How often should treatment rooms in a SPA be disinfected?

SPA treatment rooms are cleaned and disinfected after every client, not just at the end of the day. Linen and consumables are changed, and the treatment table and frequently touched surfaces are cleaned and disinfected with a suitable disinfectant, following the manufacturer's recommended contact time. For procedures that break the skin, the disinfection and sterilisation protocol appropriate to the devices and instruments used is applied. Equipment and accessories are disinfected according to the manufacturer's instructions, and all operations are recorded in the facility's internal documents.

How do you prevent Legionella and infections in the jacuzzi and sauna area?

Legionella and other microorganisms are prevented by keeping the water continuously circulating and filtered, monitoring free residual chlorine and pH, regularly cleaning the jacuzzi filters and jets where biofilm can form, flushing showers and rarely used lines, and regularly disinfecting surfaces. Water parameters are monitored and recorded periodically, and pools are drained, washed and disinfected in line with legal requirements.

What does the law say about hygiene in a SPA's wet areas?

Legislation on hygiene in SPA wet areas requires compliance with rules on water quality, disinfection, monitoring of physical-chemical and microbiological parameters, use of a footbath and shower before entering the pool, keeping records and appointing a person responsible for operating the pools.

Who is responsible for hygiene in a SPA centre with wet areas?

Hygiene in a SPA centre with wet areas is the responsibility of the person appointed by the operator to run and monitor the pools and wet areas. This person ensures the installations work properly, monitors the physical-chemical and microbiological quality of the water, draws up the internal surveillance and control plan, enforces hygiene measures and keeps the log of water parameters and maintenance and disinfection operations.

Step-by-step spa disinfection: cabins and wet areas

Step-by-step SPA disinfection: how to ensure impeccable hygiene in treatment rooms and wet areas

A SPA center sells relaxation and confidence, but it operates in a warm and humid environment—the exact conditions where bacteria, fungi, and biofilm thrive most easily. From the massage cabin where the client's skin comes into direct contact with surfaces to the wet area where water stagnates in the jacuzzi, sauna, or showers, the risk of contamination is constant. The difference between an impeccable SPA and one that makes clients ill lies not in appearance, but in a rigorously applied and documented disinfection protocol.

Discover how to ensure impeccable hygiene in both treatment cabins and wet areas, why every step matters, what the legislation requires, and which products to use!

Why impeccable hygiene is mandatory in a SPA center

In a SPA, the client comes into direct contact with surfaces, water, and air under conditions that favor the transmission of infections. Warm skin, often with minor lesions (after exfoliation, waxing, or massage), high humidity, and temperatures of 20–45 °C in water circuits create an ideal environment for microorganisms. The consequences of poor hygiene are real: mycoses and skin infections, folliculitis, Pseudomonas infections ("hot tub folliculitis"), conjunctivitis, and most seriously, legionellosis, a severe pneumonia transmitted through contaminated water aerosols.

Beyond client health, impeccable hygiene protects the reputation and continuity of the business. A single infection outbreak associated with a SPA, a documented negative review, or a sanction from the Public Health Directorate can undo years of work on the center's image. Hygiene is not a cost, but part of the service the client pays for.

Specific risks of wet areas: Legionella, fungi, and biofilm

Wet areas concentrate the most serious risks in a SPA. Legionella grows in water stagnating at 20–50 °C and is transmitted through aerosols generated by showers, jacuzzis, and hammams; its control requires water circulation, correct temperatures, and disinfection according to the EN 13623 standard. Fungi and dermatophytes (responsible for athlete's foot and mycoses) prosper on warm, wet floors around pools, in saunas, and in showers. Biofilm (the film of microorganisms that deposits on the inner walls of pipes, in filters, and on jacuzzi surfaces) protects bacteria from disinfectants and must be removed mechanically, not just chemically.

Therefore, disinfecting wet areas also entails water treatment, cleaning filters and circuits, removing biofilm, and antifungal treatment of floors and finishes.

The legal framework for disinfecting SPA centers and wet areas

Hygiene in a SPA is regulated by several complementary acts. The central reference for wet areas is Order of the Minister of Health no. 119/2014 approving the Hygiene Norms regarding the population's living environment, particularly Chapter IX – hygienic-sanitary norms for the operation and use of public swimming pools (applicable to pools, jacuzzis, and procedure baths). Among other things, it requires:

