I’ve heard stories of hot tubs being cesspools of floating organic matter (flaked skin cells, etc.). I’ve lately been reluctant to stick my toe in it, so to speak.
I’m not a germaphobe but I admit to feeling icked by this notion.
You?
mmm
I swim in natural lakes - you want to know what sort of “organic matter” winds up in those? (I usually do shower afterwards. But when I was backpacking going for a swim was a bath).
My concern is with how the hot tub is maintained - properly done, it’s no more hazardous than a public swimming pool, which is pretty safe if properly maintained. That involves cleaning and sanitizing. If it’s a private hot tub (say, in your own residence) then you have control over it and should be able to drain and clean it, and in between provide proper maintenance.
An improperly or non-maintained hot tub can be disgusting and even potentially hazardous, but you can say that about a lot of things.
Flaked skin cells? Really? Are you aware that a significant portion of the dust in human-used spaces is, in fact, flaked skin cells? The dust in your home, your office, your car… it’s sort of ubiquitous stuff wherever people go.
Life is a cesspool of organic matter. We are only unhappy about this when we happen to think about it.
Yes, I am aware. Soaking in it seem ookier.
mmm
True. And hot tubs serve as a rank reminder of that which uns my happy. I have voted, and will continue to vote, no to hot tubs.
Keep it clean. Run the filter for a sufficient amount of time, clean the filter occasionally, keep the pH right, the bromine or chlorine levels consistently right and do s shock / oxidiser bomb every now and again and all should be crystal clear.
Mainly just keep the filter running a fair bit.
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I’m okay with them if I don’t think about it too hard. Until the point at which the bubbles are actually making frothy protein films on the top, like the first stage of making chicken stock. That’s my own personal NOPE! sign, that this thing needs to be cleaned before I’m going anywhere near it.
Generally, I’m happy to go in the hot tub of my favorite festival campground in the week I’m there before festival starts. There aren’t too many people then. Once festival starts, it quickly becomes Hippie Stew, and I’m not going in at that point. Nope nope nope.
I’ll submit this as my answer to your question. Skip ahead to post 33 for the details.
I hate to throw another wet blanket on hot tubs, but unfortunately it is not rare that people die in them. Not that they are dangerous in and of themselves, but all the warnings about not using hot tub when you are intoxicated or have a heart problem or similar, people don’t always follow those (to be fair, some people may not know they have a heart problem until the Big One happens). Then, due to the heat and moisture, circulating water and so forth, decomposition is rapid and, for lack of a better word, lively. What’s more, these people are not always found right away, so it can get very unpleasant. Much like how Quint from Jaws would not wear a lifejacket, I will not go into hot tubs.
But don’t let my very skewed perspective dissuade you if you like hot tubs. Just please heed the precautions or at the very least use the buddy system.
Yep. Nasty, filthy little pots of mung.
Meh, that’s what the chlorine is for. I shower before to minimize my contribution to it, shower afterwards to wash some of it off, and enjoy myself in between.
::taste testing stew::
…mmm, almost ready, could use more Catholics…
It depends on the people inside or who have been inside.
Caught a bladder infection from a hippie hot tub (my doctor said it was not uncommon). Never went in one again, except in a commercial spa type place where I assume sanitation is taken seriously. I am not grossed out at all – I’ll swim in almost any natural body of water that doesn’t have dead fish floating in it. I just feel wary. Bladder infections are really unpleasant.
Some of my favorite hot tub activities involve a buddy!
Obviously if it’s poorly maintained and unhygienic a hot tub would gross me out, but they gross me out for other reasons too. Now, I’m sure this is not the case in North America, or Scandanavia and so on, but in England a hot tub smacks to me of middle-class suburban aspirations, and I imagine them full of fat Daily Mail-reading execudrones and their vacant wives, braying about house prices and bloody immigrants while getting pissed on cheap rioja.
Also, the only time I’ve been in a hot tub I kept inadvertently brushing up against my brother-in-law’s leg. Now that’s icky.
I like a sauna though.
My own private hot tub, if I had one I would live in it. Have to make do with a bathtub.
The ones in the health clubs? Um. No. I think they are probably clean enough, but in the one case it’s public and you have to wear a swimsuit. I don’t fancy swimsuit shopping two or three times a year so no on that. Too much chlorine and hot water for my swimsuit (not to mention my skin but meh). The other one is in the women’s locker room and therefore you can go in it naked. Or in a suit–I’ve seen both. I’ve done it. I’m not entirely comfortable and if there’s already two or three people in it, again, nope.
Hot springs in the mountains? Hell yeah. For one thing, they provide the garb (stretched out swimsuits that don’t fit that well but hey). The difference to me I think is that in the hot springs the water flows.
In fact, the foam and bubbles in hot tubs are Preparation H.
an empty one for hot hot water on sore muscles yes please always have attracted weirdoes and even bring out the inner weirdo so just get eye banged or simply stared at which makes me freak out , plus once you see people in there the whole cess pool thing kicks in no amount of chlorine can kill the ick!
I’ve maintained my own outdoor hot tub now since 1996. I’ve gotten quite skilled at keeping it pristine and the water crystal clear, using bromine, pH balancers and enzymes which cleave up organic matter and allow it to be filtered easily and quickly. It’s heaven on earth for us here, and it gets regular use year round.
But as a result, the Mrs. and I are much pickier about using other hot tubs. We can generally tell at a glance which ones are well maintained and which ones may not be. So despite our love of hot tubbing, we’ll skip any tubs which look at all sketchy.
However, medically speaking the risks of hot tub use are pretty low for healthy individuals. The biggest risk for most folks is pseudomonas folliculitis, followed by pseudomonas ‘hot foot syndrome’. Fortunately, these generally clear up by just staying out of bad tub water.
Risks are higher for those with some immune compromise, and they really do need to be sure that the hot tub or pool they swim in is up to standards. However, even with some degree of compromise, most well maintained pools and tubs are safe enough for such individuals.