Something in the world of floating have you stumped?
Show Highlights
Some float centers include a restriction in their wavers stating that people can’t or shouldn’t float during their menstrual cycles. Is there a valid reason for this?
Graham and Ashkahn clear up the confusion around this situation and why float centers started doing this and what every center should know about policies like this.
Listen to Just the Audio
Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)
Graham: Alright.
Ashkahn: Welcome everybody.
Graham: I am Graham.
Ashkahn: And I am Ashkahn.
Graham: And today’s question is.
Ashkahn: And today’s question is.
Graham: “Should we have a policy regarding no floating on the day you start your period? I’ve seen other centers that prohibit floating for females on the day they start their periods. Is this necessary?” Well it probably makes more sense than females and males.
Ashkahn: So what’s the concern here? Is it just a sanitation concern for the float tank, right? It’s not like health concern for a woman.
Graham: Well, the only thing that I’ve heard is about the stinging in the nether regions.
Ashkahn: Yeah, but I’ve never-
Graham: Can be influenced by your menstrual cycle as well.
Ashkahn: Can be? I haven’t heard of that correlated with specifically people starting their period or anything.
Graham: Well, yeah, maybe. I don’t know about that. I don’t know. I know that the period cycle in general can be related to some more PH discomfort related to the water.
Ashkahn: Alright. Maybe there’s some murky information in there that no one seems to know, like-
Graham: The point is that’s not why the centers are putting this on there.
Ashkahn: They’re putting it on there for sanitation reasons-
Graham: They’re putting it on there for sanitation reasons-
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: They’re afraid about blood getting in their float tank.
Ashkahn: I think it’s silly. I don’t think it’s a necessary requirement.
Graham: And that’s not a necessary requirement for going in a hot tub or a swimming pool.
Ashkahn: And there’s a couple reasons. One, they make waterproof tampons and stuff like that, that people can put in if they were to go swimming or whatever. We just have some in our shop in case people need them. But that’s a good solution, and even if you were to get menstrual blood or whatever in your float tank, it’s not very likely that that’s going to get anyone sick.
Graham: Yeah, in general any bloodborne illness is not going to survive contact with even regular water.
Ashkahn: Yeah-
Graham: Much less float tank water.
Ashkahn: If you look at this, the CDC has a guideline for contamination in pools. And one of the things they mention in there is that if you were to get blood in a pool, they basically require no action. They say nothing needs to be done because they haven’t really found a way of very effectively communicating diseases.
Graham: Basically the stuff that can survive in your blood, bloodborne illness is designed to really survive in your blood. So if it gets mixed with water or anything else, it totally deactivates it and doesn’t make it infectious anymore for those. At least again, that seems to be the case for anything, for any bloodborne illness the CDC is worried about communicating.
Ashkahn: Yeah. And your filter should be able to filter stuff out so it’s not like it’s going to be gross in the float tank for the next person or anything like that.
Graham: So the thinking about it is maybe a little weird or you’re like, “huh is that just blood getting in my water or something?” Ultimately even if it is, it’s not concerning.
Ashkahn: So I think it’s silly. I don’t think it should be something that float centers stop people from doing.
Graham: No, and to trace back how this stuff happens too. We see it all the time. There’s only so many float centers that are out there when you’re new and coming up. Exactly like the person who sent in this question did. They look at other float centers, and what they’re putting on their waivers. And probably this center who put that on their waiver saw it somewhere else that someone else just decided to put on their waiver. And who knows where that came from. And there’s this copycat thing that goes down the line where every time, you’re just like “well I don’t know. I’m not an expert in this, so I guess I’ll take the safe decision and include it because including more items on the waiver is at least safer than potentially not including them and something going wrong.”
So it’s people copying and doing it out of this sense of wanting to feel safe because someone else thought there was a concern there. We don’t think there’s a concern-
Ashkahn: Nor have we had any problems with it over the years.
