnishings in the process. There is a right and wrong way to do this, and it’s important to use the right chemicals so your equipment does not age early.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to clean, disinfect, and preserve the integrity of your salon chairs and barber chairs.
Clean
Use a mild detergent such as hand or dish soap, luke-warm water, and a new sponge to clean the vinyl of your chair. The soap will kill bacteria and remove dirt and grime, but this step does not kill viruses.
Soap and water are gentle on the vinyl and will help preserve the integrity of the chair, but be careful to not soak it too much as it could seep into the cushion. Gently cleaning in this way will prepare your product to be properly disinfected.
Disinfect
Over the counter disinfecting wipes or cleaner will work great.
Refrain from using chemicals such as bleach, ammonia, and petroleum on your salon equipment. These can cause drying and cracking of your vinyl and will age your equipment faster.
Any type of disinfecting cleaner can be tough on vinyl and lead to faster wear and tear, which is why you want to preserve the longevity of your chair.
Preserve
After disinfecting your chair, we recommend using Mothers VLR Cleaner & Protector. Spray this onto a cloth and rub the chair top surface. Later, wipe the surface again with a dry cloth to remove residue.
This product not only cleans but conditions the surface to help prevent surfaces from drying, fading, and cracking. This is important to help prevent disinfecting procedures from aging the material.
An extra step
An additional step you could take, even if it is not state-mandated, is to politely ask your clients to wash their hands before sitting.
There is no way to avoid all bacteria and viruses, so hand-washing is one of your best defenses against COVID-19. Your armrests will be a breeding zone for bacteria, so this would be the place of main concern.
Require clients to sanitize or wash their hands before they are seated for their service. A sign with guidelines could be displayed on your reception desk. By doing this, you're also showing your customers that you are creating a safe environment for everyone.
With these three easy steps, we can make our environment safer for everyone while maintaining the best condition of our salon equipment.