Are Hot Tubs Safe

[tubby06]

Hi all i am close to buying a Hot Tub and i heard last night on the local news there not safe and need to be cleaned everyday. How true is this has anyone ever got sick from there hot tub?

[East_TX_Spa]

The water needs to be maintained to proper sanitation levels.  Depending on the water care regimen, it will vary from daily to weekly maintenance, in most cases.

No one has ever gotten sick from their hot tub.  Some people have become sick because they did not PROPERLY care for their hot tub, which is simply a machine.

Do not fall victim to Chicken Little media retoric.

Terminator

[drewstar]

Hi all i am close to buying a Hot Tub and i heard last night on the local news there not safe and need to be cleaned everyday. How true is this has anyone ever got sick from there hot tub?

Hell,  eating with a fork can be dangerous.


The water must be kept clean, otherwise it will become a bacteria stew, and yes, that's dangerous.  How ever, keeping a hot tub clean is a snap.

Depending on your sanitizing system, you might have to spend 10 minutes a week ensuring it's clean and maybe and hour a month.  

[salesdvl]

Hi all i am close to buying a Hot Tub and i heard last night on the local news there not safe and need to be cleaned everyday. How true is this has anyone ever got sick from there hot tub?

Usually the "news" does not seperate the jetted bath tubs from spas/hot tubs.  The scary stories that circulate about people getting sick or that they have a bazillion bacteria are the jetted bath tubs that have untreated water sitting in the piping.

[drewstar]

The news around MA latley have delt with suctions or Entrapment deaths in pools and spas.

[Chas]

 Just about every time you hear something negative on the news about pools or spas, it is going to be related to a public place. Health club, Hotel, neighborhood swim club etc. And as was just posted above, if they say "spa or Hot tub" they most likely are talking about a jetted bath tub, and that is most likely in a Hotel or Motel, not a private home.

Jetted bath tubs are supposed to be self-draining: when you pull the plug all the water is supposed to drain out of the plumbing, jets and so forth as the tub drains. But unless you rinse the tub by filling it with fresh water and running the jets, you will leave a gunky layer of soapy/oily film inside of everything. That is why jetted tubs do occasionally cause trouble. But the good news is that self-contained spas/hot tubs are always full, and generally keep the water moving enough to be safe and sanitary.

If you get sick from using your own spa at your own home, you have done something terribly wrong. Good news: it is generally not a serious problem and a little help from the dealer, the chem company or even a friendly board like this will see to it that it never happens again.

Of course, we may tease a bit...

For example, the worst thing I recall that happened to one of our family here is locking themselves out of the spa room and having to run around in the buff to get back into the house. As I said, with a little help from us it has never happened again.

[Vinny]

If you're a clutz then there's the trip and fall, bang your head and drown possibility ...  

[Spatech_tuo]

If you're a clutz then there's the trip and fall, bang your head and drown possibility ...  

Actually, that's how I lost each of my first 3 wives!

[Drewski]

For example, the worst thing I recall that happened to one of our family here is locking themselves out of the spa room and having to run around in the buff to get back into the house. As I said, with a little help from us it has never happened again.

Did you HAVE to bring that up?  BTW, I had another CLOSE one just the other day...

Drewski

[Wisoki]

Hot tubs are fun is NOT news, Hot tubs are dangerous IS! I'm sure if they had television reporters in Shakespears time he would have included them along with lawyers.

Usually the "news" does not seperate the jetted bath tubs from spas/hot tubs.  The scary stories that circulate about people getting sick or that they have a bazillion bacteria are the jetted bath tubs that have untreated water sitting in the piping.

[salesdvl]

Actually, that's how I lost each of my first 3 wives!

"Come into my hot tub" said the spider to the fly....  

[joshua45]

SPA's ARE DAMGEROUS....  You can Drown  if you keep your head under water for 5 plus minutes or someone holds your head under water...  You can starve to death if you stay in it for a week or more without having someone bring you something to eat...  You will die from dehydration if you stay in for a week without drinking water.. and worst of all, You can get electricuted if your blow dryer falls in the water when your trying to dry your hair.... Otherwise.. THEY ARE SAFE.

