Lamp Maintenance, Relamping & Recycling (How Many Salon Owners Does It Take ...)

Among the many tasks salon owners have to perform each year, the process of replacing and properly disposing of tanning lamps may seem less important than other duties—such as filing tax returns or upgrading equipment. However, that is a huge mistake. Why? Two reasons.

1. Consistently replacing tanning lamps ensures that the lamps are performing at their maximum output, which means your clients are receiving the best possible tan from your equipment.

“General lighting is designed to run until it burns out,” says Dave Myers, president of Ultraviolet Resources International in suburban Cleveland. “A tanning lamp only has a useful life of about 1,000 hours.”

(Note: Standard fluorescent tubes can run from 12,000 to 24,000 hours.)

After that time, the lamp is useless to tanners because it doesn’t generate enough UV light, even if the lamp still appears to work. Because of this, it’s important to routinely check the energy output. A pocket-sized UVA gadget should be enough to perform this task. Though it only will give stats on UVA rays, you can assume the UVB rays diminish proportionately. When using the UV reader, make sure to take the reading in the same place each time you use it. Though UV reading isn’t an exact science, repeating the process and the environment every time will give the most-accurate results. Also let the lamps and equipment warm up for 20 to 30 minutes before taking a reading to allow the lamps to reach a state of “thermal equilibrium.”

As a general rule, lamps need to be replaced when they’ve lost 70 percent to 75 percent of their original UV output. The biggest drop-off in output occurs during the first 100 hours of a lamp’s life, usually 10 percent to 20 percent, depending on the kind of phosphor in the lamp.

When it is time to relamp your equipment, the process is fairly easy—not quite as simple as changing a light bulb, but not much more difficult. First, make sure the replacement lamps you have purchased are the same size as the ones already installed and that they are compatible with the tanning unit. If you’re replacing lamps in a high-pressure unit for the first time, be certain to buy the correct replacement lamp; you may need F59 lamps instead of the more common F71. If you are unsure, consult with the unit manufacturer and buy what they tell you will work. Now for the easy part: With the unit shut off, unscrew the current lamp and twist in the replacement in the same manner.

2. This consistent replacement means that salons go through a number of lamps each year; therefore, it’s important to adhere to strict disposal policies and to become knowledgeable about the laws in your city and state regarding disposal of hazardous waste. For example, in California the law forbids people from throwing away more than four lamps at a time.

Myers wouldn’t name names, but he knows of a few salons that have received sanctions from the government for illegally disposing of lamps in the dumpster—and he’s even heard of some people attempting to break the lamps outside when no one was looking and toss them into the garbage. From a business standpoint, it’s simply not worth the risk of hefty fines or a harmed reputation to engage in such shady practices.