There are so many great reasons to own a hot tub of your own: the hydrotherapeutic health benefits, relaxing, spending quality time with your loved ones, socializing with your friends – plus the privilege to enjoy it any time, day or night! However, there’s a reason there’s a rule sign posted by public spas at hotels and gyms. As a spa owner, you’ll want to make sure you’re avoiding these 13 things for the safety of your guests, yourself, and your hot tub.

1. Young Kids in the Hot Tub. Kids are more sensitive to heat than adults, especially young kids. To keep your children safe, they shouldn’t be in the hot tub at all until they’re at least 6 years old.
2. Letting Kids Use the Hot Tub Alone. Once your kids are older than five, you can incorporate family time in the hot tub, which is sure to be a hit with everyone. However, never let kids in the hot tub alone. Even if you’re nearby. You want to be within arms reach of your child when he or she is in the water.
3. Horseplay. It can be easy to get carried away splashing each other, but make it a rule to have no horseplay in the hot tub, that way you never have to worry about anyone slipping and getting a sprain or hitting their head.
4. Drinking Alcohol. Unwinding in the hot tub with a glass of wine might sound relaxing, but you should wait until you’re out of the spa before indulging in that drink. Alcohol is a depressant and the last thing you want to do in a hot tub is nod off.
5. Taking Drugs. Generally speaking, the hot water in your spa provides hydrotherapeutic benefits that are good for your cardiovascular system. But, drugs, prescription or recreational, can make your body way more heat sensitive than usual, cause drowsiness, or dizziness. If you’re taking a prescription drug, speak with your doctor before you take a soak.
6. Using Glassware in the Hot Tub. Staying hydrated is a great idea while you’re soaking in your hot tub. Drinking water or juice from a glass isn’t. Shattered glass in your hot tub is about as fun as it sounds, so go for the plastic bottle instead.
7. Using Electronics. Wet, slippery hands plus a smartphone that costs hundreds of dollars, or more…do we need to say more?
8. Wearing Contacts. The chemicals in your hot tub are great for keeping your water clean and healthy, but bad for your eyes. Splashes are bound to happen as you enter and leave the hot tub, or just as you soak, and your contact lens can trap chlorine and bacteria between your eye and your lens, leading to an infection. Even after you remove your contacts, bacteria can hang around on them and irritate your eyes next time you wear them.
9. Wearing Lotions or Oils. The fewer contaminants you bring into your spa water, the better. Lotions, oils, and even the detergents in your suit cause build up in your hot tub. Which means you need to scrub your spa more often and use more chemicals. The best idea is to take a quick shower before you enter your hot tub, and just rinse your swimsuit with water instead of washing it with harsh detergents.
10. Soaking with a Wound. Don’t assume that the chlorine in your water is enough to kill germs from an open wound. That’s incorrect, and the warmth and moisture can actually help spread infection.
11. Long Hair Worn Down. Despite the safety features of new hot tubs, it is still possible for hair to become tangled in a drain. To be safe, long hair should be worn up and all users should keep their head above the water.
12. Unlimited Time Soaking. The heat of a spa is beneficial: it raises your body’s temperature, increases blood flow, and relaxes muscles. However, this is a case where you can have too much of a good thing. If you stay too long in a hot tub, you can get dehydrated and place too much strain on your cardiovascular system. In general, the higher the water temperature, the shorter your soak should be. At the max setting of 104℉, a healthy adult should only soak for 15 minutes at a time. If you’d like to enjoy a longer soak, just turn the water down to 98-102℉.
13. Using Cheap Water Chemicals. We’re not digging on the big box stores, but there is definitely a difference between the water chemicals you’re likely to find there and the good quality chemicals you purchase from a reputable spa dealer. You’ll often see “pool and hot tub” on the chlorine you find there. That’s not good. The chlorine you use to balance the hot water in your spa has a special formula that is different from pool chlorine. The health of your water, spa, and skin is not a place for cheap substitutions! Wondering what you should be using to care for your water? We carry everything you need for balancing, sanitizing, cleaning, and more.

If you avoid these thirteen no-no’s, you and all of your guests can enjoy your hot tub with no worries! No hot tub yet? What are you waiting for? We’re bound to have a hot tub that’s perfect for you! Check out our selection.