How to Clean Tanning Bulbs

Owning a tanning bed means you will have to set aside time to remove the acrylics and bulbs occasionally to clean them of dirt and dust and dead skin cells. Whether you have a tanning salon or a tanning bed at home, it should be a monthly task that you set aside time for to remove the acrylics and the bulbs and clean it all thoroughly. If dust builds up you won’t tan as quickly or as evenly as you did before they got dirty. While it may seem that because you’re not tanning as quickly you might need to replace the bulbs, that is a mistaken belief. Many times as they might just need a thorough cleaning!

Tanning bulbs gather dead skin, dirt and dust and it accumulates on the tanning bulb and doesn’t allow for the UV rays to get through and causes your tan to take longer to build up and could also tan you unevenly. Take time on a monthly basis to clean off the bulbs. It will take an hour or so and you may want to recruit some help but it will help extend the life of your bulbs.

The first step in cleaning the bulbs is to remove the clear acrylic panels and set them aside. Read the instructions that came with your bed to find how to properly remove the panels. Lay down a clean sheet and then remove the tanning bulbs and lay them on the sheet. Never stand the bulbs on end as they can easily break.

Caution should be used at all times when handling the bulbs because you don’t want to break the filaments or the bulbs themselves.  Wrap the bulbs in a clean, dry cloth and pull the cloth from top to bottom of the bulb to gently remove all of the dust. After you’ve cleaned the bulb, set it aside onto a clean sheet so it doesn’t pick up the dust from the sheet. Using a clean cloth for each bulb should be the plan so you don’t transfer any dust from one bulb to another.

Replace the bulbs gently back into the bed with the second person helping you ease them back into the bed without bumping into another bulb or the edge of the bed itself. Once all of the bulbs have been replaced, place the thoroughly cleaned acrylic panels back into the tanning bed and you should be ready to go. 

Tips for Cleaning Your Tanning Bed

It's easy to overlook cleaning the tanning bed, particularly when you are the only one using it! Yet the bed needs to be cleaned regularly in order to have the best environment in which to get the best tan. Cleaning can be done when changing out the tanning lamps and should also be done more frequently, at least once a week. Fortunately, even though there is a lot to do, tanning beds are easy to clean.

Tanning lamps themselves need to be dusted regularly. If you allow too much dust to build up, there is the chance that the UV ray intensity could be decreased by about 10 percent.

Wipe off the reflector, another component that helps to aim the UV rays toward your skin. While not, technically, a part of the lighting mechanism, the ballast tray tends to collect dust and should be cleaned out on a regular basis. Keep in mind, however, that the tray does not need to be cleaned as often as the other parts.

There will be cooling fans in the ballast or on the canopy, or in both areas. These fans are an essential component of the bed, so be sure to clean the blades thoroughly.

Always sanitize the bed between each use. Contrary to popular belief, UV rays do not disinfect the surface in any way, thus be sure to clean the bed yourself

The main thing to keep in mind is that tanning bed maintenance, and cleaning, should be done on a regular basis, and should be done properly. If done so, you will have a clean bed and the best conditions to enjoy a good tanning session.