continuous filtration and disinfection of water, the use of equipment for efficient distribution of the disinfectant, and periodic removal of biofilm, sediment, and particles retained by filters (art. 98);
maintenance of the physical-chemical parameters of the water: free residual chlorine of 0.5–1 mg/l for indoor pools and 0.5–1.5 mg/l for outdoor ones, pH between 7.2 and 7.8, and water temperature between 24 and 32 °C;
the temperature must be visibly displayed in the pool area (art. 103);
access to the pool only after taking a shower and passing through a footbath (or other equivalent foot disinfection system), supplied with water and a free residual chlorine level of 2 mg/l (art. 99 and 114);
determination of the residual disinfectant daily before using the pool, every 3 hours in case of manual disinfection, and continuously in case of automatic disinfection, with additional manual checks (art. 105);
complete emptying, washing, and disinfection of the pool at least once a year and before each opening in case of seasonal operation (art. 107);
appointment of a pool manager and keeping a logbook containing the results of water analyses, disinfectant concentration, pH values, water temperature, and maintenance and disinfection operations (art. 101 and 106);
prohibition of access for persons with communicable diseases, open wounds, dermatitis, or dermatosis, this prohibition being included in the pool's rules of use (art. 115).

Step-by-step SPA disinfection: treatment cabins

The massage, facial, or body treatment cabin is the place with the most intense direct skin-to-surface contact. The protocol applies after every client, not just at the end of the day.

Therapist hand hygiene. Hygienic washing or disinfection is performed before and after every client. A mild soap such as Klinsafe protects the skin during frequent washing, and hydroalcoholic solutions like Alchosept or Klintensiv Hand Sanitizer Gel ensure rapid disinfection.
Changing linens and consumables. Sheets, towels, pillowcases, and soft materials are changed after every client with clean ones; where possible, single-use materials are used.
Surface cleaning. The massage table, headrest, chair arms, and touched surfaces are first cleaned of residues (oils, creams).
Surface disinfection. A mid-level disinfectant is applied: Klinosept or Klinomed™ Wipes, respecting the contact time. For high-risk areas (after treatments involving skin breakage), a high-level disinfectant is used, Sterisol or RTU Surface Disinfectant.
Disinfection of equipment and accessories. Cosmetic devices, massage stones, bowls, and reusable tools are cleaned and disinfected; those touching mucous membranes or damaged skin require high-level disinfection or, as appropriate, sterilization (e.g., with the Oxoklin cold chemical sterilant for heat-sensitive instruments).
Ventilation and flooring. The cabin is ventilated between clients, and the floor is cleaned and disinfected with Dezicon whenever necessary.
Logging. The operation is noted in the cabin's daily-hourly chart (time, responsible person, product, concentration, contact time).

Note: massage oils leave a greasy film that inactivates most disinfectants. If you skip the cleaning step and apply the disinfectant directly to the greasy table, you are practically "disinfecting" the dirt; therefore, prior cleaning is not optional.

Step-by-step SPA disinfection: wet areas (sauna, hammam, jacuzzi, showers)

Wet areas require a two-tier protocol: surface disinfection and water/circuit treatment.

Surfaces and floors

Daily mechanical cleaning of floors, sauna benches, hammam walls, and pool edges to remove biofilm and deposits; disinfectant alone cannot penetrate biofilm.
Disinfection with approved products, focusing on antifungal action on warm and wet floors: Deziamino or Dezicon. Frequently touched surfaces (handles, railings, glass doors) are disinfected several times a day.
Footbaths and showers are cleaned and disinfected regularly; the water in the footbath is kept chlorinated at 2 mg/l.
Sanitary facilities and locker rooms are disinfected at least twice a day with Fizzy Tablet and Igienic Plus, with attention to faucets, handles, and lockers.
When the hygiene protocol requires it, airborne room surface disinfection by nebulization with a product like Desogen Aero can be used as an additional measure for hard-to-reach surfaces.

Water and circuits

Continuous filtration and disinfection of swimming pool and jacuzzi water, maintaining free residual chlorine at 0.5–1 mg/l for indoor pools and 0.5–1.5 mg/l for outdoor ones, a pH between 7.2 and 7.8, and water temperature within the limits provided for the pool type.
Monitoring and recording residual disinfectant concentration, pH, and water temperature before the pool opens and throughout the schedule, according to the frequency required by legislation.
Periodic water refreshing, complete emptying, washing, and disinfection of the pool at least once a year and before each opening in case of seasonal operation, with removal of deposits and disinfection of surfaces.
Preventing biofilm and bacterial growth in water systems by avoiding water stagnation, purging showers and rarely used circuits, periodically cleaning and disinfecting filters, pipes, and jacuzzi jets, and maintaining system operating parameters.

The jacuzzi is the riskiest equipment in a SPA. Recirculated warm water, aerosols, and hard-to-clean jets make it the preferred environment for Pseudomonas and Legionella. Jets and internal pipes must be explicitly included in the protocol.