entrapment of children

[aronsam]

I came across a very scary article about children being trapped in high suction drains and dying with adults in the tub with them.

With four young kids, this presents a real obstacle.    I came a cross an aftermarket device that appears to solve the danger www.vac-alert.com.  

Does anyone know about this or this vac alert?  Do any hot tubs come equipped with  safety features to prevent these tragedies?

[Gomboman]

By a HotSpring spa. They don't contain suction drains in the spa.  

Seriously, I don't think you have much to worry about. I don't think there have been any injuries in a portable spa. I believe you are referring to in ground spa tragedies.

[aronsam]

NOt so:

http://www.nymetroparents.com/newarticle.cfm?colid=7797

just google it

[Chad]

http://www.nymetroparents.com/newarticle.cfm?colid=7797

[MostlyLurkingGal]

NOt so:

http://www.nymetroparents.com/newarticle.cfm?colid=7797

just google it

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't read anywhere that it was a above ground portable hot tub.

[Vinny]

A well designed portable spa should pose no dangers to children as long as the suction guards are intact. Look at any of the major manufacturers and you'll see that there is no way anyone can become entrapped in a suction fitting.

Now I haven't seen all manufacturers but the ones I've seen seen seem 99.999% safe of an entrapment issue.

[Gomboman]

aronsam, I still don't think they were referring to portable spas here. Chas may be able to help me here since this has come up many times.

If you really feel uncomfortable, you should consider a HotSpring spa. They don't have suction fittings contained within the spa. The suction fittings are located in the filter compartment away from the users. It's a good design if you ask me.

[aronsam]

It seems that the danger is from portable hot tubs.  I am asking whether the maqnufacturers have addressed the danger.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/363.pdf


http://www.asiawestsoftware.com/protect-your-children-from-drowning-and-other-water-accident/index.htm

http://www.vac-alert.com/EntrapmentArticle.aspx?id=16

http://www.vac-alert.com/EntrapmentArticle.aspx?id=17

http://www.vac-alert.com/EntrapmentArticle.aspx?id=15


http://www.vac-alert.com/EntrapmentArticle.aspx?id=7



CPSC Issues Warning for Pools, Spas, and Hot Tubs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is alerting consumers and public health officials to steps they can take to reduce entrapment deaths and injuries associated with pools, spas, and hot tubs.

The main hazard from hot tubs and spas is the same as that from pools -- drowning. Since 1980, CPSC has reports of more than 700 deaths in spas and hot tubs. About one-third of those were drownings to children under age five.

Other hazards include body part entrapment and hair entanglement.

Since 1980, CPSC knows of 18 incidents, including five deaths, involving children between the ages of two and 14 who were injured or died due to body part entrapment involving the drain of a swimming pool, wading pool, or spa. In addition, last week, a 16-year-old New Jersey girl drowned when her body was sucked down against a drain on the bottom of a spa. Her body apparently formed a vacuum seal against an outlet for circulating water and she was held underwater.

Under normal conditions, pipes leading from a pool's drain, or into the pool's pumps, draw water from the pool creating suction. If something blocks the pool drain leading into this pipe, the amount of suction will increase as the pump draws water past the obstruction. This increased suction can entrap parts of a person's body, causing the person to be held underwater. In wading pools, if a child sits on the drain outlet, the suction can cause disembowelment.

To reduce the risk of entrapment and drowning, current safety standards require that each spa have two outlets for each pump, lessening the amount of suction at any single outlet.

Since 1978, CPSC has reports of 49 incidents (including 13 deaths) in which people's hair was sucked into the suction fitting of a spa, hot tub, or whirlpool, causing the victim's head to be held under water. Hair entanglement occurs when a bather's hair becomes entangled in a drain cover as the water and hair are drawn through the drain. CPSC helped develop a voluntary standard for drain covers that reduce the risk of hair entanglement.

CPSC offers the following safety tips when using a hot tub, spa, or whirlpool:


Always use a locked safety cover when the spa is not in use and keep young children away from spas or hot tubs unless there is constant adult supervision.
Make sure the spa has the dual drains and drain covers required by current safety standards.
Regularly have a professional check your spa or hot tub and make sure it is in good, safe working condition, and that drain covers are in place and not cracked or missing. Check the drain covers yourself throughout the year.
Know where the cut-off switch for your pump is so you can turn it off in an emergency.
Be aware that consuming alcohol while using a spa could lead to drowning.
Keep the temperature of the water in the spa at 104 degrees Fahrenheit or below.
The foregoing warning was released by the Consumer Product Safety Commission  on June 3, 1996.

  

[Chad]

All I know is that there is no such thing to worry about in my Jacuzzi. I'd have a hard time getting a piece of paper stuck to my suction fittings. I hope this means my tub isn't very powerful.

[MostlyLurkingGal]

Aronsam, Assuming your name is not Jim, or that you are not a vac-alert salesman, I would suggest you not get a hot tub.

