Germs are everywhere this time of year, so it’s extra important to make sure your work area is safe and sanitary for you and your clients. Much research has shown that clients are turned off by a dirty salon or spa. According to spastandard.com, there are four measures you can take to upgrade the cleanliness of your salon and spa space:

• Inspect retail testers and displays. Frequently take a look at the pumps on face and body products, and dust off your retail candles. Replace testers often, as well as items that look dingy beyond fixing. Every two weeks, remove all items from shelves in order to clean the shelves and dust off the products, or establish a rotation schedule so that every shelf or area gets addressed.

• Tidy up the common areas. Your waiting, changing and relaxation areas should sparkle. Every pillow and magazine should be in place and all trash put into receptacles.

• Go through as a guest. Make it a daily practice to take the guest’s walk through the salon or spa to really see what your clients are seeing. Start outside, picking up any trash near the entrance and cleaning off fingerprints from the door and windows. Inside, notice dead light bulbs, drippy benches, empty toilet paper dispensers, dust bunnies in the corners, hair in the steam room—anything that detracts from the services you’re providing. Get the view upward from a shampoo chair, downward from a massage table and at eye level everywhere.

• Clean after every client. Your styling station or treatment room speaks volumes about who you are as a professional. Any sign of the previous client, from hair and makeup to greasy footprints and extractions, can cost you repeat business. Empty trash bins, too. Every guest should feel like your first guest of the day.

Your guests will appreciate this, but so will your family. Keeping your space clean for your clients helps you, too, guard against breathing in dust and bringing home germs.