Could new regulations put the freeze on 90% of ice baths?

Ice baths and cold plunge facilities are popular with wellness operators, but have so far been unregulated. WellNation spoke to Colin Edgar, MD of CET CryoSpas and a member of a steering committee which is drawing up new regulations for the industry

Why are these regulations important? What areas have been looked at and who is involved in the steering group? The main purpose of the new ice bath health and safety regulations is to protect the public from the risk of infection by a number of waterborne pathogens.

The steering group consists of industry association representatives including the Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group (PWTAG), which advises the Health & Safety Executive on matters relating to pool water safety; the Swimming Pool Allied Trades Association (SPATA); the British & Irish Spa & Hot Tub Association (BISHTA); plus water treatment specialists and ice bath suppliers and manufacturers. I am personally also on the steering group, as founder of the longest established UK ice bath manufacturer, with 22 years of experience producing commercial ice baths.

The steering group focused on the filtration and sanitization requirements across a range of settings including gyms, spas and hotels who are offering ice bath experiences to their members, or to the general public.

What are some of the problems that can come from unregulated ice baths? One health and safety inspector, who visited an upmarket health club in London reported to PWTAG that they discovered that a single ice bath, designed for home use, had up to 200 users daily. This particular ice bath had no skim filtration whatsoever.

As 60% of pollutants, such as body oil, will float, skim filtration is essential to effectively filter these pollutants from the water. This type of feedback provided the impetus to produce guidelines which would enable prospective buyers and users of ice baths, to make good decisions from a health and safety perspective.

While CET CryoSpa products do comply with the new regulations, many UK ice bath suppliers and manufacturers, have been supplying ice baths which do not meet basic requirements for commercial use.

What are the key findings from the report and what changes will Ice bath companies need to make to be compliant? The key recommendations revolve around proper filtration and sanitization. The water must be skimmed from the surface as 60% of pollutants will float.

The primary sanitisers should be chlorine or bromine, which are fast acting when compared to Silver Hydrogen Peroxide, for example. UV would be an example of a secondary sanitizer which can be used in conjunction with a primary sanitizer but not on its own.

Interestingly a key recommendation was that you should not create ice from contaminated water as various pathogens can survive in ice and risk infecting bathers as the ice dissolves.

What does this mean for facility operators who have an existing bath which doesn’t meet the regulations? For those operators who have acquired non-compliant ice baths without skim filtration, for example, there may in some instances be a way to modify the ice baths to make them compliant. The new guidelines are not mandatory but there is a reputational risk if you continue to offer ice bath sessions in non-compliant equipment.

At CET we have been looking at ways to upgrade non-compliant ice baths. Virtually all wooden ice baths are non-compliant but at CET we have recently developed an all-wooden ice bath that will comply with the new regulations.

What advice would you give to the industry when considering purchasing ice baths? Consider your reason for choosing an ice bath. Aside from offering a competitive advantage, is the objective to maximise the therapeutic effect to enhance recovery and performance, or are you simply looking for general wellness benefits for members? Pain management might also be an important factor, as gyms move towards health focused memberships. Determining these motivations will help you arrive at the best solution.

As CET evolved from the medical sector, using low temperature saltwater to treat tendon and ligament injuries as early as 2002, we understand how to maximise the therapeutic effect, and we design our ice baths accordingly.

Aesthetics is often the first thing people look at, which to a degree can easily be altered, but it is important to look underneath the skin of the ice bath. Can it cope with your anticipated user volume or the ambient temperature of the swimming pool apron?

Finally, consider the huge variation in individual tolerance of cold. This can be due to body shape, size, gender and ethnicity for example. It may be better to have more than one unit, one colder than the other so individuals can select the most appropriate temperature for them. At The Wimbledon Championships for example, the CryoSpa ice baths we supplied are maintained at 8°C, 10°C and 12°C allowing players a temperature choice.

Another feature of the CET CryoSpa is that you can change the level of cooling by turning on the jets. As the Australian Weightlifting Coach, Miles Waddell, said “It’s the jets that make the difference”.