Pool & Hot Tub Safety During COVID-19

The coronavirus and COVID-19 are on everyone’s minds right now. If you own a pool or hot tub, you may have some specific questions and concerns about them in relation to the virus. We want to answer those questions for you, and direct you to some reputable, authoritative sources where you can get more information.

Let’s start in our area of expertise with information about pools and hot tubs.

Can the Coronavirus Spread Through Pools and Hot Tubs?
Everyone has a ton of questions surrounding coronavirus and COVID-19. How to prevent it, how to recognize it, how to treat it, and hundreds more. One question we’ve seen a few times is:

Can the coronavirus spread through pools and hot tubs?
Here is the answer, direct from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
– There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to humans through the use of pools and hot tubs. Proper operation, maintenance, and disinfection (e.g. with chlorine and bromine) of pools and hot tubs should remove or inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19.
Please note the part that says, “Proper operation, maintenance, and disinfection …”
> Make sure your pool or hot tub is running properly, and that you’re using it the way it was intended to be used.
> Make sure you’re maintaining the equipment so it’s working the way it’s supposed to, and maintaining the pool or hot tub itself (i.e., cleaning it, etc.).
> Make sure you have the correct amount of sanitizer in the water. That is of the upmost importance.

Is Swimming in a Chlorinated Pool Safe?
Yes, as long as the pool is properly chlorinated. This means a chlorine level of between 3 parts per million (ppm) and 5 ppm, with 3 ppm being ideal.
However, if you’re sick, stay out of the pool. You shouldn’t be swimming; you should be resting.

Is It Safe to Use a Hot Tub?
Yes, as long as the hot tub is properly chlorinated. This means a chlorine level of between 3 ppm and 5 ppm, with 3 ppm being ideal.
However, if you’re sick, stay out of the hot tub. You shouldn’t be soaking; you should be resting.

Does Chlorine Kill the Coronavirus?
The CDC, being an entity that discusses science in scientific terms, has said that sanitizers such as chlorine and bromine should remove or inactivate the virus. To the layman, this means yes, chlorine kills the coronavirus. This is why the CDC also recommends using diluted bleach to disinfect households.

Do Not Swim or Soak if You’re Sick:
While chlorine and other sanitizers can kill some viruses, they will not cure you if you’re ill due to a virus. Simply swimming or soaking in chlorinated water is not a magical remedy. If it were, no one would be dying from this disease.
In addition, this is a respiratory disease. Swimming can put undue pressure and stress on your lungs. And sitting in the humid environment of a hot tub can make breathing a little more difficult than it already may be if you have COVID-19.

Do Not Allow Anyone Who Has COVID-19 to Swim in Your Pool or Soak in Your Hot Tub!
As the CDC said, there is no evidence that simply swimming or soaking in pools and hot tubs will spread the coronavirus.
However, someone who’s sick may still cough into their hand, and then touch the pool ladder or the side of the hot tub, parts that are not submerged in chlorinated water. And then if you or someone else touches those parts after they do, and then you touch your face, nose, eyes or mouth before you wash your hands or put them in chlorinated water, there’s a chance you could become ill.

Here’s something else to consider. The COVID-19 coronavirus lingers on those surfaces. In fact, it can survive:
up to four hours on copper
up to 24 hours on cardboard
up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.

Don’t take that chance. Keep anyone and everyone who has—or may have—COVID-19 out of your pool and hot tub until they’ve recovered.

We want all of our Customers to Stay Safe!