Whirlpool bath...jets clean?

[irisheileen]

Sorry for the question:o but I'm wondering if, when you used the whirlpool bath, was the water from the jets clean?

 

The reason I asked is that we have a whirlpool jetted tub at home and one time I used the jets after a long period of time of inactivity. Black specks came out of the jets because it had been such a very ling time since we had used the actual jets in the soaking tub. Following manufactor's suggestion, I filled the tub with water, bleach and I think Cascade and turned the jets on for cleaning.

 

So, if I assume that NOT alot of pax USE the jets feature, have you ever noticed anything not up to par with the whirlpool bath? Do you use it at all?

 

Kinda creeps me out a bit :o, but I'd like to use it.

 

OH...just had a thought! Maybe I could bring a travel sized container (3oz) of bleach from home and fill tub with water and bleach and cycle it through myself? Go ahead, tell me if I'm odd. LOL

 

Thanks.

[kazu]

Sorry for the question:o but I'm wondering if, when you used the whirlpool bath, was the water from the jets clean?

 

The reason I asked is that we have a whirlpool jetted tub at home and one time I used the jets after a long period of time of inactivity. Black specks came out of the jets because it had been such a very ling time since we had used the actual jets in the soaking tub. Following manufactor's suggestion, I filled the tub with water, bleach and I think Cascade and turned the jets on for cleaning.

 

So, if I assume that NOT alot of pax USE the jets feature, have you ever noticed anything not up to par with the whirlpool bath? Do you use it at all?

 

Kinda creeps me out a bit :o, but I'd like to use it.

 

Thanks.

 

The water that came out in ours was clean indeed - haven't ever seen the black specks:) Doesn't mean it won't happen of course but I haven't seen it yet:)

[tangerinebunny]

Fill the tub and turn on the jets and do a black speck check before you get in?

[irisheileen]

Fill the tub and turn on the jets and do a black speck check before you get in?

 

The obvious isn't always so obvious to me :o Thanks!

 

Still wondering just how many pax actually use the whirlpool bath?

[peaches from georgia]

We had this happen in our jetted master bath tub which we rarely if ever used. When we renovated that bathroom and put in a new tub we asked the plumber about the black specks and little bits of black flaky stuff from the old tub.

 

It's mold. :eek:

[3rdGenCunarder]

You bet it's mold (or possibly mildew). It's damp and dark inside those pipes. :eek:

 

I do bleach and cascade on my jetted tub if I haven't used it in a long time. I was worried about the jetted tub in our suite on Zuiderdam, but I didn't want to fill and drain the tub twice before using it (you need to do a rinse after the bleach).

 

Every time I use my tub at home, after I get out, I put in a little "in between" cleaning solution. It smells a bit like vinegar. Bubble for 5 minutes, drain, no need to rinse. I brought some of that with me so that I could be sure the tub was clean. I really didn't want to travel with bleach. I just looked at the bottle. The stuff I use is called "jet fresh."

[Spinner2]

I use the whirlpool tub every day on a cruise if we have a cabin offering one and I've not seen any black specks or other signs of mold. It does take awhile to fill the tub and the water of course has to be up over the jets before they are turned on or there will be a big splashy mess!

[irisheileen]

You bet it's mold (or possibly mildew). It's damp and dark inside those pipes. :eek:

 

I do bleach and cascade on my jetted tub if I haven't used it in a long time. I was worried about the jetted tub in our suite on Zuiderdam, but I didn't want to fill and drain the tub twice before using it (you need to do a rinse after the bleach).

 

Every time I use my tub at home, after I get out, I put in a little "in between" cleaning solution. It smells a bit like vinegar. Bubble for 5 minutes, drain, no need to rinse. I brought some of that with me so that I could be sure the tub was clean. I really didn't want to travel with bleach. I just looked at the bottle. The stuff I use is called "jet fresh."

