Bathing Suits, Or Not?

[north_of_boston]

Just wondering.

[Dr. Spa]

not

[waterbear]

In my old house with the privacy fence no

In my new house with the nosy woman living behind me, yes. she likes to call the police on all the neighbors for nothing.

[Stuart A]

Depends who you are in there with

[footie]

Personally I wear them but I prefer the wife to go without. LOL

[THE SPA GUY]

Ahh,

The bathing suit not bathing suit question, i remember this same question earlier this year,,,,footie great answer...

[footie]

Ahh,

The bathing suit not bathing suit question, i remember this same question earlier this year,,,,footie great answer...

I thought it would bring a smile to someone. But now to the serious answer, I wear boxers and find that the thick elastic band blocks a lot of the jet action, so when i go in late at night I much prefer without when I get the full benefit.

[spawn]

When friends are over I tell them that we have a swim suit only policy but if one of them is an attractive female I say that I am willing to relax the policy in her case.

[Mikey_in_NY]

To start with yes, but things can change!

[Dr. Spa]

Swim suits simply aren't allowed! The synthetic fibers will scratch the acrylic and run away threads will gum up the plumbing and machinery innards.

[Dnepr Dave]

What! No! Jeeze!

Dave

[north_of_boston]

Swim suits simply aren't allowed! The synthetic fibers will scratch the acrylic and run away threads will gum up the plumbing and machinery innards.

Swimsuit dyes and detergents also foul up the water. If you are in a position to change the water, then bathing suits might be permissible.

But I might not be able to change the water until March.... so ...

[arnspa]

Ancillary questions: Do you shower before tubbing? Do you use a bidet or one of those Japanese toilet seats with the butt spray?

I was surprised how much my wife wanted to go w/o suits when just the two of us. It does promote romance, etc.

But I'm still wary. My 80some year old neighbor came by one day as I was getting out to tell me there was a dead cat in my driveway.

My tub suit is a Speedo, I have 3 of them, much freer and quicker draining than one of those to the knees suit with pockets, etc.

If your own suit is a baggy thing you might switch to a Speedo before you ditch it all.

My question: The more that you and guests are without suits, the more frequently you should clean filters?

[north_of_boston]

Ancillary questions: Do you shower before tubbing? Do you use a bidet or one of those Japanese toilet seats with the butt spray?

I was surprised how much my wife wanted to go w/o suits when just the two of us. It does promote romance, etc.

But I'm still wary. My 80some year old neighbor came by one day as I was getting out to tell me there was a dead cat in my driveway.

My tub suit is a Speedo, I have 3 of them, much freer and quicker draining than one of those to the knees suit with pockets, etc.

If your own suit is a baggy thing you might switch to a Speedo before you ditch it all.

My question: The more that you and guests are without suits, the more frequently you should clean filters?

OK, I think you're making the assumption that a bathing suit somehow affords some type of cleanliness protection for you and the tub.

IT DOES NOT. The difference is, with a swimsuit, your body is immersed in that water, with some type of cloth wrapping.

Without the swimsuit, the only difference is the cloth wrapping (and its detergents and threads and dyes) aren't in the tub with you.

The only purpose a bathing suit serves is to provide modesty. It does not make a swimming or hot tub experience healthier or safer.

In fact, the more that you and your guests are without suits -- THE LESS YOU'LL HAVE TO CLEAN FILTERS, and you'll definitely have cleaner water, and you'll definitely spend less on chemicals.

[Mikey_in_NY]

North of Boston is correct, i.e. less clothing = less potential work for the filters to do.

If your swimsuit is only ever used in your tub, and as long as you keep on top of your water chemistry, then you rarely need to wash it - just hang it up to dry after use. That will prevent any soaps and/or detergents being introduced.

[arnspa]

Do you folks have pubic hair? My guess is that a suit reduces the amount of pubic hair your filters will collect.

More, Mikey and n-o-b seem to be just assuming that any dirt and oil on your body will fully migrate thru the suit into the water. May we see the studies which affirm that?

They don't tell us that they wash their bottoms with a bidet and use the shower before getting in the tub. SO, I would guess that any dingleberries, sweat, hair, oils and dirt that their suits MIGHT collect or hold will in fact go into the water and their filters.

My guess is that if you have 'hash marks' in your underwear you can't get those out by wearing them into your tub for 10 - 30 minutes. Those marks were there because they came from your bottom. If you didn't shower well before putting on your suit, your suit may prevent some of it getting from your bottom into the pool. Without your suit it will all go there.

However much folks enjoy getting nude in the tub, I say they go to far in telling us it's healthier. Unless maybe they are shaven and shower well before entering.

[Dnepr Dave]

The reason we use sanitizer and filter the water in our spas is to take care of the dingleberries and hair. Arnspa, you are way over thinking this!

Dave

[Dr. Spa]

You mean over "guessing"

[spawn]

arnspa - I learned long ago to just let my wife have her way. If your wife wants to get in the tub without a suit, it is best to let her do so. However, if this makes you uncomfortable because of the the concerns that you raised about sanitation, it seems tht she should be willing to compromise by shaving. Hows that for a win-win?

[Mikey_in_NY]

Arnspa, I agree with Dave, you are WAY over-thinking this one.