Actually, I did get falliculitus (boils) immediately after returning from a cruise ship and soaking almost daily (I doubt it iwas maintained very well).  

LIke everyone said: 'problems' are associated with 'social or public bathing spas (like cruise ships, etc) or from very poor maintenance on our own.

[gtp]

Hi guys.  Newly registered so be gentle with me.  I've been monitoring the sight for a while and really enjoy all the stories, comments.  Feel Like I know you all and can't wait till see new topics (yes, I live a dull life.)  Live in Frederick MD, work in Bethesda close to DC.  I have a 4 year old Marquis Sport 500, a very basic hot tub but it really suits our needs.  No problems so far and great dealer.  

This was in the Washington Post today.  Not sure if, how it may impact the industry, but thought it may be of interest.  Fits in with the topic.  I thought most hot tubs today already have various safety features.

Personal Loss Spurs Support of Bill on Pool and Spa Safety Baker Backs Incentives for States By Susan Levine Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, May 3, 2006; B04 The man who once directed the White House, ran the country's Treasury and negotiated with heads of state, stood on a dais yesterday, the Capitol as his backdrop, and choked up over painful memories.

Until that moment, James A. Baker III never had spoken publicly about the loss of his young granddaughter Graeme, who drowned in a friend's spa when she was caught by the whirlpool's drain.

"Four years ago, our hearts were really broken," said Baker -- a former White House chief of staff, treasury secretary and secretary of state -- his voice suddenly turning thick. It was an accident that need not have happened, and not just because the 7-year-old was an excellent swimmer, he continued. "A few very simple steps" could have prevented her death and all the grief and anger that followed.

Those steps, part of a bill that Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) plans to introduce next week, were what brought Baker out yesterday afternoon. The proposed legislation would offer at least $25 million in incentives to states that mandate safety measures, from pool fencing and covers to spa drain caps and vacuum release mechanisms that would keep children, and even adults, from becoming trapped.

After car accidents, federal statistics show, drowning is the second leading cause of injury death among children 1-14. At least several die every year when they cannot pull away from the drain suction or when their hair becomes entangled in the system. Others have suffered intestinal evisceration or severe brain damage.

"The body of a child is no match for the powerful suction of a drain," said Martin Eichelberger, director of emergency trauma at Children's Hospital and president of Safe Kids Worldwide. The nonprofit organization, which is supporting Wasserman Schultz's bill, suspects that the number of entrapment deaths could be much higher.

Details of Virginia Graeme Baker's death had been reported before, but never told with such purpose. Her mother, Nancy Baker, also stood on the dais at yesterday's news conference and stoically recounted the horror of that 2002 afternoon in McLean. The force holding the girl underwater was so great -- "hundreds of pounds of pressure," she said -- that the drain cover cracked in two as Graeme's body was pulled free.

"It's hard to understand how anyone cannot support this bill," James Baker said after the speeches concluded. And he pledged to work for its passage. "It's the least I can do to honor the memory of my granddaughter."

) 2006 The Washington Post Company

[Chas]

This comes up every few years. Let me say that the info on this site and sites like it usually pertains to Self-Contained portable hot tubs, or spas. The vast majority of those are ETL listed or UL listed, and the rest will most likely have safety equipment to avoid this type of tragedy even if they are NOT listed. Portable, self-contained spas simply do NOT pose that type of safety threat.  They do not have powerful pumps drawing from one main drain.

If you could go see every single one of the pool and/or spas which have been the scene of a tragic loss by suction entrapment, you would find - as our trade organization has found - that there were either plumbing designs that predated the current safety requirements, or that there was evicence of all the right parts having been in place but vandalized or tampered with, possibly by the very person who got trapped.

Again - this story and other like it come up now and again, but they do not pertain to portable spas sold today. In fact, the brand I sell - HotSpring - has NO suction fittings anywhere in the bathing area.

[gtp]

Thanks, I wasn't sure what the particulars were for this.  Big name, big story.  

We have 4 separate suctions on ours in case one gets clogged.  We love it and no one should be afraid to get one.