Do you offer hot stone massage?
A blog post a while back from Massage Table Outlet about the most likely places for germs to lurk got me thinking about the importance of keeping massage stones clean and sanitary. (I was also horrified at the lemon wedges!!) A quick look on YouTube resulted in tons of great videos on the topic.
Here's a short video with some suggestions.
What have you found to be the best way to clean your stones?
She continues to operate her own private massage practice of 13 years. www.BodyworkBuddy.com
Dawn dish soap!
ReplyDelete& I NEVER put stones back in the warmer dirty! Yuk!
I hate that most spas do that -they think their disinfecting solution that they keep the stones in cleans them- last time I checked that didn't get the skin gunk off from the last client, haha!
ha - I misread that as "sink gunk" and was trying to figure out how sink gunk was getting on the stones!
DeleteI worked at a place that sprayed a couple of squirts of "Thieves" spray on top of the water that the stones were kept in. The stones were not cleaned in between clients. Now I do realize that Thieves spray is supposed to be a disinfectant but it just did not seem that a couple of sprays onto the surface of the water would be enough to sanitize the stones. I did not like this set up at all and I wash my stones with hot water and dawn dish detergent after each use. Has the effectiveness of these essential oils ever really been tested and verified? A lot of places use this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Harriet. That could be an interesting topic to research, I don't believe I've come across any studies on the effectiveness of oils as a disinfectant. But I agree, even if they are effective, I doubt a couple of sprays on top of the water would be enough!
DeleteI do as Harriet stated. Not expensive but gets the oils/product used off and is cleaned as good as my hands. The containter should be cleaned as the video suggested routinely.
DeleteThanks, Cynthia :)
DeleteTo feel the slimy gunk and skin particles from other people and be required to use the same stones all day with just a couple of sprays of whatever disinfectant the massage chain felt comfortable with absolutely repulsed me. I couldn't do it and washed my stones every client. Seems totally unsanitary to me, and I cannot believe it is acceptable to do this.
ReplyDeleteagreed!
DeleteI use disinfectant in my water and I spray my stones down in between uses with 100% alcohol to disinfect. They are all cleaned with soap and water at the end of the day.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that the Thieves spray would work in the water as a disinfectant, because it is not rated to withstand the higher temperatures in a heating unit (essential oils do break down under high temperatures, making them less effective.)
Thanks Shanna - excellent point about the Thieves spray!
DeleteI wash my stones in 180 degree water with dawn dish detergent. Once the oil and any residue is washed of I soak them in a 10 minute hospital grade disinfectant, rinse each one and allow to dry. I also clean my stone warmer with the same type disinfectant. I clean them after every use and store them in a sealed container until the next use. I have two sets of stones so that I always have one clean and sanitized and ready to go. ~Denise Dow LMT
ReplyDeleteI do the same as Ginger - Clean the the stones, roaster, and spoon with Dawn dish soap. For the record, I don't use a spoon because of water temp, I simply find that not putting my oily hands IN the water keeps the interior of the roaster cleaner so I don't end up with cooked on oil coating the inside. And I never put dirty stones back in the roaster. Yuck!
ReplyDelete