oh and by the way....
the lure of sex in the hot tub is all the more reason for
my personal preference to not sit in public hot tubs at hotels, ect...Germ warfare: RWIs (recreational water illness) in public hot tubs
have created bad publicity.
Here's how the service industry can fight back.Three years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
in Atlanta undertook a series of regulatory compliance inspections
of U.S. public hot tubs. It ended up uncovering some disturbing data.
Inspectors found at least one problem with water chemistry, filtration
or basic spa management on more than half of its 5,209 visits to facilities
in five states, according to the report. The inspectors also discovered
that
nearly 57 percent of public spas were in violation of local
ordinances, and 11 percent were required to close immediately."[Eleven percent] is a high number," says Michael J. Beach, Ph.D., chief
of the CDC's water and environment section/parasitic diseases. "This is
a potential hazard and it's an unacceptable level of operation."
The media immediately picked up the CDC report. Soon newspapers
and television were filled with dire warnings that
public hot tubs were
breeding grounds for pathogens. Stories of recreational water illness
outbreaks seemed to crop up everywhere.
In response, the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals issued several
"information bulletins" aimed at informing the public of the true nature
of RWIs and hot tubs. In a bulletin on "
hot tub lung," Jack Cergol,
APSP's chief staff executive, called the disease "extremely rare." He noted
that it can be avoided in connection with spas and hot tubs with proper
maintenance and water treatment.
Outbreaks hurt everyone, and the industry pays a hefty price. When
troubles occur in
public spas, it can make consumers wary of all spas
and thus less likely to purchase one in the future. Spa service technicians
need to fight back with a consistent and comprehensive protocol when
treating public hot tubs. But first, an understanding of the bigger picture
is necessary.
This is not a pool.
Hot tubs are entirely different animals than swimming pools. They're
smaller and have more users per gallon of water.
The water is also
hot and aerosolized, which makes public hot tubs more susceptible to
certain RWIs.
"It's always been thought that it's more difficult to maintain a hot tub than
a pool," says Tom Lachocki, CEO of the National Swimming Pool Foundation
in Colorado Springs, Colo., and former chairman of APSP's Recreational Water
Quality Committee. "Now it's important to realize that
there is scientific data
to prove that it's actually true. There were a greater percentage of violations
on [public] hot tubs [than there were on public pools]. This problem is real--
absolutely real."
Due to the vessel's smaller size, maintaining proper pH and sanitizer levels
can be an arduous job. Vigilance on an hourly basis often is required because
all those variables (chlorine, pH, TDS) are affected by usage levels. "Hot tub
bather loads can vary wildly," says Bob Blade, owner of Aloha Pool & Spa,
a Pacific Grove, Calif.-based service company. "They're hard to predict."
But it wouldn't be practical for a service tech to spend all day with just one
of his or her accounts to track water chemistry levels and bather loads. Even
on a good week, the most that can be done is to pay two or three visits to
the spa.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTB/is_19_44/ai_n15680674]
