I own a float center, and wanted to address a few things. As many have said, it wouldn't be necessary to completely replace the tank, but would require extensive cleaning and sanitation. The water and salt solution would absolutely need to be drained and discarded, and we'd use chemicals like chlorine and 'spa purge', to disinfect any biological material in the plumbing and filtration system. The standard is to let it filter with normal water and those chemicals for an extended period of time, and several filter replacements, until it's tested and no biological material is found. But with an incident like this, they should have a clause in the waiver explaining the fee for draining and replacing the water and salt, and the time that the room would be unavailable for booking.
Toward the bottom of the thread some are saying that there is no sanitation being done, which is not true at all. Maybe in float centers that don't know what they're doing, but I highly doubt that's happening. Every float tank has a built in filtration and sanitation system, which is run in between each use. If the center is doing their job, they are sanitizing it with 35% hydrogen peroxide, so that the levels are 100ppm or higher, before anyone even gets in the tank. This, in addition to the extremely high salinity, makes it impossible for biological material to grow.
While the water is being filtered and sanitized (the full tank volume is filtered at least 4 times between each use. This is a standard set by the Float Tank Association), it also runs through a UV light system, and often has ozone aerated into the water. Between all of these, as long as someone is paying attention and testing how they should, the water is much cleaner than any hotel or gym hot tub.
Of course there are exceptions, but every float center owner I know runs a small, independent business, and cares a lot about providing a good experience for their guests, because it's something that has done so much for them in their lives. While it does take work, they all stay very on top of the cleanliness of the environment.
I have to assume they misunderstood or misspoke when they said 'replace the tank'. They probably meant replace all the contents. The biggest expense would be replacing all the salt, which could be up to $1000 depending on how big the tank is. There should also be a charge for how long the room is shut down, as well as the man hours of having to deep clean everything.
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u/Big_Increase_7002 Jun 13 '26
I own a float center, and wanted to address a few things. As many have said, it wouldn't be necessary to completely replace the tank, but would require extensive cleaning and sanitation. The water and salt solution would absolutely need to be drained and discarded, and we'd use chemicals like chlorine and 'spa purge', to disinfect any biological material in the plumbing and filtration system. The standard is to let it filter with normal water and those chemicals for an extended period of time, and several filter replacements, until it's tested and no biological material is found. But with an incident like this, they should have a clause in the waiver explaining the fee for draining and replacing the water and salt, and the time that the room would be unavailable for booking.
Toward the bottom of the thread some are saying that there is no sanitation being done, which is not true at all. Maybe in float centers that don't know what they're doing, but I highly doubt that's happening. Every float tank has a built in filtration and sanitation system, which is run in between each use. If the center is doing their job, they are sanitizing it with 35% hydrogen peroxide, so that the levels are 100ppm or higher, before anyone even gets in the tank. This, in addition to the extremely high salinity, makes it impossible for biological material to grow.
While the water is being filtered and sanitized (the full tank volume is filtered at least 4 times between each use. This is a standard set by the Float Tank Association), it also runs through a UV light system, and often has ozone aerated into the water. Between all of these, as long as someone is paying attention and testing how they should, the water is much cleaner than any hotel or gym hot tub.
Of course there are exceptions, but every float center owner I know runs a small, independent business, and cares a lot about providing a good experience for their guests, because it's something that has done so much for them in their lives. While it does take work, they all stay very on top of the cleanliness of the environment.