Learn best practices for starting and running a float center:
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Something in the world of floating have you stumped?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Show Highlights

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.

Listen to Just the Audio

Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)

Graham: Today’s question is also here with us recording, and it is, “Do you have any information regards to clients with a pacemaker or defibrillator? Is it safe for them to float? I wasn’t sure if you all had encountered this before.

So, first of all, any kind of serious medical questions like this should be run by a doctor, which we are not.

Ashkahn: Yeah, there’s a big list of things we’re not, which you’ve maybe realized by listening to this podcast.

Graham: Lawyers, doctors …

Ashkahn: Psychiatrists…

Graham: Good podcasters…

Ashkahn: Decent humans in general. But yeah, them also, yeah, definitely not doctors is the thing we’re not today.

Graham: That said, there seems to be no real problems with it that we’ve been able to find.

Ashkahn: Yeah, I can’t think of what … Unless you somehow got salt in your blood and it went into your pacemaker and screwed up the electronics.

Graham: Yeah, kinda the biggest concern that I’ve heard is in relation to, people who have pacemakers often are taking other cardiac medications or things that affect their blood pressure, and there could be something with that, entering into deep relaxation and blood pressure problems, so I’d almost be more concerned about the paired medications than the pacemaker itself.

Ashkahn: Yeah, definitely one of those doctor questions. And this is what I would say, were a customer to ask me this at the float center, I’d be like, “Oh, man, you should definitely check with your doctor about that. I can’t give you an answer.”

Graham: Yeah.

Ashkahn: “I just run a float tank center.”

Graham: For sure. And again, that said, I have a feeling the doctor would come back and say that it’s probably not a problem. I’d also say, definitely ask the doctor about contraindications with any other medications that you’re taking along with this, and again, we’ve heard from several float centers that they’ve floated people with pacemakers, they’ve never had any issues with them. In general, it wouldn’t be high on my priority list, but no reason to dodge the-

Ashkahn: Yeah, if anything, floating seems to be better for your cardiovascular system.

Graham: Yeah, but just like pregnancy, no reason to skip the whole doctor recommendation. It’s just, what if something did go wrong, and someone were to come after you, just sounds like such a awful situation. Way better to punt it over to the medical professionals.

Ashkahn: Yeah.

Graham: So, I think that’s short episode day.

Ashkahn: I guess that’s it, man. We’re not doctors, so you asked the wrong person this question.

Graham: So if you have any more medical questions to send our way, it’ll be really easy episodes. We can just kinda rehash through this exact same thing. And you can do that at floattanksolutions.com/podcast.

Recent Podcast Episodes

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. 

Special tools for cleaning your float center – DSP 139

There are so many tiny particular things that go into keeping a float center clean that are really specific to this industry.  For example, mopping at the end of the night can be a chore because using a typical mop bucket will just mean spreading salt water everywhere.

Graham and Ashkahn share some of their favorite convenient products that they have found helpful running Float On that they totally recommend for everyone else as well.

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. 

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.

Latest Blog Posts

Think Big and Start Small When Planning a Float Center

Think Big and Start Small When Planning a Float Center

Deciding on how many tanks to have is a big question for anyone starting a float center. Answering that question can depend on factors ranging from the philosophical to the inescapably practical. It really depends on what you want out of a float center. If your vision...

Start Small or Launch Big

Start Small or Launch Big

I think everyone should do what feels right for them. But I have a strong preference for slow. People who are able to start small have such an advantage over someone who has to learn everything so fast. We happened to start with one and then two tanks in our home for...

Would You Like a Cup of Tea?

Would You Like a Cup of Tea?

This post is a carry over from our February topic.   I live in a world of duality. My mind is always busy, with the past or the future, or involved in some project in am immersed in. It is evaluating and trying to figure things out. What did that mean, how can I...

Hanging Out – Post Float Experience

Hanging Out – Post Float Experience

This post is a carry over from our February topic.   I like to think of our float center’s lobby as a sort of no-man’s-land. It sits between the nothingness of the float tank and the everythingness of the outside world. A place where people can attempt to merge these...