How Safe Is My Whirlpool Tub?

my son accidently on purpose :) turned ours on during his bath once. It was so loud, it spooked him and now he does not touch the button. I have never heard of anyone getting injured from on of these tubs, but you never know.

My stepdaughter puts her kids in the whirlpool all the time. They need supervision because of the water, same as a regular tub, but she's never had a problem with the jets or suction. You should check with the manufacturer on this issue to see what they say, and check your brand with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. They don't have a lot of inspectors anymore, same as the FDA, which is why we've had so much trouble with faulty toys and contaminated food - all those inspector positions were cut way back under the Bush administration and it's way too soon for the new administration to have new people in place. So, you can't rely completely on federal regulatory agencies, but it's worth checking. Another thing to check is Consumer Reports - you can get an on-line subscription and see what they say.

On my whirlpool, I have a lightswitch guard that I bought years ago with the baby supply & safety products - it makes turning on the switch very difficult - you have to press one thing and slide something else at the same time. You could try that rather than the expense of an electrician to deal with the circuit breaker. You DO NOT want them to turn the jets on with insufficient water in the tub - it will burn out the motor.

Since you absolutely need to be in the bathroom anyway when they're bathing, other than protecting the switch when no one's in the room, I think you can avoid the whole circuit breaker issue. Put kiddie guards/covers on the faucets so the kids can't turn them on when you aren't there too - or keep the door closed unless it's a bathroom you use regularly. Don't know if you have a separate spa room.

Good luck!

Are you talking about a bathroom tub or the outside kind? We put in a bathroom tub 2 years ago and I don't have any concerns for DD getting sucked in and injured. The suction place is covered by a grill (that cannot be removed). As with tubs in hotels and the like, it needs to be powered on several feet away (that's required by code here) before the tub controls will work and it times out in 20 mins (though a 4 yo could reach it with a stool). I can control the strength of the flow.

I don't have long hair (neither does my 2 yo) so I haven't considered that issue. It will suck a washcloth but it just sits outside (the openings are not big enough for anything to get stuck in-though hair would be different if that were a concern) and it can be easily removed as there is nowhere for it to get caught. Even at the highest level, the suck is not too strong for me to easily just grab the washcloth.

I would have great concern with children using public tubs (or pools) or outside tubs that were previously installed as there is a real safety issue with the drains/intake (new regs went into effect recently to have safe covers on them).

I guess I would test it myself if I were you so you are comfortable that it is safe. Throw a washcloth in the tub and see what happens and make sure that the grate over the intake is too small for little fingers (ours is too small). Obviously, at those ages I wouldn't leave them alone in the tub either.

Watch out for their hair getting sucked into the suction, but I'd google injuries and whirlpool tub. Deb

Hi, We intentionally installed a tub without jets for that very reason (i.e. safety). I'm sure the manufactuers of the tub would say it is safe, but for me, it was too much of a risk. I have seen a number of 'freak accidents' because of the nature of my job and, as a result, never take a chance on safety with my two young children. I would encourage you to have the tub wired to a separate child-proof switch. I understand that your boys will always be supervised in the tub, but it only takes a second to turn your back to grab a towel, etc., and that is when an injury could take place. Just my take on things . . . . .

Hi C.,

It goes without saying that boys 4 and 2 would never be unsupervised in the bath; whirlpool or not. However, I do not know of any reason why they cannot enjoy a whirlpool supervised.

In large commercial whirpools it is a different story. The water is generally too hot and little one can overheat quickly. Also in the larger tubs the drain suction can be very intense and if a little one sits or on it or their hair goes near the drain they could actually become stuck. This is probably what your mother is referring to.

There have been recent laws passed to provide for drain covers on all pool drains because of this hazard and several unfortunate tragedies. We have a Kohler whirlpool with heater and jets in our bath and our children have enjoyed it since babies (the residential model heater is not necessary, I would say, though, because the cut off for the heat is set so low that most people would prefer the warmer tap water. If I had it to do over I would not buy the heater. It was significant additional expense and we never use it.)The jet intensity is adjustable. Just don't add bubble bath! We ended up with a roomful of bubbles!

J.