Graham: Also no one’s going to uphold a case in court if you come and sue us for bad advice, just so you guys know. Just because it’s our opinion. If you try to tell a judge that you took the advice of us, and then you play the intros for them that we do, they’ll be like, this is obviously a comedy show-
Ashkahn: Be dismissed very quickly-
Graham: Yeah, so don’t come back and complain about our bad answers.
Ashkahn: Yeah. Another bad answer for today. We’ve never stopped it. I think it’s silly to put on there. I just think it’s a concern without any actual potential downside that could happen. There’s no reason to stop people from floating.
Graham: Yeah, and usually how we phrase it or I see centers phrase it is if you would feel comfortable going into a hot tub or a swimming pool or something like that, you should feel comfortable getting in the float tank with the same protocols I guess.
Ashkahn: Cool, so that’s it.
Graham: Just a couple of guys-
Ashkahn: A couple guys-
Graham: Talking about the menstrual cycle.
Ashkahn: Yeah. With a lot of confidence and expertise.
Graham: So if you have any other questions, head on over to floattanksolutions.com/podcast.
Ashkahn: Put them in there. We’ll read them, and we’ll answer them, just like we did today.
Graham: Same level of diligence and quality. Alright, thanks everybody.
Ashkahn: Have a good one.
Recent Podcast Episodes
What to Look for when Buying a Used Float Tank – DSP 144
So… float tanks are expensive. Buying used is an option, though. What does that look like and what should you know before thinking about delving into the market of used tanks? There’s a lot to it, how the tank has aged, if there are any components that have failed, and what the filtration system is like are all good things to keep in mind.
Graham and Ashkahn go over this, as well as where to look for tanks and some tips and tricks from the trade.
How to Run a Float Center out of Your Home – DSP 143
Starting up a float center out of your home isn’t nearly as daunting as it may sound at first and is a great way to get your foot in the door. Graham and Ashkahn break down the logistics of this time honored tradition in the industry.
What to look for in a lease – DSP 142
Picking a location is stressful and time consuming, but it can still be one of the most fun parts of starting a float center.
Graham and Ashkahn examine what to look for in a new center and how to go about the search. Along with all this, they explain some of the nuances you want to discuss with your landlord when drafting your lease. Tune in here.
Options for offering neck pillows – DSP 141
Finding a good neck pillow for your float tanks can be a surprisingly tricky endeavor. There are endless amounts of flotation pillows designed for swimming or in the bath, but float tanks have very particular conditions and getting the wrong neck pillow can make it, and your float tank, a hassle to clean.
Graham and Ashkahn dish about their experiences with neck pillows and what’s worked for them in the past and offer up some solid recommendations, as well as provide some helpful tips on what to look for when shopping for the ideal neck pillow for your float center.
Having a walkthrough script for float center staff – DSP 140
How specific do you want to get when walking a customer through a float for the first time? Everyone is gonna have a different answer to this, but it’s important to have consistency when running a business. A lot of places do video walkthroughs, but that runs the risk of losing that personal touch.
Graham and Ashkahn share a little Float On philosophy about how they instruct staff to introduce the practice of floating as well as some helpful tips for making your intro speech grow and evolve over time.
Latest Blog Posts
Location, Location, Floatation
One of the most common questions we’ve gotten has been regarding whether or not someone’s potential location would work as a float center. Every location is unique, of course, and will have its various benefits and costs based on their individual characteristics....
How to Heat Your Float Tanks
A large part of what we do here at Float Tank Solutions is field calls and emails about floatation therapy from potential float center owners, manufacturers, spas, and general floatation enthusiasts from around the globe. After seeing certain questions come up again...
Why We Gather – Float Conference
At the end of last year’s Float Conference I had a woman come up to me and say, “You know, I’ve been working so hard to get my float center up and running. And to get up each day and try to get people in my city to know and understand what floating is, without another...
A Float By Any Other Name
An Open Letter on Float Tank Terminology Since you’re on this site, you’ve likely heard one or more of these terms as a name for a certain kind of therapy: Isolation Therapy Sensory Deprivation Therapy Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST)...
