These are challenging times for all of us, and many float centers (ourselves included) have decided to temporarily shut down to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Our team got together yesterday to figure out what we need to do to put our shop into hibernation mode, and we thought we’d share the list we came up with to help out anyone else who is in a similar position.
Best of luck to everyone going through this. We know we’ve seen a wellspring of kind words and support from our community when we decided to shut down, and we’re sure you have too. It’s nice to know the float world will be supported when we’re all on the other end of this.
Of course, if there’s anything that you’ve done in your own closure that you don’t see here, please send it along and we’ll update this list as suggestions come in.
Float Tank Solutions
Shop Hibernation Checklist
After the last float
- Do a full cleaning and disinfection pass across your center.
- Deal with your mail and package deliveries. You may need to put up a sign for your mail person, stop your mail from being delivered, or attempt to cancel or reroute any packages that are already on their way.
- Stop any automatic deliveries you have for any shop supplies.
- Make sure your HVAC system is set to run the whole time.
- Remove any food and beverages that can’t be stored for longer periods of time.
- Remove cash and any other valuables.
- Forward incoming calls and set up an appropriate voicemail (make a task to change the forwarding and voicemail when you re-open)
- Put bleach into washer and dishwasher and run them, then leave doors slightly open
- Consider putting out ant traps, if it’s appropriate for your area
Daily Ongoing Maintenance
- If your float tank doesn’t automatically run your pumps, go in twice a day to run them. This will both provide your float solution with its cleaning cycle, and prevent any salt crystallization from happening inside of your pipes and filtration equipment. Make sure to open the doors on your float tanks to let them air out while you’re there.
- Balance any levels of chemical treatment that you use (like hydrogen peroxide)
- Run the showers once a day to prevent any sort of buildup in the pipes
- Make sure to put water down all of your floor drains to keep your p-traps filled (so you don’t get sewer gas coming out)
- Empty your dehumidifiers (if you have any)
- Consider leaving some lobby lights on to deter vandalism
- Clean up any garbage outside the shop. It’ll help keep your city looking nice, and will also help deter vandalism.
- Answer voicemails
- Answer emails
- Answer social media inquires
- Collect physical mail
- Water any plants you may have (or take them to your house).
Weekly Ongoing Maintenance
- Replenish any water in your tanks that has been lost to evaporation (you may need to add a little salt as well).
- Do a disinfection pass on the inside of your tank walls and ceiling. It’s still a very hot and humid environment, and you want to make sure you’re preventing any mold growth.
There are, of course, other things to consider like communication with your customers and taking care of your members. You may be looking at laying off part, or all, of your staff temporarily so they can claim unemployment benefits. The next couple weeks are also going to be a good time to work on your marketing, to make sure that your customers are ready to float when you re-open.
We’re keeping the list above to just the operational side of things for now, but we’ll be releasing more over the coming days and weeks about what we’re doing at Float On to get through this.
Stay well,
Graham and Ashkahn
Causes for drifting to the side of float tank – DSP 138
Okay, so this is something that happens a lot, and it can seem like a small thing, but it can be a little confusing when it keeps happening. What’s going on when you float in the same tank and keep drifting to one side? How does that happen? And why is it so consistent? Graham and Ashkahn know what the deal is here and drop some knowledge here on this topic.
Cause and Solutions for a Crystallized Pump – DSP 137
This is a terrifying experience the first time it happens in a float center. A pump will seize, it’s full of salt and there just seems like there’s nothing you can do about it. Fortunately, this is one of those things that happens to pretty much everyone and it’s not too difficult to take care of.
Graham and Ashkahn dive into what causes a pump to seize as well as how to fix it. It’s all here. Right now. Check it.
Beginner’s Guides from Everywhere!
If you’re not familiar with the Beginner’s Guide, it’s basically our intro brochure at Float On. About 5 years ago now we made the creation files easily available so folks could edit it as they pleased and sent it out to everyone with an open invitation to do with it as they pleased for their own centers. We know most centers don’t have graphic designers on staff so it seemed like a nice way to help others have reliable, easy to access information for their clients and also serve as a way to save them time and money from having to create their own.
The result of this is that years later, dozens and dozens of centers have a version of these brochures, some of them not even realizing where they originated from. Naturally, we’ve taken a copy from all the centers we’ve visited and we thought we’d share some of them with the rest of you.
What social media networks to use? – DSP 136
Social media is everywhere. There are entire libraries of books written on its effectiveness as a tool for marketing for small and large businesses alike. There’s so much, in fact, that it can seem impossible to find a good place to even start.
Graham and Ashkahn break down this subject and provide some simple, straight forward solutions based on their own experiences and observations within the industry.
Thoughts on franchises vs. mom and pop float centers – DSP 135
As franchises become more common in the float industry, it’s natural for people to start wondering what the benefits and drawbacks are to opening one of them as opposed to simply starting your own center.
Graham and Ashkahn delve into the nuanced differences between each approach, which both have very tangible benefits and drawbacks and whether or not it’s a good idea definitely depends on what kind of business a person wants to run.
How to handle floaters getting out early – DSP 134
Sometimes… floaters get out early. That’s just what they do. But how often should that be happening? And how early? Well… it certainly depends on the length of your floats. If it is happening a lot and you run hour long floats, maybe there’s a common issue that people aren’t telling you. This is where those soft skills come in really handy. It doesn’t hurt to ask, but it also might not be anything to worry about.
Graham and Ashkahn share their experiences with this and what they see as regular floater behavior and what might be a little suspicious, along with some tips to suss out exactly what’s going on if you think it’s happening too frequently.
Thinking about safety and security for offering overnight floats – DSP 133
Being open constantly does come with its challenges, even for float centers. What do you do when the rest of the world goes to sleep but you’re still operating? Doesn’t it get dangerous? What sort of precautions do you have to make to protect your business and your employees.
Graham and Ashkahn discuss security for Float On for the twilight hours when things can go wrong as well as some of the general challenges of running a 24 hour business.
Problems with using certain types of soap – DSP 132
When dealing with the carefully constructed micro-environment of a float tank, any tiny addition can really throw off the appearance or chemistry (just ask anyone who’s had to deal with their water turning orange or green!). The types of soaps you use in your float rooms, along with shampoos, conditioners, and lotions can and will enter your tanks, so it’s important to consider what impact they’re going to have.
Graham and Ashkahn walk through troubleshooting water chemistry problems for this question, to help solve a particular issue.
Methods for filling weekday float sessions – DSP 131
This is a challenging issue for any service based industry. The world still operates on a 9-to-5 schedule, often Mondays through Fridays, finding people with the availability to zen out in those hours can be a challenge, but Graham and Ashkahn have been there and have some insights to the experience. They share what they do at Float On to counter this and when to accept the margins where you’re just not getting people in to float.
Thoughts on floating with a pacemaker – DSP 130
Sometimes you have customers with very specific needs or concerns about their float. In the case of medical concerns in regards to floating, there’s a lot we don’t know. Always always always have your customers discuss any serious medical concerns with their doctor. If for no other reason, if something does go wrong, even if it’s completely unrelated to their float, you’re not on the hook and have to deal with it.
