Tanning bed cleaning and sanitation requirements: what state rules ask of salons

What federal law says about cleaning a tanning bed

Federal law puts one cleaning duty on the bed's maker and none on the salon. The two federal rules for tanning beds and booths are the performance standard for sunlamp products, 21 CFR 1040.20, and the special controls at 21 CFR 878.4635. Both set what the manufacturer must build, label and explain. The special controls require manufacturers to "provide validated instructions on cleaning and disinfection of sunlamp products between uses in the user instructions" (878.4635(b)(6)(i)(B)). Neither section, as published in the eCFR in September 2026, tells a salon how or when to clean.

A salon's cleaning duties come from state law, and some states tie them to those manufacturer's instructions. Rhode Island, for example, requires tanning devices to be kept clean and sanitary "in accordance with manufacturer's instructions." Rules differ from state to state, so start with your own at tanning laws by state, and keep the cleaning instructions from each bed's manual at hand.

What six states require

Here is how six states word their cleaning rules, taken from each state's own statute or administrative code and checked on September 29, 2026.

Florida's statute says to sanitize before each use and its rule says after each use. Cleaning between every two clients meets both. Our eye protection guide covers the eyewear rules in more detail.

Choosing a sanitizer

Two states describe the product. Florida's rule calls for a sanitizer "specifically manufactured for sanitizing ultraviolet light emitting equipment, protective eyewear," that is registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and "does not damage the acrylic plastic surface of the unit." Rhode Island uses nearly the same words. Its definition of sanitize adds that chemical germicides registered with the EPA as hospital disinfectants "may be approved" for tanning devices when used at the recommended dilutions and directions.

Florida's Department of Health says the sanitizer list its tanning program hands out is not complete. Any product made for UV equipment and eyewear, registered with the EPA and safe for the acrylic is approved.

Illinois is the most specific about eyewear. Goggles are immersed for at least one minute, at 75°F or warmer, in a solution with at least 200 parts per million of quaternary ammonium, 50 ppm of chlorine as hypochlorite or 12.5 ppm of iodine. The fourth option is another EPA-registered agent made for eyewear with the same effect as the chlorine solution.

Whatever you buy, read the label the way the EPA describes it. A product is identified by its EPA registration number, not its brand name. The directions for use say where the product may be used, how to dilute it and its contact time, and the surface should stay visibly wet for that whole time, even if that means applying more. The EPA also advises pre-cleaning a visibly dirty surface, wearing gloves and keeping lids closed.

Florida, Illinois and Rhode Island all say the bed's own UV light is not a sanitizer. Running the lamps does not replace wiping the bed or cleaning the goggles.

Testing the solution's strength

Three of the six states require a test kit or other device that measures the solution in parts per million:

• Florida: at least twice per day of operation, for the solution used on beds and eyewear (rule 64E-17.002(2)(h)).
• Illinois: the eyewear solution at least once each day of operation, or more often if needed (795.170(d)).
• Rhode Island: when the concentrate is first mixed with water and at least weekly after that. If no test kit exists for your sanitizer, the manufacturer's laboratory data must be on file with the Department of Health. The facility must also keep written mixing and handling instructions for each sanitizer (§ 24.7.1(B)(3) and (4)).

Towels, floors and restrooms

• Towels for cleaning: Florida and Rhode Island require a clean paper or cloth towel each time a bed is cleaned.
• Towels for clients: Illinois requires towels that are not shared, and cloth towels are laundered with soap or detergent after each use. Ohio requires a clean towel for every client and a solid-sided hamper for soiled ones, and Rhode Island also requires a hamper.
• Floors: Ohio requires nonabsorbent flooring or mats where clients step in and out, disinfected after each use, and regular checks that floors are dry. Illinois requires floors to be dry before each client and nonabsorbent, easily cleanable floors in tanning rooms, with no carpet in new facilities (795.150 and 795.210).
• Restrooms: Illinois requires toilet and handwashing facilities to be cleaned and disinfected at least once every 24 hours, and showers too if you have them. Ohio requires toilets and dressing rooms to be kept clean, sanitary and working at all times.
• Cleaning supplies: Ohio does not allow sanitizers, disinfectants or cleaners to be stored or provided in tanning rooms (rule 4713-19-05(C)(5)).

Cracked acrylic and broken equipment

Florida's Department of Health says a bed with badly broken acrylic should be put on stop use until the acrylic is replaced, and that tape is not a repair. Ohio's rules say the shields over the lamps may not have substantial cracks or breaks (4713-19-04(A)(4)), and that tanning equipment that is broken, does not work properly or poses a safety risk may not be used until it is repaired, with an out-of-service sign on it meanwhile (4713-19-10). In Texas, the incident log each salon keeps must list every mechanical problem with a tanning device, and the log stays at the salon for at least three years (§ 145.008(j)).

Who does the cleaning

These states put cleaning on the salon, not the client. Texas names the operator, Illinois makes the operator responsible, and Florida's rule says a trained operator or trained employee cleans. Florida's Department of Health has said that letting gym members clean the beds themselves does not meet its code unless they are employees.

Two states also make it part of staff training. When a Florida operator trains employees, the training must cover "procedures for correct cleaning, sanitizing and operation of the device," with proof of training kept at the salon (rule 64E-17.004(3)). Rhode Island's training manual must cover sanitizing procedures for eyewear, the facility and the devices, and the training must be documented (§ 24.8.2).

What to do at the front desk

1. Read your own state's rule and your bed manufacturer's cleaning instructions before you pick a product. Start at tanning laws by state.
2. Buy a sanitizer that meets the strictest wording that applies to you: EPA-registered, made for UV equipment and eyewear, and safe for acrylic. Keep the label and the dilution instructions at the desk.
3. Wipe every surface the client touched after each session: bed surfaces, headrests, handrails and floor mats. Use a clean towel each time and leave the surface wet for the label's contact time.
4. Sanitize reusable goggles after each use, or use single-use eyewear and throw it away. Do not count the bed's UV light as cleaning.
5. Test the solution's strength on your state's schedule and write the result down.
6. In Ohio, keep sanitizers and cleaners out of the tanning rooms. Treat cleaning as staff work, not something the client does.
7. Take a bed with cracked acrylic or any other fault out of service, sign it and log it. In Texas, it goes in the incident log.
8. Train every employee who cleans beds, and keep proof of the training. Our inspection checklist and recordkeeping guide cover what an inspector asks to see.

How TanVision helps

TanVision's floor board marks a room as needing cleaning the moment its session ends, and staff clear it by tapping Mark clean, which works from every board view. A moving red ring goes around a dirty room, and the desk view counts up how long it has been waiting. On the desk view, the Use next tag only goes on a room that is free, never on one still waiting to be cleaned.

TanVision keeps only the time each room was last marked clean. It does not keep a cleaning log, record who wiped a room or which product was used, or track sanitizer strength tests, so keep those records the way your state requires. See the front desk board, or book a demo.