Is there any better feeling than lowering yourself into the warm waters of a Hot Spring spa pool? It’s an immersive experience that has been designed for pleasure from the ground up. But more than the water’s warmth, the glow of interior lighting or the tranquil sounds of built-in water features, the jets of your spa pool are there to turn the luxury dial to 11.
When expertly designed and strategically placed, spa pool jets can deliver amazing levels of hydromassage. They use high pressure streams of water to massage both your skin and the soft tissues beneath. In the process they can offer relief and relaxation to the areas of the body that need it most.
The question is less if spa pool jets provide hydromassage – they do – but how, why, and to what degree. Let’s take a closer look at spa pool jet technology, to understand how it works, the benefits it can bring, and what to look for when shopping for the ultimate hydromassage experience.
What are spa pool jets?
Spa pool jets are features of a spa that push pressurised streams of water through strategically placed nozzles out into the tub of the spa. While basic spas might only offer a single type of jet, higher quality models tend to offer spa pool jets in a wealth of shapes and sizes, many of which are designed for a specific purpose.
Narrow jets offer targeted relief to specific areas. Wider jets offer broader massage to a more general area. Some jets can be pointed in a certain direction so a stream is delivered exactly where you need it. Others can move of their own accord, spinning in place or sweeping back and forth across an area of the body.
How do spa pool jets work?
The job of turning your spa pool water into a series of pressurised streams is delegated to the pump hidden within the cabinet of a portable spa pool. The size, build quality, power supply and energy efficiency of this pump will determine how many separate jets it can support, and how much pressure each jet will deliver.
The process works as follows:
- Water is taken in from the tub via an intake and fed through a filter.
- The filtered water is fed through a water pump which pressurises it.
- The pressurised water is fed through the plumbing lines to the jets.
- The jets feature a large intake that tapers toward the nozzle. This further pressurises the water, which is ejected into the spa in a strong and targeted stream.
Depending on the spa pool, a number of steps might be added to this process to enhance the soaking experience. High quality spa pools make use of the Venturi effect to help the jets deliver more oxygenated water than would otherwise be possible. Others recycle the heat from the insulated equipment compartment, re-injecting it into the spa pool water through the jets (like Hot Springs hot air induction technology.)
What does hydromassage do for your body?
The benefits of hydromassage are evident from the moment you step foot in a spa pool – it’s a uniquely pleasurable experience, made even more so when combined with the warmth, the sights and the sounds that a high-end soaking experience offers. Perhaps the most obvious and immediate effect is a feeling of relaxation – stress and worry can melt away as you immerse yourself in the experience.
While hydromassage is a field that is somewhat underserved by scientific study, hints at the medical benefits of hydromassage can be found by looking at research into traditional massage – we’re simply replacing human hands with H2O, after all. Traditional massage has been found to:
- Provide short-term relief from lower back, neck and shoulder pain.
- Potentially reduce pain and improve function for arthritis sufferers.
- Potentially decrease the severity of migraines.
- Reduce levels of pain, anxiety and depression in fibromyalgia patients.
- Lower perceived pain and fatigue in athletes.
Add in the equally extensive benefits that come from hydrotherapy, and a jet-fuelled soak in a spa pool can be a holistic and incredibly beneficial event, particularly when enjoyed regularly.
How many jets should there be in a spa pool?
Do more jets mean a better spa experience? While there’s no specific formula that will tell you the amount of jets a spa pool should have, it stands to reason that more jets mean more areas of the body being massaged, and more massage means more of the benefits outlined above. You’ll notice that the more premium the spa pool, the more jets it will generally have.
But the sheer number of jets isn’t the only meaningful metric as to the quality of the hydromassage that a spa pool will deliver. The Excursion, an affordable spa pool that forms part of our entry-level Freeflow range, has 25 jets, while the similarly sized Triumph, part of our premium Highlife collection, has 28. The difference in their soaking experiences is not down to the number of streams produced, but the jet technology used – the Triumph, for example, features the Moto-Massage DX, a revolutionary jet that moves up and down the back to sweep away tension.
The number, the placement, the quality and the technology of the jets are all factors that you should consider when shopping for the ultimate hydromassage experience.
Hot Spring: the ultimate hydromassage jets
There are a wealth of reasons that you might be looking for a hydromassage experience that you can enjoy at your whim in your own backyard. Perhaps you’re looking for an oasis in which you can relax after a hard day’s work. Perhaps you suffer from a chronic condition and are looking for on-tap relief. Perhaps you’re an amateur athlete who wants to get all that you can out of your body.
Whatever your hydromassage desires might be, a Hot Spring spa pool is ready to deliver.
At Hot Spring we sit at the very leading edge of spa pool jet technology, a position we’ve held for quite some time. We aim to deliver the ultimate massage experience, by designing revolutionary patented jets that deliver soothing streams direct to key muscle groups, and can be set to your desired pressure.
Case in point: the Moto-Massage DX, an exclusive jet that has revolutionised hydrotherapy. Only available on select Hot Spring models, it produces two strong streams that sweep up and down the length of your back.
We lead the market not just in terms of jet innovation, but in jet quality too. We are so confident in the longevity of our machines that we are the only spa pool brand in New Zealand to offer a 20-year spare part guarantee.
Ready to experience the delights of a Hot Spring hydromassage experience? Get in touch with your local Hot Spring dealer to book a test soak today.
