Review (5/5): Robust, many features, lots of pros and few cons.
I had a HoMedics foot spa that I bought from a big box drugstore when I had a foot infection three years ago. It broke after 3 uses. But I liked it, and wanted to replace it with one that was more robustly built, had a reliable water heater, and came with good foot massage tools.
After a lot of research, I settled on the LuxorWare Foot Spa Massager. I've used it a dozen times (my husband has used it, too), and I'm so happy I bought it! Here are the reasons I love it:
• It is heavy and well built. The plastic seems thick and strong, and it seems pretty well constructed, especially the foot massage tools.
• The tub is deep. When you fill it to the maximum fill line, it comes up a few inches above the ankle.
• The water heater is excellent, going from 86 degrees F to 115+ degrees F (I haven't maxed out on the heat, as 103–105 degrees F is super warm). And the heat stays where you set it without variation unless you dial it up or down.
• The timer goes in 10-minute increments and beeps at you when you have 5 minutes left, so you can put down your book and get your towel ready. A nice feature I wasn't looking for, but am glad is there.
• The water, while not swirling or bubbling briskly, does move enough for me, and comes from enough directions to work on the entire foot.
• I use scented Epsom salts in it, and they work fine. Every other time I use the unit, I put a couple of inches of hot water with a tiny bit of dish detergent, insert a pair of foot massager tools, and turn the motor on briefly to get the lightly sudsed water to run through all the openings (the buttons on top of the unit operate different squirting gizmos). I follow this with a freshwater rinse and the unit is clean again.
•Best thing: There are 2 sets of foot massaging tools, that pop in and out easily (I've only changed them with an empty unit before I fill it, so I don't know whether they can be changed with water in the tub.) They both work well and are vigorous enough to really stimulate and massage my feet. I like the vigorous massage, but if you just want a gentle massage, you can simply rest your feet on the devices and they'll feel very mild and gentle.
Here are the cons, though in my opinion the plusses far outweigh them:
– The casters are small and don't roll easily, especially on a rug. I have to use the handle and pull the unit along carefully by the rim to scoot it across the floor. It's not that it feels heavy (though it is, so tall and full of water); it's just awkward to shuffle it along.
– Because it's so tall, it holds a lot of water, and I need a bit of strength to heft it up onto the edge of the bathtub to empty it. The drain spout is down at the bottom of the unit, which makes sense, but you have to get the unit high enough to actually drain the water out into some receptacle, which would have to be so low to the ground that it would be difficult to get all the water out efficiently. So I do make the effort to lift the whole unit up on the bathtub edge and dump it in (pouring over the non-motor edge!).
– This one I learned the hard way: The handle is only for PULLING the unit gently across the floor. Not for lifting it! When the unit has water to the max fill line, the handle does not lift the load from the middle and actually TIPS the water out the front (onto the rug or floor). So just use the handle for a guide, not to lift.
Bottom line: I would definitely recommend this product and would buy it again.