• A hot tub can be a very relaxing place, but the jets can be dangerous.pool spa 1 image by Aaron Kohr from Fotolia.com
  
  Soaking in a hot tub is high on the list of relaxing, luxurious activities for many people. The hot water being rapidly circulated by the tub's jets is a unique feeling and it provides a form of massage therapy and pain relief not found in other places. But those jets that work all the magic beneath the water can also be the source of several dangers associated with hot tubs.
  
  

Bacteria

• When a hot tub's motor is turned off and the water is drained after use, some water remains in the piping inside the jets of the tub until the next time the tub is used. Inside these jet tubes bacteria grows and waits until the jets are turned back on again, circulating the filth back into the water of the bath.
  
  Often, this trapped water contains the fecal matter, skin cells, soap scum and other materials from previous bathers. Relaxing and deep breathing in the hot tub while this material circulates can lead to the inhalation of the bacteria such as legionnella spores to enter the lungs, potentially causing serious illness.
  
  Legionnaires disease, which is a severe form of pneumonia, can result from breathing in these bacterial spores and can be fatal to those with compromised immune systems, according to the Mayo clinic website.
  
  

Hair Pull

• Hot tub jets shoot water out into the tub with considerable force. In order to accomplish this task, the tub also has to pull water back out of the tub through an intake in the jet system. The force of flow of water through the intake is strong enough to pull a child's hair into the pipe and prevent them from getting loose.
  
  Drowning deaths have occurred as a result from pulling of the hair by the jet system, according to the Free Library website. Children should refrain from dunking their heads underwater in a hot tub for this reason. More modern models of hot tubs have automatic shut-off features that kick in when a drain or intake becomes blocked.
  
  

Foam

• Using soaps or bubble bath in a hot tub is a bad idea, according to the Hot Tub Bliss website. In addition to the residue from soaps affecting the hot tub equipment, the churning of the jets can cause extreme foaming action that can lead to dangerous conditions in and around the tub.
  
  Just a small squirt of bubble bath or soap similar to the amount used in a regular bathtub can result in a massive mountain of foam in the tub. Children could become engulfed in the foam, which will make the bath unpleasant for them, and the spillover from the tub could create a hazardous surface in and around the tub.
  
  Once the tub has been drained, the soap residue remains and makes the surface extremely slippery. A fall in the tub, on the bathroom floor or on the decking around an outdoor tub can result in serious injuries.