Top Tips For Cleaning Your Dog Grooming Salon
If you have a successful dog grooming salon, you’ll probably see many dogs coming in and out of your salon during the day. Whilst it’s great to have so many appointments, you must make sure that each dog you groom is kept safe, happy and healthy whilst in your care.
It’s important to keep your salon hygienic to prevent the spread of germs, bacteria and pesticides, which could harm you and the dogs you groom.
In this blog, we highlight the key ways to ensure your salon is immaculately hygienic. From the best cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation methods used in salons to how to safely disinfect all of your tools and equipment, by following our top tips, you’ll be providing a dog grooming haven that your customers will be excited to come back to!
Table of contents:
How do I keep my dog grooming salon clean?
How do I clean and sterilise my dog grooming equipment?
How do I sterilise tools in my salon?
How do I keep my salon clean and sterilised?
How do I keep my dog grooming salon clean?
While it may be arduous, cleaning your dog salon is extremely important as it ensures that germs and bacteria aren’t transferred between dogs.
Every surface you and the dogs you groom come into contact with must be cleaned and sterilised alongside all your tools and equipment.
To keep your dog grooming salon clean and safe, we’d recommend that you invest in the following products:
- Brooms, mops, mop buckets and a steam cleaner for sweeping and cleaning the floor.
- A dustpan and brush to collect any stray, loose dog hair
- Antibacterial soap, disinfectant cleaners, antibacterial sprays, bleaches and pet-friendly detergents for washing and disinfecting surfaces and for washing towels and cleaning cloths.
- Cleaning cloths and sponges in various colours so you can allocate a colour to a job in the salon.
- Pet-friendly air fresheners to keep the salon fresh.
- Rubbish bags to dispose of clipped hair and nails.
- A UV sterilisation unit for cleaning tools efficiently between appointments.
- Barbicide and a Barbicide jar for cleaning scissors and combs
- Rubbing alcohol to clean scissor edges and clipper blades.
- UltraGrime pet-friendly wipes for cleaning down surfaces and equipment.
Start by planning how your cleaning day will look around your grooming schedule and factor in time to clean key equipment between appointments. Then, when planning your final appointment for the day, always leave enough time to deep clean your salon before closing so that everything is clean and ready for opening the next day.
How do I clean and sterilise my dog grooming equipment?
Cleaning and sterilising your dog grooming salon’s equipment isn’t a one-size-fits-all job. Some equipment will require more frequent cleaning than others. In this section, we’ll concentrate on how to best clean your salon room and larger equipment before discussing sterilising your tools.
Salon room and grooming tables
Your dog salon must be frequently cleaned throughout the day to keep it looking fresh and to remove germs and bacteria.
Start by regularly sweeping and vacuuming the salon floor to remove hair and nail clippings and mop it between appointments. Floors between rooms, the main reception and any hallways should also be swept regularly to prevent hair from travelling around the salon. All loose hair should be collected with your dustpan and brush and disposed of.
Floors should be mopped at least once a day with an antibacterial soap. Try to allocate a different mop head to each salon area and then finish with a floor steamer to eliminate any germs that might have been missed.
The walls of your salon should also be cleaned each day, alongside any areas regularly touched such as door handles and grooming restraints.
If a dog gets caught short in your salon, any urine or faeces must be dealt with immediately to prevent germs from being transmitted to other dogs and humans. Deal with the waste, then disinfect the area to remove any germs. Follow up with a pet-friendly deodoriser to eliminate any nasty odours.
Grooming tables and waiting cages will need to be cleaned between appointments. Once a dog has been groomed and dried, and its nails have been clipped, vacuum the table, then clean and disinfect the surface area. UV wands which eliminate bacteria can also be run over the tables between appointments to sanitise the area further.
Waiting cages should also be cleaned in the same way.
Dog bathtubs
Much like grooming tables, dog bathtubs must be regularly cleaned between appointments to prevent the transfer of fleas and bacteria.
Always start by removing hair and any residue from the tub and disposing of it. You may also want to mop the floor around the tub to remove any further hair.
Any disinfectant wash containing chlorhexidine is recommended for cleaning your salon’s bathtubs. Chlorhexidine is used in hospitals to clean surgical equipment and skin before surgery, so it is a safe choice.
Be sure to fully rinse the tubs after cleaning and dry them with a chamois cloth.
