AWESOME BUBBLES!!!
I have read most of the reviews on this product and almost didn't order it. Being the person I am, I wanted to give it a try. The price is right, and it was what I was looking for. And although I do give reviews some heed, I can form my own opinion. I am SUPER HAPPY I didn't listen to the negative reviews because this Bubble Spa is AMAZING!<br /><br />FIrst let me say I  have a jacuzzi bathtub, but the motor blew out over a year ago. I broke my neck and back while in the Army, and have endured 44 surgeries, and I have severe Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have a Morphine Pain Pump transplanted in my body to help with the pain. I used to take 20 minute baths every day to also help with my pain, but when the jacuzzi broke I stopped.<br />I wasn't looking for a new jacuzzi because we will be remodeling our bathroom in the near future and the tub will be replaced with a different jacuzzi tub. So I just wanted something with bubbles or to help the water move to help my muscles, for the time being.<br />Here are my finding!<br />THE SMELL. There was NONE! I opened my box and it had 3 wrapped parts - the mat, the motor and the hose. All shipped in separate plastic bags. None of it smelled like plastic or rubber - there really was no odor. Once I took the mat out and opened it fully - there was a slight odor, but it went away. I'm pretty sure anything made out of rubber/vinyl/plastic will always have an odor, but the odor dissipates within a few minutes. It cetainly isn't a deal breaker for me.<br />MAT SIZE. I have an oval jacuzzi garden tub and the bottom of the tub measures about 4.5 feet. The mat is about 5 feet. There are 6 jets in my tub, about midway up the tub wall. The walls go straight up, there's no taper. I am able to stick the suction cups either on the sides of my tub, even with the jets, or lay it on the bottom and stick it that way. Laying it flat - there is about a foot that goes up towards the top of the tub, however it's still under water.<br />THE MOTOR. It comes with what looks like a very small "canister vacuum" motor with a handle. It is not heavy, even I can lift it, and with my neck and back - 10 pounds is a struggle for me. When all is set and we turned it on, there is noise. after years of my LOUD jacuzzi jet noise - this thing purrs like a kitten. But remember this is a motor and will make some noise - it's just not so loud that I couldn't use it and disrupt everyone n the house. Still not a deal breaker.<br />HEAT IN THE TUB. I've read reviews that say the water did not get heated. I didn't read anywhere in the description where it said this would heat the water, so it must be me! I can say this.... When my jacuzzi did work, the movement in the water kept the water warmer for longer, but it never "heated" my water. I've always added super hot water to my bath and if needed, my husband would always bring a bucket of hot water from our other bathroom. You are only supposed to stay in a hot tub for 20 minutes at a time, otherwise your muscles start to "break down". My Pain Specialist doctor and my Rheumatologist told me to take baths every day to help my pain but never longer then 20 minutes. If you put hot water in your bath to start, your water should remain hot enough for 20 minutes. There is warm water coming from the hose, but air is air and it will cool off any water. I had no problems with my bath water retaining it's heat.<br />BUBBLE BATH, OILS, SALTS in the water. It says not to add any of these products, and I even read one review where she did add bubbles and it made too many. In my jacuzzi - if I added bubble bath - I disappeared! I did add Epsom Salt to my bath water and it was fine. I added oil  - and it still worked fine. I then added bubble bath, and knowing just how many bubbles generate from my jacuzzi - I added little drops at a time. I do have a large tub, about a 50 gallon tub, I added more, and then more. I never got an amount of bubbles to make me stop. I stopped adding because I didn't want my skin to freak out! My point is I had no issues using any of the products I mentioned. And it didn't clog/ruin the mat.<br />THE BUBBLES!!! Since reading quite a few reviews saying this is "Crap", "Don't waste your money", etc., I was skeptical. Once in the tub, my husband had to turn it on for me as we sat the motor on the floor and I couldn't reach it. For this time I put the mat on the bottom of the tub. He first turned it on the lowest setting, it took a minute &lt;maybe> for the air to fill the mat and the bubbles to start coming out. Then he put it on the medium setting, with more bubbles, and then the highest speed, with even more bubbles . I was actually quite surprised by not only the amount of bubbles, but the strength of them! It was WONDERFUL!!! It is almost as amazing as my jacuzzi!! I actually took a video of it working but I don't think I can upload it on here with my review. For the life of me, I can't understand how anyone would not like this!  I mean, really, if you want a jacuzzi - GO BUY A JACUZZI!!! This is NOT a jacuzzi nor is it mean to act like one - it is a BUBBLE SPA! There IS a difference between "jacuzzi" and "bubble spa". Jacuzzis use Jets, Bubble Spas use Bubbles!! This product provides GREAT BUBBLES!!!<br />I can say - that if you "Sit" in the bathtub - you WILL block the flow of air therefore you will not get the full effect of this bubble spa! I lay down in my tub, with my legs partially drawn up and my head resting on the pillow on the end. Yes my butt does touch the mat, but not in any way close to the way it does while I am "sitting". There is a difference! Lay back in your tub, pull your legs up a bit, and you should get plenty of bubbles! The bubbles flowed up my entire body, feeling great at my neck. Of course, where my butt touched the mat - not so much bubble as the rest, but the bubble were still there. While I sat in my tub, getting everything, ready, ie; lighting candles, getting my drink where I could easily reach it, getting my oil, salts and bubble bath - my big butt blocked off the air and I only got bubbles on my legs from the knees down, and towards my back a little bit of bubbles. Once I layed back - the bubbles flowed properly. The bubbles felt so freaking good I almost fell asleep, and that does not happen to me!!!! Mymuscles haven't felt this good in a year!<br />I can say with all honesty - I am overweight. Since I broke my neck the 2nd time, it has been much harder to do anything like I used to, therefore I have gained weight. I am 5'8 and weigh 198 pounds, so I am not little by any means. The mat is not a hard foam but once the air flows through it it does "blow up" to be firmer. If you sit your booty on the "pads", you will not disrupt the flow of air as bad as if you "sit" on the mat, meaning the pad and the rest of the mat. It's kind of hard to explain!<br />Taking this apart was super easy. Turn the motor off. Drain your tub. Take the hose off the mat and don't let water get in the hose or you'll have to hang it to drain the water and dry. Take the mat out, by the suction cups or you risk ripping the mat, let it drain as much as possible in the tub - then either stick it to your shower wall or hang it over the shower door. We have tile in our bathroom so any excess water drips were easly wiped up. Put a towel underneath to protect carpet if you have it. Once it is dry you can fold it and put it away until the next time you use it. Very easy!<br />All in all - I am impressed and VERY happy I bought this. I would buy another one to use it in conjunction with this one and stick them to the side walls of my tub, if I wanted to get more bubbles, but it is definitely not necessary>. Definitely worth the price - and I would absolutely pay full price for it!!<br />I hope my review helps someone. Not everyone has the same super high expectations as the next &lt;and yes I do believe you have un-attainable expectation if you think this sucks>! Give it a try and if you're not happy - you can always return or replace.
Rating: 5 stars