These are challenging times for all of us, and many float centers (ourselves included) have decided to temporarily shut down to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Our team got together yesterday to figure out what we need to do to put our shop into hibernation mode, and we thought we’d share the list we came up with to help out anyone else who is in a similar position.
Best of luck to everyone going through this. We know we’ve seen a wellspring of kind words and support from our community when we decided to shut down, and we’re sure you have too. It’s nice to know the float world will be supported when we’re all on the other end of this.
Of course, if there’s anything that you’ve done in your own closure that you don’t see here, please send it along and we’ll update this list as suggestions come in.
Float Tank Solutions
Shop Hibernation Checklist
After the last float
- Do a full cleaning and disinfection pass across your center.
- Deal with your mail and package deliveries. You may need to put up a sign for your mail person, stop your mail from being delivered, or attempt to cancel or reroute any packages that are already on their way.
- Stop any automatic deliveries you have for any shop supplies.
- Make sure your HVAC system is set to run the whole time.
- Remove any food and beverages that can’t be stored for longer periods of time.
- Remove cash and any other valuables.
- Forward incoming calls and set up an appropriate voicemail (make a task to change the forwarding and voicemail when you re-open)
- Put bleach into washer and dishwasher and run them, then leave doors slightly open
- Consider putting out ant traps, if it’s appropriate for your area
Daily Ongoing Maintenance
- If your float tank doesn’t automatically run your pumps, go in twice a day to run them. This will both provide your float solution with its cleaning cycle, and prevent any salt crystallization from happening inside of your pipes and filtration equipment. Make sure to open the doors on your float tanks to let them air out while you’re there.
- Balance any levels of chemical treatment that you use (like hydrogen peroxide)
- Run the showers once a day to prevent any sort of buildup in the pipes
- Make sure to put water down all of your floor drains to keep your p-traps filled (so you don’t get sewer gas coming out)
- Empty your dehumidifiers (if you have any)
- Consider leaving some lobby lights on to deter vandalism
- Clean up any garbage outside the shop. It’ll help keep your city looking nice, and will also help deter vandalism.
- Answer voicemails
- Answer emails
- Answer social media inquires
- Collect physical mail
- Water any plants you may have (or take them to your house).
Weekly Ongoing Maintenance
- Replenish any water in your tanks that has been lost to evaporation (you may need to add a little salt as well).
- Do a disinfection pass on the inside of your tank walls and ceiling. It’s still a very hot and humid environment, and you want to make sure you’re preventing any mold growth.
There are, of course, other things to consider like communication with your customers and taking care of your members. You may be looking at laying off part, or all, of your staff temporarily so they can claim unemployment benefits. The next couple weeks are also going to be a good time to work on your marketing, to make sure that your customers are ready to float when you re-open.
We’re keeping the list above to just the operational side of things for now, but we’ll be releasing more over the coming days and weeks about what we’re doing at Float On to get through this.
Stay well,
Graham and Ashkahn
What kind of retail (if any) should you offer? – DSP 36
In this episode, Graham and Ashkahn expound on the nuances of offering retail in a float center. Everything from what to sell, to how to sell it, and how you can expect it to affect your bottom line.
The ideal time to change your float tank solution – New Years Episode – DSP 35
Every float center is going to have to tell their customers, at some point, how often they change out the water in their float tanks. What’s the right answer? Find out Graham and Ashkahn’s take in this informative episode.
Tips for offering sessions open air float tanks – DSP 34
Make no mistake, open air float tanks are a next level challenge for float centers. Graham and Ashkahn explain exactly what to look out for if you’re thinking of using one of these bad boys in your center.
Opening and closing tasks for a float center – DSP 33
What to do when you open and when you close can seem almost arbitrary at times. How do you organize who does what and when? Aside from trial and error, Graham and Ashkahn explain how things work at Float On, which, despite running 24 hours, does have opening and closing shifts each day.
Choosing between float pods vs cabins – DSP 32
What type of float tank should you get? Is one objectively better than others? How would you know? Graham and Ashkahn put their opinions out there on the debate.
Pros and cons of running Groupon deals – DSP 31
Whether to use Groupons or not is a question that nearly every float center will face. Having been in the industry for more than seven years, Graham and Ashkahn have experienced multiple angles of this conversation and try to lay out, in depth, the pros and cons of running these types of discounts for floats.
How Float On can manage being open 24hrs? – DSP 30
Most float center owners read Goodnight Moon to their tanks every evening, lock their doors, and go home to spend a restful night in their non-saliferous/aqueous beds. Others buck such norms, and stay open all night.
Tune in to this week’s episode of the Daily Solutions podcast, where Graham and Ashkahn discuss what it’s like operating a 24/7 float center. While securing the right person to staff the graveyard shift has its challenges, it can be a worthwhile endeavor.
Should I Have One or Multiple Styles of Float Tank?
If you had every model and type of float tank you’d be running the Burj Khalifa of float centers, with an estimated 38 unique float tanks, which include pods, custom open pools, cabins, vertical tanks, and inflatable or portable float devices currently on the market (not even counting old models).
This is all to say that there are a ton of options out there when considering tanks for your center.
Whether you’re opening a two-tank center, or a bajillion-tank center, do you want all the same model, or will you have some variety?
What causes swelling in walls? – DSP 29
Your walls are swelling? Should that be happening? What do I do about it?
Well… in this episode, Graham and Ashkahn discuss the severity of this problem and what you need to do to fix it.
staff holidays – Christmas special – DSP 28
In this heartwarming holiday episode, Graham and Ashkahn talk about how to not Scrooge up your float center with your business practices by sharing their philosophy on working your float center during the holidays.
