# Do hot tubs gross you out? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 29, 2016, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004 "2016-10-29T12:19:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/21 "2016-10-30T14:33:46Z")
How pretty is the girl in it with me going to be? These are major issues. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/22 "2016-10-30T17:34:33Z")
I’m actually more concerned about the chlorine than the germs. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/23 "2016-10-30T18:06:53Z")
Have you ever seen my bathroom? I clean it religiously once a year or so but people still complain that it is filthy. As far as I can tell, there is nothing you can do. I am always amazed that hotels and motels are able to keep their bathrooms, pools and hot tubs so clean. Even the Motel 6’s that charge $30 a night in collapsing mill towns seem pristine by comparison. I don’t know how they do it. I have never gotten sick from any of it though. It may be because I grew up swimming in the dirtiest swamp water on the planet and have an immune system to back that up. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/24 "2016-10-30T23:48:45Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Have you ever seen my bathroom? I clean it religiously once a year or so Wait…you only clean your bathroom once a _year_? I try to clean mine every day. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/25 "2016-10-31T01:28:00Z")
They don’t gross me out, but I’ve never seen the big deal. They get boring after about 10 minutes or so. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/26 "2016-10-31T01:32:51Z")
I caught a full body staph infection from a hotel hot tub when I was a kid. Haven’t been in one since. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/27 "2016-10-31T11:29:23Z")
Our pontoon boat is kept at a marina. The marina has a beautiful, well maintained hot tub. After a day of boating and swimming _in the Allegheny River_, we’ve considered using the showers and hopping in the hot tub. But we’ve never done that. In fact, I’ve never seen _anyone_ use the hot tub. I assume that’s because others, like me, think hot tubs are ikky. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/28 "2016-10-31T13:45:53Z")
Considering how many times I had sex in a hot tub in my 20’s , I’m gonna have to say, yeah, I pretty much avoid them now. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/29 "2016-10-31T14:40:35Z")
They didn’t until my former neighbor (who was a water quality technician) told me about some of the things he saw during his courses and at work. Also, protein foam. I used to make a point of making a beard out of it when I was a kid… Ick. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/30 "2016-10-31T14:54:32Z")
I do water aerobics three times a week. And afterwards most of us stew in the hot tub. It’s ruining my swimsuit and my hair needs help, but omigod, do I feel much better afterwards. Since we all came out of the swimming pool into the hot tub and it’s pretty heavily chlorinated, I think the benefits out weigh the ick. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/31 "2016-10-31T21:09:37Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > 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. Basically this, We use ours 3-4 nights per week, but we’re quite careful about anything that goes in it. People, what they wear and chemicals all follow standards to keep the tub functioning cleanly. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/32 "2016-10-31T23:17:25Z")
Jerry Seinfeld described Kramer’s hot tub as a “human bacteria frappe”. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/33 "2016-11-01T00:20:46Z")
no, because I’ve never been in one. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/34 "2016-11-01T14:55:06Z")
I’m not icked by public hot tubs, in general. I am wary of sharing with strangers. Not because of the germs, mind you, but because of the company. Once in a hotel in Alaska, some nice folks joined us in the hot tub and started chatting. Everything was going fine until they segued into how “those people” had started to move into their neighborhood. Um, gotta go, BYE! ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/35 "2016-11-01T21:01:08Z")
A few years back I was in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland with my wife. I can’t imagine any bacteria or viruses living in there that would affect humans. I scooped up a handful of the therapeutic healing mud ( well ok sludge with good marketing) and dumped it on my shoulder, looked at it and saw a whole toenail looking back at me. We left shortly afterwards. . ---
**Author:** ![Brooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Brooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brooky)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/36 "2016-11-01T21:38:25Z")
there is a deadly bacteria that lives in the pipes, the only thing that kills it is a product called ICK!(not even bleach) I have Lupus & Have a Jacuzzi tub, my Dr. informed me of this product. I finally received it after 6 mo back log at company(the word is out) I previously used bleach . The stuff that came out of the pipes was like a cement slurry. I have travel bottles of ICK for the away from home hot tubs! ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/37 "2016-11-01T21:47:16Z")
We just returned from a cruise - the ship had 6 hot tubs. We spent time in 2 of them, and I noticed over the course of the cruise, they would periodically close down individual tubs to be cleaned and sanitized. Frankly, the only thing that kept us from using them more was our disinclination to share the space with half a dozen strangers. We wanted to relax, not chit chat. But the days we chose to stay onboard while most folks debarked in port, we pretty much had the place to ourselves, which was nice. We’ve often talked of getting a tub again (we had one years ago) but we’d have to build a place for it, and that’s more of a commitment than we wish to make. Oh well… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/38 "2016-11-01T23:03:40Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > We’ve often talked of getting a tub again (we had one years ago) but we’d have to build a place for it, and that’s more of a commitment than we wish to make. Oh well… Google Softub. We have used them for two decades, easy peasy. Just needs a stable flat place to put it ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/39 "2016-11-02T03:33:10Z")
or check out your local craigslist - the free-standing hot tub in a box that you plug in seems about as desirable as home gym equipment - it seemed like a good idea at the time… A hot tub is simply a small swimming pool operated at higher temps than normal. Chlorine and mechanical filtration work the same, regardless of the size and temp of the “pool”. This wreck of a house had a ton of money spent on it in its youth - new kitchen, tile on floor, double-pane windows, some kind of LAN/WAN box in the garage, at least two coax circuits - and a pool with spa. I really wish they had put in decent carpet and roof. Instead, they actually put solar collectors on the original, dirt cheap “shake” roof. Brilliant. Anyway - there is nothing intrinsic to a “hot tub” to make it more difficult to keep clean. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004/40 "2016-11-02T12:53:08Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > or check out your local craigslist - the free-standing hot tub in a box that you plug in seems about as desirable as home gym equipment - it seemed like a good idea at the time… > > A hot tub is simply a small swimming pool operated at higher temps than normal. > Chlorine and mechanical filtration work the same, regardless of the size and temp of the “pool”. > > This wreck of a house had a ton of money spent on it in its youth - new kitchen, tile on floor, double-pane windows, some kind of LAN/WAN box in the garage, at least two coax circuits - and a pool with spa. > > I really wish they had put in decent carpet and roof. Instead, they actually put solar collectors on the original, dirt cheap “shake” roof. Brilliant. > > Anyway - there is nothing intrinsic to a “hot tub” to make it more difficult to keep clean. The biggest difference is that bacteria that make humans sick tend to thrive at temperatures close to that of a human. Like the surface of a hot tub. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hot-tubs-gross-you-out/770004.md?page=3)