A tanning bed is a significant investment for your home or business; therefore, you should maintain it properly to prevent unhygienic conditions and unnecessary damage. A tanning bed comes with a manual, and it is prudent that you read it because it contains valuable information that can help you extend the life of your machine.
It would help if you read the tanning bed manual and note the maintenance and cleaning recommendations. You should also keep track of the number of times you use the machine and how often you clean and maintain it.
It is essential to disinfect the tanning bed daily and sanitize it after every use. Additionally, you should also clean it thoroughly every three to six months and deep clean it with each lamp change or annually. It would help if you never used a cleaner that contains ammonia or alcohol because it could damage the acrylics and eventually affect the performance of your machine. You should find a cleaner that has a neutral pH.
Your preferred tanning bed cleaner should be able to prevent any buildup that could potentially block UVB and UVA rays. Regular cleaning of the machine helps you keep elements like dirt and dust at bay, ensuring that it remains hygienic.
You must check for human residues like bodily secretions and hair strands after every use. If you are using a tanning bed in a public salon, you should always ensure that it’s clean and presentable to prevent customer complaints.
Here is how to clean a tanning bed and the products to use when cleaning:
How to Properly Clean a Tanning Bed
Before you start cleaning your tanning bed, it is best to take off the transparent plastic sheets covering the lamps and the tanning acrylics. Remove the lamps and clean the reflector using a clean damp cloth.
Cleaning the reflector thoroughly will help you get optimum performance because it’s the component that reflects UV rays on the body. Clean the lamps and bulbs thoroughly, and attach them back to the machine. You can refer to the user manual if you are unsure how to attach them.
You should also clean the ballast tray after every few months using a vacuum cleaner to help you suck out all the dust. The machine has a tray holder found under the tanning bed, which holds all the electrical components. All the components require regular care and maintenance.
A tanning bed also has cooling fans found on the ballast trays, bench, and canopy. You should ensure that the fans are dust-free if you want them to function efficiently.
Besides cleaning the lamps, fan, reflector, and ballast tray, it is also essential to inspect the bed’s internal components after every use. You should sanitize the glasses after every use and check to confirm whether there are any cracks.
How to Clean Tanning Bed Bulbs
You should clean the bulbs of your tanning bed regularly if you want to eradicate dead skin cells, dust, and dirt. If dust builds up on the bulbs, you won’t tan as quickly or evenly as you did before they became dirty.
Tanning bulbs often gather dust, dirt, and dead skin, which don’t allow UV rays to penetrate, causing your tan to take longer to build up. Here is how you can clean tanning bed bulbs:
- Remove the clear acrylic panels and set them aside. You can read the tanning bed user manual to establish how to remove the panels properly.
- Lay down a clean sheet, remove the bulbs, and place them on the clean sheet. It would help if you were careful not to put the bulbs on the end as they can easily break.
- Wrap each bulb in a clean and dry cloth, and pull the fabric from top to bottom to gently remove all the dust. Once you finish cleaning each bulb, set it aside on a clean sheet so that it doesn’t pick dust.
- You should ensure that you use a clean cloth for each bulb to avoid transferring dust from one bulb to another.
- Replace each bulb back into the tanning bed. You can request another person to help you put them back into the tanning bed to avoid bumping into another bulb or the bed’s edge.
Cleaning Products for a Tanning Bed
It would be best if you chose a cleaner that will not damage the acrylics of your tanning bed because this could affect its performance. Here are some cleaning products that you can use to clean your machine:
How Do You Make a Homemade Tanning Bed Cleaner?
One of the most common tanning bed cleaning solutions DIY is made of white vinegar and distilled water. You can also add lemon juice and some essential oils, including eucalyptus, tea tree, or lavender, for a more pleasant smell and disinfecting power.
Instructions
- Combine equal parts of distilled water and white vinegar in a spray bottle. Shake the combination well, and then add a few drops of essential oils such as tea tree. Adding tea tree is highly recommended because it’s a disinfectant that will kill germs found on the bed’s surface. The general rule is to add two drops of essential oil for every cup of liquid.
- You can add a few drops of lemon juice to the spray bottle. Lemon juice is a powerful antibacterial and will also give your tanning bed a pleasant smell. Having a powerful antibacterial substance will help your tanning bed have stronger germ-killing powers.
- Label the bottle and keep it in a cool and dry place until it’s ready for use. This homemade tanning bed cleaner will last for a long time if you store it properly.
- Spray the tanning bed cleaner concentrate directly onto the surface of your machine, just as you would when using a commercial cleaner. Wipe off any excess cleaning solution using a soft cotton cloth or a paper towel.
You can use water and white vinegar when making the cleaning solution above if you do not have any essential oils or lemon juice. While the solution will clean your tanning bed efficiently, it won’t have the extra germ-killing properties introduced by the other ingredients.
Use Lucasol One-Step Disinfectant
When choosing a tanning bed cleaner, you must pick one without ammonia or alcohol because it could affect your bed’s performance. Find a cleaner with a neutral pH such as Lucasol One-Step Disinfectant.
Here is how you can use the disinfectant to clean your tanning bed:
- Pour the disinfectant into a small size spray bottle and spray the entire bed. Let the disinfectant sit on the tanning bed for at least 60 seconds to allow it to work.
- If you are using the disinfectant daily, you should spray it on the bed and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. The tanning bed should still be wet after the 10 minutes lapse; otherwise, it will mean that you didn’t use enough disinfectant.
- Use a moistened cotton cloth or paper towel to wipe down your tanning bed.
Use Citrus II Hospital Germicidal Deodorizing Cleaner
The Citrus II Hospital Germicidal Deodorizing Cleaner is excellent for cleaning your tanning bed because it doesn’t contain any bleach or alcohol. The cleaner does not require any diluting because of its ready-to-use formula.
You can use it during your daily disinfecting and sanitizing of your tanning bed. It is also an ideal cleaner when deep cleaning your tanning bed.
Can You Use Windex to Clean a Tanning Bed?
Windex is a popular glass cleaner. As a general rule, you should never use any glass cleaner to clean the acrylic surface of a tanning bed. Glass cleaner, including Windex, contains ammonia, which will fog up the acrylic surface and damage it over time.
Acrylic, which is a special polymer found on tanning beds, allows UV light to pass through. UV often leads to the breaking down of acrylic over time, and using products that contain ammonia could significantly speed up the breaking down process.
You should consider removing and stripping down broken acrylics using a mild abrasive after about 3,000 tanning sessions.
Can You Clean a Tanning Bed With Rubbing Alcohol?
Alcohol-based cleaners or rubbing alcohol are not ideal for cleaning your tanning bed. These substances may warp or crack the glass leading to a shorter life span of your tanning bed. Additionally, tanning beds have acrylics, which cannot be exposed to any product containing alcohol because it could damage them and eventually affect their performance.
Can You Use Lysol on Tanning Beds?
Lysol disinfectant solution is an effective disinfectant used by many people worldwide because it helps keep viruses, fungi, and bacteria at bay. However, cleaning a tanning bed using Lysol disinfectant is not advisable because it contains ammonia solution.
Ammonia will ruin the acrylics on your tanning bed because it will cause fading and lead to the fogginess of the acrylic, which might reduce its life span.
When shopping for a tanning bed cleaner, remember that you should also clean the outside shell of the machine and other parts, including the bulbs and the fan. While the outer parts do not need to be cleaned daily, you should dust or clean them regularly to prevent dust buildup, which might call for deep cleaning. It will help if you read the tanning bed’s user manual to get the proper way of cleaning each component.