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Hydro-Air Recalls Drain Covers for Spas

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

The manufacturer of a widely used drain cover for spas, hot tubs, some pools and whirlpool baths is recalling 206,000 of the 6-inch plastic disks after two drownings and one near-drowning were linked to the product.

The recall by Orange-based Hydro-Air Industries was announced Monday by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission.

It comes less than two weeks after a Houston woman filed a suit in Orange County Superior Court after the 1996 drowning of her 12-year old daughter, whose hair became entangled in the drain cover of a spa at her grandparents’ home in Huntington Beach.

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Dave Allen, vice president of marketing for Hydro-Air, said the company has been making the drain cover since 1980 and that it wasn’t until last year that it received notification of a problem with the design.

The company was notified of both drownings “within a space of a few months,” Allen said, and immediately began working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Allen said the drain cover was tested and approved for use by a tnational plumbing council. While the consumer product commission recall announcement says the cover is used on swimming pool drains, Allen said it is designed principally for spas and hot tubs and generally would not be used in a swimming pool installation.

There are more than 2 million spas and 3 million swimming pools in use in the United States, according to the National Spa and Pool Institute.

Hydro-Air, founded in 1979, makes a variety of air-flow fittings for hot tubs, whirlpool baths and spas. The company has 85 employees, Allen said.

The drain covers, Hydro-Air’s model 10-6200 , are clearly marked with the model number on the top surface, Allen said.

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The covers, which have 18 rectangular slots in them, cover the pipes that carry water out of the spa or tub and back through the pump. Under some circumstances, a bather’s head can be held underwater if the bather’s hair becomes entangled in the cover, the product safety commission said.

Steve Adams, a Garden Grove pool designer, said that drownings involving hair or swimming apparel caught in drains are unusual, and that those he is aware of involved modified equipment.

Drain covers are tested before being approved for use to make sure that they do not permit too much suction, he said.

“But if a pool or spa pump is changed or modified and is more powerful than the drain cover was designed for, there could be problems,” Adams said. “But the big problem in the [pool and spa] industry is lack of supervision by parents.”

Consumers who have a pool, tub or spa equipped with one of the covers should stop using the device and call Hydro-Air at a toll-free number, (800) 230-9560, to receive a free replacement.

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