[Vinny]

It seems that the danger is from portable hot tubs.  I am asking whether the maqnufacturers have addressed the danger.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/363.pdf


http://www.asiawestsoftware.com/protect-your-children-from-drowning-and-other-water-accident/index.htm

http://www.vac-alert.com/EntrapmentArticle.aspx?id=16

http://www.vac-alert.com/EntrapmentArticle.aspx?id=17

http://www.vac-alert.com/EntrapmentArticle.aspx?id=15


http://www.vac-alert.com/EntrapmentArticle.aspx?id=7



CPSC Issues Warning for Pools, Spas, and Hot Tubs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is alerting consumers and public health officials to steps they can take to reduce entrapment deaths and injuries associated with pools, spas, and hot tubs.

The main hazard from hot tubs and spas is the same as that from pools -- drowning. Since 1980, CPSC has reports of more than 700 deaths in spas and hot tubs. About one-third of those were drownings to children under age five.

Other hazards include body part entrapment and hair entanglement.

Since 1980, CPSC knows of 18 incidents, including five deaths, involving children between the ages of two and 14 who were injured or died due to body part entrapment involving the drain of a swimming pool, wading pool, or spa. In addition, last week, a 16-year-old New Jersey girl drowned when her body was sucked down against a drain on the bottom of a spa. Her body apparently formed a vacuum seal against an outlet for circulating water and she was held underwater.

Under normal conditions, pipes leading from a pool's drain, or into the pool's pumps, draw water from the pool creating suction. If something blocks the pool drain leading into this pipe, the amount of suction will increase as the pump draws water past the obstruction. This increased suction can entrap parts of a person's body, causing the person to be held underwater. In wading pools, if a child sits on the drain outlet, the suction can cause disembowelment.

To reduce the risk of entrapment and drowning, current safety standards require that each spa have two outlets for each pump, lessening the amount of suction at any single outlet.

Since 1978, CPSC has reports of 49 incidents (including 13 deaths) in which people's hair was sucked into the suction fitting of a spa, hot tub, or whirlpool, causing the victim's head to be held under water. Hair entanglement occurs when a bather's hair becomes entangled in a drain cover as the water and hair are drawn through the drain. CPSC helped develop a voluntary standard for drain covers that reduce the risk of hair entanglement.

CPSC offers the following safety tips when using a hot tub, spa, or whirlpool:


Always use a locked safety cover when the spa is not in use and keep young children away from spas or hot tubs unless there is constant adult supervision.
Make sure the spa has the dual drains and drain covers required by current safety standards.
Regularly have a professional check your spa or hot tub and make sure it is in good, safe working condition, and that drain covers are in place and not cracked or missing. Check the drain covers yourself throughout the year.
Know where the cut-off switch for your pump is so you can turn it off in an emergency.
Be aware that consuming alcohol while using a spa could lead to drowning.
Keep the temperature of the water in the spa at 104 degrees Fahrenheit or below.
The foregoing warning was released by the Consumer Product Safety Commission  on June 3, 1996.

  

If you are this concerned, I agree with MostlyLurkingGal!

COMMON SENSE is what dictates safety. If you don't know about something, then read directions and use common sense. No diving in a pool ... I've warned my kids 1,000,000 times about the danger of it ... they do it 1,000,001 times. When I see them I tell them to knock it off.

Babies die each year drowning in a bathtub because some STUPID parent left them in there alone.

You know what I consider dangerous - driving a car - some stupid idiot  lighting up a cigarette, talking on a cell phone, having a swig of coffee, screaming at the kids while backing up the SUV - that's dangerous.  

A hot tub is not dangerous!

[Chas]

I don't really have much to add. Someone has already asked if you are really Jim. Great question. If you aren't then you accidently sounded like him, and no offense is meant.

Someone already told you that these accidents do NOT involve self-contained hot tubs. That is true. Nothing in any of the articles you have posted, or the many thousands of words Jim has posted over the years offers any evidence that anyone has had a single issue with a self-contained tub, especially if the tub is listed by ETL or UL.

So, again, not to offend you in any way, but if you are a legit shopper with a real concern, relax. Shop with confidence - but be sure to buy a tub which is ETL or UL listed, and you will not have a thing to worry about.

This next sentence may get me in mild trouble - I'll take that rist - but as was already mentioned above, HotSpring Portable Spas do NOT have any suctions in the bathing area.

 8-)

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

Someone already told you that these accidents do NOT involve self-contained hot tubs. That is true.

 8-)

[Brewman]

Here's a thought.  Watch your children.  Or would that take too much time and bother?
  

[Brewman]

This next sentence may get me in mild trouble - I'll take that rist - but as was already mentioned above, HotSpring Portable Spas do NOT have any suctions in the bathing area.

 8-)

Yeah, but if you take out all of the filters, and a kid jams his head into the filter compartment, watch out!