Hot Tubs; A Brief History
I would have thought nowadays there aren’t many people around who don’t know exactly what a hot tub is, however for those people still in the dark, here is a brief history to explain what a hot tub actually is and how they originated, something which we’ve put together in conjunction with UK based hot tub suppliers, Vita Spa.
Really, a hot tub is just a small pool or large tub filled with warm water and used for some pleasurable relaxation or hydrotherapy for health purposes. The much larger versions are often referred to as swim spas, and like a swimming pool the water is cleaned and filtered by the use of chemicals to keep it free from bacteria etc.
As early as 737 AD, the Japanese were soaking in public tubs called ofuro and in the 1940s the Americans were inspired by these to start producing what we now know of as hot tubs. As time went on many improvements were made with Jacuzzi producing hydrotherapy pumps to clean the water and improved materials being introduced such as fibreglass and acrylic.
It’s vitally important to keep the water clean and sanitised in a hot tub otherwise micro-organisms can multiply and lead to some pretty unpleasant diseases; for this reason chemicals are used to keep the water safe.
Of course, hot tubs can be used for other reasons other than enjoyment. As they continue to gain popularity new benefits are being discovered that can be a great help to many types of illness or health condition. Stress, insomnia, high blood pressure and arthritis are some of the conditions that can be helped by using a hot tub and as time goes by, more serious illnesses such as some types of cancer have been found to benefit also. The beauty of using a complimentary treatment like a hot tub is that it can be used along side other more conventional forms of treatment without it interfering in any way.