What's The Difference Between Spa Hot Tub and Jacuzzi?

OUR HOT TUB BLOG

The difference between spa hot tub and jacuzzi? The three terms are for all intents and purposes, interchangeable. If you walk into the showroom to see the spas, come back to the parts counter to get a replacement filter for your hot tub, or just enjoy a cup of coffee while talking about how nice it is to soak in the jacuzzi, we are going to know what you are talking about. Each of the names, however, has a distinct and interesting history.

Historical Difference Between Spa Hot Tub and Jacuzzi

The word jacuzzi is usually associated with whirlpool baths, but when it is capitalized, Jacuzzi is a respected brand name. What many people don’t realize is that there were actually seven Jacuzzi brothers who immigrated from Italy around 1900, eventually settling in Berkley, CA. After seeing an airshow at the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, the brothers began building airplanes. In no time there were Jacuzzi monoplanes carrying mail and passengers all over the West, but when a crash took the life Gioncondo Jacuzzi, enthusiasm for aviation soon waned.

The surviving brothers turned their mechanical expertise to designing and building irrigation pumps for agriculture. A nephew, Kenneth, developed rheumatoid arthritis as a small child. The only relief from the pain came from hydrotherapy at the hospital, so the brothers adapted one of their agricultural pumps for therapy in the home bathtub. Soon Hollywood saw the device and taking a Jacuzzi became the rage. Eventually, the Jacuzzi company began producing bathtubs with built in pumps and jets, and in the early 1970’s began producing units with installed heaters and filtration units for outdoor use.

Spas and Hot Tubbing

difference between spa hot tub and jacuzzi © Copyright Bin im Garten and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons License

By the time outdoor Jacuzzis came on the market, hot tubbing was already gaining popularity. In the post WWII era, veterans who had been part of the Occupation of Japan returned to the States with memories of relaxing soaks in furo. The furo is a wooden tub filled with very hot water. The ritual bath was not for cleanliness, but for relaxation. The fuso ceremony became a little muddled as it crossed the Pacific. The American hot tubs were originally made from cast off wine casks from the California vineyards. When the West Coast Hippie culture discovered that there was room in these larger tubs for more than one person, the furo bath became, well, less stoic.

An ancient marketer, trying to increase the popularity of the hot mineral springs near his town, began the rumor that the word Spa came from the Latin phrase “Sanitis Per Aquaum”, or Health through Water. Actually, Spa is a town in Belgium. Since Roman time, the iron rich waters near Spa were thought to have curative powers. Because the medieval diet was largely iron deficient, they probably did have curative powers, but the real benefit came when residents realized there was money in attracting visitors to their town. Many other towns located near geothermal springs throughout Europe discovered the same thing.

Of course having been occupied by the Roman Legions helped to popularize some of these regions. The Romans raised public bathing to a high art, and added a number of other diversions to these newly discovered resorts.

No matter what you decide to call them, you can find the most modern and luxurious spas and hot tubs at Black Pine Spas. Give them a call today.

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