“Is this safe? Like really safe?”

I got this question recently and figured my answer is worth sharing more widely.

I miss floating so much. Is it safe? Like really safe??

– Cathy

Hi Cathy!

Thank you for asking. I wish I could tell you that anything is 100% safe, but you know I can’t. What I can tell you is that when it comes to activities that aren’t “staying inside your own house”, floating is firmly on the low-risk end.

As the pandemic goes on, we know more about what behaviors are more and less risky. Risky behaviors include:

• proximity to other people without masks
• close conversations
• spending a long time with groups in recycled indoor air
• spending time around other people breathing heavily/singing/shouting

Our float center does not involve anything like that, right? There are rarely more than half a dozen people in the building at one time. We DO require masks in the common areas, and showers before/after floating. This helps mitigate exposure a lot. Also, all of our float rooms vent directly outside and have individual controls, which was an HVAC upgrade we put in a couple years ago to fight mold and mildew, but is well-suited to today’s concerns. We use the ventilation system strategically as part of our changeover. More information here:

bit.ly/Float-Covid-Plan

I like this article; it sums up a lot of what I’m talking about when I say floating is low-risk:

https://www.floattanksolutions.com/floating-is-safer-than-the-grocery-store/

If you don’t feel like you’re ready to float again quite yet, that’s ok! I can tell you that I recently had the luxury of floating eight days in a row, and it was amazing. I needed it so badly, and I’m not sure I realized how much I needed it until I finally got it. Our tanks were hibernated during the shutdown, so contrary to popular imagining, I was not just hanging out in our float tanks all day while we were closed. 🙂 I have my weekly float scheduled for tomorrow afternoon and I’m looking forward to it. I’m in a high risk group myself, and I’m avoiding plenty of situations I used to love. Floating at my own float center is something I certainly trust, and I trust it because I wrote the safety procedures myself, I know our building’s setup, and I know my staff is dedicated and diligent. I wouldn’t be floating if I didn’t have that trust.

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other thoughts.

Stay safe,

Sara