 

I'll look for the "jet fresh" today. walmart? grocery store? I'll follow your same trick at home as well, thanks.

[irisheileen]

We had this happen in our jetted master bath tub which we rarely if ever used. When we renovated that bathroom and put in a new tub we asked the plumber about the black specks and little bits of black flaky stuff from the old tub.

 

It's mold. :eek:

 

Yep, not pretty!

[Krazy Kruizers]

The obvious isn't always so obvious to me :o Thanks!

 

Still wondering just how many pax actually use the whirlpool bath?

 

There was a time when I used the whirlpool bath. Never saw any black specks.

Now I can no longer get in and out of bath tub -- so I don't use it.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'll look for the "jet fresh" today. walmart? grocery store? I'll follow your same trick at home as well, thanks.

 

Try Home Depot. I may have bought it there when I bought my tub there. I know I got some at Expo, their high-end store. When the Expo near me closed down, I stocked up at sale prices.

 

Or try a good plumbing supply store. If they don't have it, they should know what it is and be able to suggest a source.

[Traveller94]

Do all the tubs have jets or just the suites? I'm two weeks away from my first Holland America cruise on Statendam and don't remember seeing anything about whirlpool tubs. Thanks!

[Boytjie]

Do all the tubs have jets or just the suites? I'm two weeks away from my first Holland America cruise on Statendam and don't remember seeing anything about whirlpool tubs. Thanks!

 

Never had a whirlpool tub on HAL (balconies and on obstructed view).

[solocanadian]

Do all the tubs have jets or just the suites? I'm two weeks away from my first Holland America cruise on Statendam and don't remember seeing anything about whirlpool tubs. Thanks!

Oceanview & Interior cabins do not have whirlpool baths - only the Verandah, Deluxe Verandah & Penthouse suites have whirlpool baths. Have a great cruise on the Statendam.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Do all the tubs have jets or just the suites? I'm two weeks away from my first Holland America cruise on Statendam and don't remember seeing anything about whirlpool tubs. Thanks!

 

I'm not sure. Deluxe suites and penthouses have them. I think other suites do, too, but I don't know if that's on all ships. Best to check the accommodations for Statendam.

[George C]

Do all the tubs have jets or just the suites? I'm two weeks away from my first Holland America cruise on Statendam and don't remember seeing anything about whirlpool tubs. Thanks!

 

All suites have them, there a little small for my taste since I am 6' 4" but I have used them once or twice, suites also have seprate showers and double sinks which we like.

[cb at sea]

I never use the jets in a hotel or ship tub...ever. You just can't know if it's truly been cleaned...and I would bet it's not! That would take a lot of time and water to do that every time the occupants change!

[irisheileen]

I never use the jets in a hotel or ship tub...ever. You just can't know if it's truly been cleaned...and I would bet it's not! That would take a lot of time and water to do that every time the occupants change!

 

Yeah, that was my thought. I'll bring along bleach :) and/or "Jet Fresh" and run it through at least one time the first day while we are getting dressed for dinner. It should be good to go for the rest of our week.

[Traveller94]

Thanks, everyone! We have an ocean view guarantee, so no whirlpool tub for us. I'm not much of a tub person, but my DH is. Maybe if we like Holland America we'll try a balcony with the whirlpool tub next time. I have heard the cabins are nice. I'm very excited to get my assignment!

[tangerinebunny]

You can find the Jet Clean type products at Amazon if you want to read reviews before you buy.

 

But I personally would hesitate to add anything to the ship's plumbing/pipe system without asking first. I always use the jets on board and have never noticed the black specks.

 

But I will order something and clean out my personal jets; many thanks for the information.

[NoobCruise]

I'm really glad you asked this because I was wondering the same thing. We will have a whirlpool tub in our cabin, but I was worrying about using it.