Yes - I have pubic hair (and I'm very proud of it). In the unlikely event I 'shed' a hair or two in the tub the filter will catch it, although I have to say I've NEVER noticed any hair (pubic or otherwise) when cleaning the filters.

Whether or not wearing shorts/speedo's affects the migration of oil or dirt from that region of your body into the water is up for debate, although common sense suggests the chlorine would dissolve/oxidise such matter regardless of what one is wearing, especially with any turbulance created by running the jets. Do I have any supporting data? No, of course not, after all where would I get that from?

Do I shower before geting into the tub? Usually, but not always, however when I don't I DO make sure I'm clean in all regions.

Would I get into mine, or any other tub, with skid marks on my underwear? Stupid question!

Do I wear my underwear in my tub? Another stupid question!

My tub is used 5 to 6 days per week, and goes 5 months between water changes. I always maintain a level of FC, and keep a close eye on my water balance (which rarely, if ever, needs adjusting). If I were contaminating the water as you suggest I'd be cleaning my filters at least once per week, and throwing in Dichlor and/or chlorox at an alarming rate.

[north_of_boston]

Do you folks have pubic hair? My guess is that a suit reduces the amount of pubic hair your filters will collect.

More, Mikey and n-o-b seem to be just assuming that any dirt and oil on your body will fully migrate thru the suit into the water. May we see the studies which affirm that?

OK, I have to say you're taking this conversation into a weird direction.

But, anyway, yeah a few pubic hairs (and chest hairs, and head hairs, and underarm hairs, and leg hairs, and arm hairs too) may have hit the filter.

No, I have never done a study or read one based on what type of hair is found in the filters. Needless to say, if I do see them, I do not stop to analyze them, nor is it a major issue. Perhaps out there on the web, there is some type of study (beware of any performed and published by an online periodical called "The Onion") but frankly, it isn't worth my time checking it out. Such effort, if undertaken, would still make it impossible to determine the regional origin of any body hair found in the filter.

As far as oils, etc. considering a bathing suit only covers a limited area of one's body (or two, for our distaff friends) -- even if the suit were to contain the body oils within it, etc., the detergents, dyes, threads, etc. from the bathing suits themselves would be worse.

Yes, I have done studies on this! Glad you ask!

In my last spa, my daughter had a hot tub party with her friends. They all wore bathing suits. There were around eight people that used the tub. After they were done, the water was filthy, smelly, cloudy, and the tub had to be drained and refilled. Fortunately, it was November and the temperatures had not dropped to the freezing mark so we could do that. I also found a bottlecap in the bottom of the tub, I think it said "MGD" or "Labatt Blue" on it. However, I do not think that the foreign object caused the fouling of the water, at least in its primary form.

At that point, mrs north and I passed a rule = NO BATHING SUITS IN THE SPA. Ever. Some time later, we had a party at our house. Around ten people used the tub.

After the party was over, I noted one thing - the water was still clear. It did not need changing. It did not smell funny. As far as hairs in the filter, I didn't notice any.

So - my empirical evidence has shown that by not wearing suits in the tub, the water is cleaner. It is a far more aestheically pleasing experience.

As far as pubic hair goes -- I don't recall any in the filter, and, frankly, I didn't bother to estimate everyone's degree of hirsuitism as they entered the tub. FYI, there is something called a hirsuitism score, you can look it up!

Nor did I examine to see where the hair was on each individual's body, to what degree, etc. nor did I care at the time. Besides, if I started taking notes of such items, my guests might be offended, or look at me with a jaundiced eye. "Wait a minute, Betty, before you get into the tub, I have to take some observations. I'm doing pubic hair checks, it's part of a study. I'll only be a minute. Let me get my clipboard, stand still -- uh... OK, you're shaved. Let me put that on the data sheet."

It doesn't go over well at most parties. Now, that's an unscientific assumption, but, I think we can assume that it would not be a popular thing in such situations. If you disagree with that premise, we will have to agree to disagree.

It can be said that they were not invited over to be objects of a scientific study, but rather for a recreational and social evening. Mrs North did ask an important question of the group =

"Hey, does anyone want any more wine or beer? Whattya drinkin', red, white, ale, beer, light beer?"

I also issued a medical advisory = "It's 40F, or 4C if you do Celsius." That was probably necessary - scientists love Celsius, and I can do conversions in my head, having lived in Canada. I tend to do that when I, too, intake alcohol, and even go "back and forth" between English and francais. "When you get out, you have around 30 seconds to get your robe on, or you will really feel the cold. And, ladies, cover up above the waist on the back deck, a neighbor can see that and we didn't invite him over."

I now realize the error of my ways -- a lost opportunity for scientific advancement and technological research.

We might suggest that you conduct your own studies -- clothed vs. bathing suits, how much pubic hair and other body hairs your guests have, etc., a full analysis as to the type of hairs hit your filters, and please, report your findings back to us. Don't get your notebook wet, and use BIC stick pens, they work on damp paper, very well.

I'm almost certain that everyone in here would be fascinated with the results of such research. They may be prompted to undertake a similar, serious academic study. The results of such activity could be deemed useful.

[Dr. Spa]

SO far aoof topic at this point, and possibly considered "inappropriate by some....THREAD CLOSED