Frolic in the spa pool-it looks naughty, but it's nice!

Press, 13 August 1980, Page 17

Frolic in the spa pool-it looks naughty, but it's nice!

By

GARRY ARTHUR

Whenever it starts to rain, one retired Christchurch businessman takes his clothes off, puts on his hat, goes into the garden, and sits .in his hot tub. It is his way of defying the elements.

On the other side of town, Trevor Ibbetson and his wife Pam simply batten down the hatches, invite their friends and neighbours in, and they all strip off and take their drinks into his hot bubbling spa pool. It is their way of staying — quite literally — in the pink. ? They are just some of the hundreds of Christchurch people who have been bitten by the latest consumer craze. First it was plastic pools, then home .saunas, and now comes the spa pool. Murray Wright, who he introduced the new fad to Christchurch, estimates that between 400 and 500 Christchurch homes now have spa pools in their gardens, patios, basements,.or bathrooms. ■ .

Some use their spa pools to start the day; others use them to at sundown. They are said to bring conversation and fun back into the family circle — “the family that soaks together jokes together.” Murray Wright sees little evidence that people buy hot tubs and spa pools with orgies in mind. “They used to be thought of as sin bins,” he says. “You were considered to be kinky if you had one, but not now. We do not sell a large number to ‘party’ people.” Being’ an architect, Trevor Ibbetson naturally designed his own spa pool. But he called in expert help, including a physiotherapist who advised on the most ergoa nominally desirable contour for the seating — a slope to make you sit up straight, and curves in the right place for lumbar support. He and his wife Pam are enthusiastic spa poolers. They are convinced of their pool’s therapeutic value — especially for aching baclf. and sore joints. They have friends with back trouble who use their pool frequently, and have even invited a crowd of tired All Blacks to soak in it.

They believe that spa pools are better outside, but under cover. Theirs is in a sort of grotto, open on one side. “You need the ventilation,” Pam Ibbetson says, “and some people don’t like the claustrophic effect of an enclosed spa pool.” . “Stackers” is - the only way to use a spa pool, the Ibbetsons believe. Some of their friends have proved reluctant to join theiri in ths nude, but most quickly throw off their inhibi-

tions along with their clothes. Sometimes the Ibbetsons will wear bathing suits if the occasion seems to require them, but Pam Ibbetson says “it doesn’t feel half as good.” They don’t mind if people would rather wear swimming togs, but they feel it is unnecessary. “Honestly,” Pam Ibbetson says, “you don’t notice what anyone looks like. And you can’t see below the surface anyway.” They will often bring a crowd" home to soak in the spa after some event —a day’s ski-ing, a ball, or even a P.T.A. meeting. They have had up to 14 people in the pool at a time. Trevor Ibbetson works at home, and clients are as likely as not to be invited to take the plunge. Often the result is that a spa pool is !' added to the design of the client’s house. “I keep drawing them in,”' the architect says. They have spent hours at a time in their spa pool without any ill effects. “You tend to get a bit pruney,” Trevor Ibbetson

admits, “but thp water is kept clean by the filter, and as long as you don’t have it too hot, you can’t come to any harm.” He says it costs about $3 to $4 a week to keep the pool hot. . . “Plus about $3O for the drinks.” But his wife says the best drink in the spa pool is water, or perhaps beer. Spirits tend to cause dehydration. The spa pool business began for Murray Wright in 1975 when he decided to make one for himself. He was working in the swimming pool business at the time, and managed to find a mould that had been built for a 6ft by 4ft oval bath. The fibreglass pool he made was so successful that he still uses it at home,

In his factory he now makes a variety of shapes and sizes, from a cosy two-person . “cuddle tub” made from genuine' Spanish wine barrels, to spacious tiled pools that would soak away the cares of a small Roman legion. He found he had to

glassfibre the insides of the barrels because wine kept oozing out into the water. Not that a drop of wine is out of bounds in a hot tub. On the contrary, a drink or two is part of the tubbing ritual for many owners.