 

We had a bad experience on our first cruise on Carnival Elation to the Mexican Riviera. This is gross, so if that bothers you then stop reading now. The details are a little fuzzy since it was in 2003, but on the first day or 2 I saw a long black string of mold come off something in the shower. I don't remember what, maybe from under a lip on the floor or side or something. I just remember it really grossed me out and I said something to my husband. NOT happy about that. We just mentioned it to our steward so he'd clean better, then went about enjoying our cruise. The 2nd to last day of our cruise, my husband took his shoes off to the worst smelling feet ever, like morgue bad smell. Took his socks off to find huge sores on his feet, like 1 inch circumference with a millimeter or 2 depth of skin just gone, eaten away. It smelled so bad, we both thought he'd picked up some horrible foot disease in Mexico. It honestly scared us both. He called and asked to see the dr and was told the dr had left the ship with a patient who'd had a heart attack, so he had to wait til we got home to see a doctor. His doctor at home said it was just a severe case of athletes foot he had probably picked up in the shower.

 

That was one of the reasons we haven't ever done a second cruise. After almost 10 years, we're giving it another try and hoping HAL is clean. I have already picked up a pack of bleach wipes specifically to use on the shower, but I think I'll pick up some of that jet clean and some bleach and run it through our tub before we use it, just in case. That will work better than wipes anyway. Thanks for this thread!

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'm really glad you asked this because I was wondering the same thing. We will have a whirlpool tub in our cabin, but I was worrying about using it.

 

We had a bad experience on our first cruise on Carnival Elation to the Mexican Riviera. This is gross, so if that bothers you then stop reading now. The details are a little fuzzy since it was in 2003, but on the first day or 2 I saw a long black string of mold come off something in the shower. I don't remember what, maybe from under a lip on the floor or side or something. I just remember it really grossed me out and I said something to my husband. NOT happy about that. We just mentioned it to our steward so he'd clean better, then went about enjoying our cruise. The 2nd to last day of our cruise, my husband took his shoes off to the worst smelling feet ever, like morgue bad smell. Took his socks off to find huge sores on his feet, like 1 inch circumference with a millimeter or 2 depth of skin just gone, eaten away. It smelled so bad, we both thought he'd picked up some horrible foot disease in Mexico. It honestly scared us both. He called and asked to see the dr and was told the dr had left the ship with a patient who'd had a heart attack, so he had to wait til we got home to see a doctor. His doctor at home said it was just a severe case of athletes foot he had probably picked up in the shower.

 

That was one of the reasons we haven't ever done a second cruise. After almost 10 years, we're giving it another try and hoping HAL is clean. I think I'll pick up some of that jet clean and some bleach and run it through our tub before we use it, just in case. Thanks for this thread!

 

Don't use bleach with the jet cleaner. the usual disinfection process is bleach and dishwasher detergent. But you must rinse by running a second tubful of water. And, as tangerine bunny mentions, maybe you should be careful about what you put into the water system. Jet cleaner is more benign than bleach and does not require a second filing for a rinse step.

[OVgirl]

If I contracted athletes foot from a shower on vacation, I'd bring plastic flipflops and wear them in the shower. Better to be safe than sorry.

[NoobCruise]

Don't use bleach with the jet cleaner. the usual disinfection process is bleach and dishwasher detergent. But you must rinse by running a second tubful of water. And, as tangerine bunny mentions, maybe you should be careful about what you put into the water system. Jet cleaner is more benign than bleach and does not require a second filing for a rinse step.

 

Ok, we'll do that. Thanks! Although when it actually comes down to getting IN the tub full of water, we may decide not to use the tub lol The feet were bad enough. Maybe we don't want to take a chance on the whole body.

[kazu]

If I contracted athletes foot from a shower on vacation, I'd bring plastic flipflops and wear them in the shower. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

OMG - thank heavens DH rarely reads cc - all I need is for him to pack something else:eek: For what it's worth- we've never had an issue ever on a HAL cruise:) and we don't pack plastic flipflops - but we have never sailed Carnival either!