Published: April 28, 2008 06:14 pm         

Spas becoming more common, sophisticated

AVON, Ind. — Dick Green has been in the spa business long enough to remember how they used to be.

“They started off being a big ole oaken barrel with maybe one jet,” said the store manager of the HotSpring store here. “People still associate them with that sometimes.”

Those spas are long gone. Standard now are tubs with upwards of 30-40 jets targeting multiple parts of the body. A captain’s seat has 11 jets that cover a person’s back. There’s even jets for the wrist area (to help with carpal tunnel) and for calves. Still others target the feet.

“They feel like a firehose going off underwater,” Green said. “They’re very strong.”

Spas have come such a long way in this regard that the Arthritis Foundation recommends them for their therapeutic benefits. Green says that makes up a big part of the spa market.

“Quite a few buy them for therapy reasons,” he said. “The social aspect is still there, but many buy to help them with their ailments. Hot water, especially moving water, helps a lot with releasing joint and muscle tension.”

There’s other new add-ons to entice potential spa buyers. Many feature amenities like waterfalls, fountains, and lights that change colors.

“They don’t make you feel better, but they look cool,” Green said.

So much so that many spa owners who have theirs outside will leave the cover off and have it as another feature of their landscaping.

“It looks really neat at night,” Green said.

The nice thing about spas is that they can be used year-round.

“In Indiana you can only use a pool six months out of the year, and that’s if it’s a good year,” Green said.

The materials that spas are made of have improved over the years too. Most hot tubs today are fully foamed, using the same insulation found in commercial freezer units. Acrylic is used for the surface now. It bonds better and is more durable than enderol. Composite materials are used for the skirting instead of wood. That means no weather worries and no staining necessary.

“If it gets dirty, just hose it off,” Green said.

One concern of spas has always been cleanliness. Green says that’s not much of an issue anymore. One innovation of HotSpring’s is 100 percent no-bypass filtration — meaning all the water gets filtered before it re-enters the spa.

“That’s significant,” Green said. “No one is ever sitting in someone else’s (fluids).”

A one-touch button also activates a 10-minute cleaning cycle after you exit the spa that completely sanitizes it. That makes maintenance of a spa a snap.

“If it takes you 5 minutes a week to maintain your tub, you’re a slo-mo,” Green said.

While spas are generally still considered a luxury item, Green says they’re becoming more commonplace in people’s homes. They fit in with homeowners’ desires to have more outdoor comforts at home.

“These outdoor trends all kind of fit together,” Green said. “People are doing more outdoors than ever before.”

He really saw the trend take off after 9/11. Citizens started traveling less and spending more time at home.

“Hot tubs really are a gathering place for families,” Green said. “They’re like a dinner table. It’s one of those rare activities the whole family enjoys.”



Wade Coggeshall writes for the Hendricks County Flyer in Avon, Ind.





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Online:

www.hotspringspasindy.com

wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com