08/27/2026
🐾🧼 LET’S TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT ISN’T TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH — SALON SANITATION. 🧼🐾 ( I promise you want to read this… you may want to start asking “what is your cleaning regimen like?” Before asking “ When is your next available?” !!)
Something many pet owners may not realize is that Indiana does not have the kind of statewide sanitation and licensing standards specifically for stand-alone dog grooming salons that you might expect. Because of that, the level of cleanliness and sanitation you see can vary tremendously from one grooming environment to another.
And unfortunately, not every salon has the same standards.. or any standards at all.
Think about it: most of us want to mop our floors at home regularly, and we may only have one or two dogs living there. Now imagine multiple dogs coming through the same room every single day — walking across the floors, standing on tables, using tubs, shedding, drooling, and occasionally having accidents.
At Heavenly Paw & Spa, I don’t wait until the end of the day to clean. Sanitation happens throughout my ENTIRE workday.
🧼 Some of the things I do between clients include:
• Mopping between dogs, not simply once at the end of the day.
• Cleaning and disinfecting my grooming table and other surfaces dogs come into contact with.
• Cleaning and disinfecting my clippers, blades, combs, brushes, shears, and other grooming equipment appropriately between dogs.
• Using Barbicide on appropriate grooming tools according to its directions.
• Using rubbing alcohol on appropriate brushes and shears as part of my cleaning routine.( COMPLETELY dried before it touches any dog!!)
• Immediately cleaning any urine or accidents and using vinegar as part of my odor-cleaning routine to help break down lingering urine odors.
• Regularly cleaning frequently touched areas throughout the salon with appropriate antibacterial/disinfecting products.
And one of the most important products in my sanitation routine is my 256 disinfectant.
So what exactly is that?
This isn’t just something I’m using to make the floor look clean or smell good. 256-type veterinary disinfectants are designed for serious disinfection of animal environments. Depending on the specific product and when it is properly diluted, applied, and allowed to remain wet for the required contact time, the label may include effectiveness against pathogens that can cause serious illnesses in dogs — including canine parvovirus, along with various bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
Parvo is exactly the kind of reason sanitation matters so much. A dog doesn’t have to look dirty for harmful germs to potentially be present in an environment.
That’s why I use my disinfectant on appropriate floors, grooming tables, and dog-contact surfaces and follow the product’s directions for proper dilution and contact time. I’m not simply running a mop over the floor with something that smells good — I’m actually cleaning AND disinfecting.
There is a difference between a salon that looks clean and a salon that is actually being properly cleaned and disinfected between animals.
Grooming isn’t JUST about your dog going home with a beautiful haircut. ✂️🐶 Proper sanitation helps reduce the chance of germs being transferred from one animal to another. This is the difference between your dog coming home healthy, or coming home with an infection a few days later.
When you leave your dog with me, you’re trusting me with more than their haircut. You’re trusting me with their safety, comfort, and well-being, and I take that responsibility extremely seriously.
I don’t clean this way because someone is standing over me making sure I do it.
I clean this way because your dog deserves it. 🤍
🐾 Clean tools. Clean tables. Clean floors. Clean environment. Every dog. Every appointment.
Heavenly Paw & Spa
Where every pet is a blessing. 🤍🐾
