Updated 11th Sep 2021
Protecting your health
We have all learned a lot about the coronavirus and COVID-19. Knowledge can dispel fear. We have taken scientific advice from expert sources, and are doing some things a little bit differently in order to best protect your health.
Floatation is low risk
Floatation is a low risk activity, particularly when it comes to COVID-19. Floatation is quite different from a spa or swimming pool in significant ways which mean that floating is lower risk than these types of activity. For example:
- You float alone in your own pod in a private room
- The float room and pod are cleaned between every use
- The float solution is sanitised between each customer
- The float room is well ventilated in between each customer
- You not only wash your hands, but have a whole-body shower before and after floating
- Our communal space is large, with few people present at any time
Floatation delivers health benefits
Floatation delivers a wide variety of health benefits including:
- Deep relaxation and stress relief
- Relief from anxiety
- Pain relief from many conditions including arthritis, fibromyalgia, and sciatica
- Reduced blood pressure
- Reduced cortisol and adrenalin levels
- Improved sleep
- Improved circulation
- Recovery from sports injury
- Recovery from trauma
We take your safety seriously
Your health is our top priority, and we take your safety very seriously.
We conducted a thorough risk assessment, and identified how to minimise the risks. If you’ve visited Float in the Forest before you won’t be surprised to hear that we were already doing most of the things to minimise those risks. But the process was very useful in that we found a few ways to improve on what we were doing.
We are lucky in that we have experts in the fields of microbiology and public health advising the float industry, and the decades of knowledge and experience of our float pod manufactuers to draw upon. We sent our risk assessment over to the Local Authority Environmental and Regulatory Services department who were happy with it.
We clean. A lot
We have rigorous cleaning procedures based on best practice within the floatation industry, and we use a powerful virucide that kills COVID-19 in a contact time of less than 1 minute. Our processes include:
- Cleaning the pod between every customer
- Cleaning the float room between every customer
- Cleaning touchpoints throughout the centre between every appointment
- Treating the float solution four times between each customer
We use high intensity UV light and Hydrogen Peroxide in combination in a process called photo-catalytic oxidation to treat the float solution. This creates Hydroxyl radicals, which have an oxidation potential more than twice that of Chlorine. That’s in addition to the one micron filter (which is 100 times smaller than a human hair).
We need your help too
We all need to play our part to protect one another, so we need to ask for your help. We need you to work with us to help keep everyone safe.
People who have not floated with us before will need to watch an instructional video, and fill in their intake form, before arriving for their appointment. We used to do both of these in person at the float centre, but by doing these in advance you help maintain social distance.
Please arrive promptly for your appointment. It’s a good idea to aim to arrive 5 minutes early and plan your route in advance. When you arrive, please wait outside until we invite you in. Again, this helps with social distancing.
Of course, it almost goes without saying that you must not float if you currently have COVID-19 or suspect that you may have it, or if you have had any of the following symptoms in the last 14 days, or if you have been in contact with anyone with these symptoms in the last 14 days:
- Continuous dry cough
- Fever / high temperature
- Loss of, or change in normal sense of taste or smell
Also, don’t come to float if you are self-isolating due to COVID-19, or if you have been advised to shield at home.
While you’re at the float centre we ask that you follow current best practice to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19. This means you need to:
- Use the hand sanitiser provided upon arrival
- Maintain the recommended social distance from others
- Cover your mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when you cough or sneeze
- Avoid touching surfaces unnecessarily
- Wash your hands
You may also wish to wear a face covering. If you have recently been in an environment where there is a high risk of COVID-19 such as working a ‘frontline’ job in the NHS or care sector, firstly thank you so much! Secondly, you probably would do this anyway, but please could we ask you to change out of your work clothes and have a shower before coming to the float centre.
Again, it’s a bit of a no-brainer, but you must not come to float if you develop COVID-19 symptoms after booking but prior to your appointment. If you do, please give us a call as soon as you develop symptoms, with as much notice as possible, so that we can reschedule your appointment.
Likewise, please let us know if you develop any symptoms in the days following your appointment.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us. and you may also wish to sign up to our email newsletter to stay up-to-date with the latest news from the centre.
You can rest assured that it is still good to float. It’s a great way to de-stress and take care of yourself in these troubled times. Getting proper rest can boost your immune response. So don’t freak out, chill out.
We are looking forward to welcoming you for your float.