Not too many though. The Health Department issued a warning a year ago against the combination of hot Water and alcohol after la Los Angeles couple were found dead in their hot tub. They had high blood-alcohol levels, and had also foolishly — perhaps suicidally — adjusted the thermostat to a maximum of 54.5 degrees.

The recommended maximum temperature is 40 degrees.

One pool led to another for Murray Wright and his one-man business has now grown to a nine-man concern. Annual turnover has mushroomed from $12,000 in the first year to an estimated $1 million this year. Not all of his tubs and spa pools go into Christchurch properties. He has been busy installing them in motels in such Southern tourist spots as Te Anau, Queenstown, and Omarama. Already in some North Island centres “spa pool”

has replaced “colour TV’’ as an advertising lure. Some people are building their own hot tubs, or using water: tanks salvaged from factories or railway water towers. It is possible to buy the filter, heater, and air jet systems separately. Apart from the novelty, Murray Wright attributes the growth of interest in spa pools to the state of the economy. Boating has become more expensive, petrol is dearer and hard to get at week-ends, and people with money to spare are spending it at home.

Cresta Craft is one Christchurch boat and caravan firm which switched to making spa pools once the sales tax and petrol sales restriction began to take effect. “A lot of fibreglassers have got into it,” says Mr Ken Foster,, the firm’s manager. “Qur fibreglass shop is now virtually back to the extent of staff and turnover that it was with boats.” He says that the Australian boom in spa pools

has started to “rub off” on New Zealand, but he is cautious about the future. “The use of house spas will grow with new buildings,” Mr Foster adds, “but that’s a pretty sick area at the moment.”

One of the selling points for spa pools is that that they are half the price of a swimming pool, and can be used all year round. Prices range from $1475 for the wine barrel “cuddle tub," to $2500 for a big white pine tub and well over $3OOO for a big fibreglass pool. That includes the filter, water heater, and air bubbler. As the water is recirculated through the filter, special plumbing is not needed. No permits are required, except for the wiring, but floors may have to be strengthened to support the two tonnes of water in a big spa pool. As well as the purchase price, there is the cost of keeping the hot tub or spa pool warm. Murray Wright has designed his own patented filter with a heater in it. It has a fabric filter bag just like a

vacuum cleaner, which is simply taken out and washed in the washing machine. The backwashing necessary for conventional swimming pool filters is done away with, and there is consequently ho loss ofwarm water.

He got the idea of the heated filter from studying his deep freeze. Insulation is the secret of the deep freeze’s constant low temperature while using very little power. He simply reversed the process. His spa pools are heavily insulated with foam, and are provided with a thick blanket of cellular material to prevent loss of heat from the surface.

It took much experimentation to find the right material — which turned out to be a polyethyline foam used for padding brassieres and lifejackets.

The filter runs for 10 minutes every hour just to keep the temperature up. Some of his customers say that their power bills have not risen at all — they are using their showers less.

Not that spa pools are intended for cleansing. The idea is to have a relaxing soak while your body is massaged by the high-pressure air bubbles coming from underwater jets; The Ibbetsons sometimes add a dash of bubble bath liquid for a dramatic foaming effect. Hot tubs and spas are not health cures, although those in the industry make quite a feature of the physical benefits. Murray Wright says his customers have claimed all manner of health improvements, although he makes no such claims himself. But he does say that a spa pool is good for insomnia. “The heat saps your energy,” he says, “and you’re ready for a good sleep.” Miss Margaret Draper, chief physiotherapist at Christchurch Hospital, has seen spa pools and considers that they would have a stimulating effect, and would give a feeling of well-being. The hot water; would increase the circulation of blood to the skin, and this effect wou’/i be increased a little by the aeration.

Spa pools have not been without their technical problems. One Auckland manufacturer of glassreinforced resin pools is said to be on the verge'of giving up because of difficulties caused by the action of chemicals and heat on the jell-coat of the fibreglass shell. If water gets through the jell-coat by osmosis, it swells the glass fibres, leading to pool failure. Murray Wright insures against this problem by rolling a coat of blue epoxy paint over the shell.