Disinfectant
The best way to fully clean your dog grooming salon is to use multiple disinfectants interchangeably. This way, bacteria don’t get the opportunity to become immune to the products.
A good practice is to clean your salon Monday to Wednesday with one disinfectant and then swap to a completely different antibacterial formula for the remainder of the week.
Towels and cleaning cloths
Colour-coding towels and cleaning cloths is a great way to ensure your salon stays hygienic.
Start with a single colour for towels used specifically for drying down dogs and a second colour towel used specifically for drying their faces and rear ends, making sure to complete the task in that order. This prevents germs from the rear end from being transferred into the dog’s coat if only one towel is used.
All towels should be washed on a high-temperature cycle with pet-friendly detergent and changed to fresh towels whenever a new dog is groomed.
A similar approach can be applied to cleaning cloths; for example, you can use blue cloths to dry down tools and orange cloths to wipe down disinfected benches.
By coordinating your cleaning cloths and storing them in separate areas of the salon, you prevent the further spreading of germs.
UltraGrime Wipes
UltraGrime Anti Bac and Pet Wipes are great additions to your grooming salon to help you easily clean down surfaces and wipe down muddy pets.
Each 40pk of Anti Bac wipes offers professional grade cleaning and is perfect for disinfecting any environment, killing 99.99% of germs. These wipes are twice the size of common wipes, and they stay wet and usable for over 60 minutes, perfect for cleaning down worktops and surfaces between appointments.
UltraGrime Pet Wipes are perfectly pet-friendly and safe enough to clean down paws, claws, surfaces, pet toys and accessories.
All UltraGrime wipes come in recyclable packaging and are 100% biodegradable, so they’re much kinder to the environment than most standard cleaning wipes. And they’re cruelty-free!
UltraGrime wipes are an exceptional addition to your grooming salon’s cleaning routine but don’t just take our word for it; our customers love it too!
How do I sterilise tools in my salon?
Grooming tools must be cleaned between appointments to prevent germs and bacteria from being transmitted from dog to dog. As you’ll need your tools clean and ready, it’s always useful to have spare scissors, brushes and combs to hand so you’re not stuck cleaning your tools after every appointment.
However, it would help if you were cleaning your equipment multiple times per day and here are our top tips on how to do it:
- A UV sterilisation unit is a great addition to any grooming salon. Use it to sterilise your combs, brushes and clipper blades between appointments. It is simple and safe to use and kills all known bacteria and microorganisms quickly and efficiently.
- A Barbicide jar filled with Barbicide should be placed at the end of every grooming station, and scissors and combs should be soaked after every use. Barbicide is the best and safest solution for cleaning your scissors without corroding them or damaging their tension key. Remember to frequently replace the Barbicide in the jar to guarantee that it continues killing germs and bacteria. Rubbing alcohol is also useful for killing germs on parts of the scissor blades where frequent contact is made.
- Clipper blades can’t be soaked in Barbicide as the solution can damage the blades. However, Clippercide aerosol spray works just as effectively for lubricating and disinfecting the blades and is germicidal and fungicidal. Another way to clean clippers between clients is to soak the blade end of your clippers in a blade cleaning solution, turning them on whilst submerged and leaving them there for around eight seconds. Remove and dry on a soft cloth before using again. Always ensure no hair caught between the blades of your clippers after each appointment; if there is, remove it. Remember to apply clipper oil after every other use to keep your clippers working effectively.
- Clean shampoo and dilution bottles regularly to remove product buildup and prevent bacteria from forming in the nozzles and spreading throughout the salon.
How do I keep my salon clean and sterilised?
There are many areas to consider when keeping your salon clean and sanitary. From cleaning down each grooming station between appointments to keeping on top of cleaning your tools, all surfaces must be regularly cleaned and maintained to prevent germs and bacteria from spreading between dogs and humans.
By establishing a cleaning routine and having your salon cleaners labelled and on hand, you can keep on top of the essential kit that requires cleaning between appointments. Get into the habit of booking appointments with space between them to freshen up your grooming space, sweep the floor and clean down all surface areas between appointments.
Cleaning your grooming salon at the end of each working day will help it remain sanitary and inviting for your next set of clients.
Find all of your salon’s cleaning essentials at Groomers today
For your salon’s cleaning needs, shop our full selection of cleaning products at Groomers online via the links above. Or, for more options, why not browse our range of cleaning and sterilising products?
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