Microban

[snowpatrol101]

Just curious it seem s as if it is a fabulious product but Hot springs does not offer it. What are your views?

[Pathfinder]

waste of money really good marketing when I find the link again Ill post it where new testing has shown microban actually does nothing. Personally I have never seen a difference. Its a really good tool to upsell those types of products to people who are germaphobes.

[soakerman]

I like microban, it is not a scam, it is used alot on newer solid surface countertops, cleaners and also on clothes, just a bit more protection from microbes. Just one plug for Costco as well why I am here. their platinumm series spas have that in the shell with no upcharge at all while most dealers will ask from $100.00 to $400.oo dollars. That's is a scam! Microban is a good thing but not when the dealer gets hi gready hands on it!

[Dr. Spa]

I like microban, it is not a scam (based on what?), it is used alot on newer solid surface countertops (marketing?), cleaners and also on clothes (more marketing?), just a bit more protection from microbes (again, BASED ON WHAT?). Just one plug for Costco as well why I am here. their platinumm series spas have that in the shell with no upcharge at all while most dealers will ask from $100.00 to $400.oo dollars. That's is a scam! Microban is a good thing but not when the dealer gets hi gready hands on it!

More info;

More Truths About Microban® and Anti-Microbial Agents in Acrylic Sheet

[spatech (the unreal one)]

(based on what?)

(marketing?)

(more marketing?)

(again, BASED ON WHAT?)

More Truths About Microban® and Anti-Microbial Agents in Acrylic Sheet

Excellent post Doc!!

[Trigger]

From doc's website, I think this really sums it up;

"A new study was recently conducted by SGS U. S. Testing Company Inc., an independent laboratory in Fairfield, N. J. Completed in January of this year, the tests indicate that there is no difference between untreated acrylic sheet and acrylic sheet made with Microban in killing or slowing the growth of bacteria on the respective surfaces."

And given that, we further read:

Not only have experts said that the benefits of Microban are questionable, but many are also concerned that the wide-spread use of these substances may cause a major public health problem. Researchers are concerned that repeated use of products containing triclosan could be breeding resistant bacteria, or “superbugs.” A 1998 Tufts University study showed that over-exposure created five different triclosan-resistant strains of E. coli. According to Tufts’ Dr. Stuart Levy, “If the idea is to sterilize surfaces, it is misguided. You can’t sterilize surfaces that are open to the air. You will not eliminate bacteria, but rather replace them with other micro-organisms which could be potentially harmful.”

Good stuff at Rhtubs.com

Thanks Doc.

[Pathfinder]

That was the study I was looking for its good to see someone grab the ball that I dropped

[thestallion]

That was the study I was looking for its good to see someone grab the ball that I dropped

We have no up charge for it, I do not tout its "supposed" benefits other than it really makes the same color look much nicer than it does without it.

[bohms]

I asked my Artesian dealer about the Microban when I was picking out the shell color and the one that I liked the most was not Microban and he said that it does nothing and that there is no difference. There was no upcharge if I picked it either. So I wound up going with the color I really liked that wasn't Microban. Glad to read that he was right!

[Firewire]

Glad I read this post! The marketing on some websites made me think Microban was a must! Now I can save $300 and forget it. If it was free I wouldn't mind, but paying extra sounds like a waste.

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

Glad I read this post! The marketing on some websites made me think Microban was a must! Now I can save $300 and forget it. If it was free I wouldn't mind, but paying extra sounds like a waste.

Kind of like the blue microban filters that grow mold on them while they are drying....ask the filter maker and we were told they are working on that issue?!?

[Deus66]

Look, To microban or not to microban ......Who Cares? You'll put so darn many checmicals in there anyway it won't make a bit of difference.

BTW just picking...but mold in a fungus...not bacteria.. I doubt microban would work on fungi, they grow in a different manner than bacteria.

[Shaamus]

Doc - you know I hate to even hint at disagreeing, but Aristech does have a motive to ding the effectiveness of Microban since Lucite is a big competitor that has embraced it. Sometimes these studies are about what they don't say. The Aristech study doesn't say that Microban doesn't work. It also doesn't go into the control method. I would agree that in a closed environment where you put bacteria on a sheet of acrylic with and without Microban, you'll get similar results because their is no food source in acrylic and the bacteria can't grow. Remember that Microban doesn't kill. It inhibits growth. But in a spa, the water (and all the wonderful goodness in it) is the food source and Microban in the shell *MAY* actually help. I am no chemist nor microbiologist. I just think that Aristech is incentivized to show that Microban in its rival Lucite is useless and a carefully worded article about how there is no difference between a Microban acrylic and a normal acrylic sheet. Notice that they say that there is no anti-microbial activity (0% bacterial reduction). But I didn't think Microban is about reduction, it's about inhibiting further growth.

I don't know for sure either way but when I read the Aristech article, I'm not 100% convinced.