HoMedics BMAT-2 Bubble Spa Bath Mat Massager with Remote Control

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Fit this soft mat into any bathtub, run the flexible hose from the control unit into the water, and the tub instantly becomes a bubble massage spa. The 47-by-14-inch mat adheres firmly to the tub with suction cups and fills with air to cushion the body. The 8-foot hose, which also attaches to the tub with a suction cup, delivers bubbles on command. Using either the LED-illuminated touch pad on the control unit or the non-LED remote control, select the massage duration (15, 30, or 60 minutes), the massage strength (high, medium, or low), the bubble speed (high, medium, or low), and either steady bubbles or one of three variable bubble patterns. The water-resistant remote control operates with batteries (not included) and fits into a holder that adheres to wall or tub with a suction cup. The control unit's power cord measures 80 inches. The spa carries a two-year warranty against defects. --Fred Brack

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 14 pounds
• ASIN: B000050FEP
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,012 in Health & Personal Care (See Top 100 in Health & Personal Care)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Apparently, they've made a good product better, November 20, 2001

By 

"dave1968" (Boise, ID) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HoMedics BMAT-2 Bubble Spa Bath Mat Massager with Remote Control (Health and Beauty)

I recently purchased the Elite (BMAT-5) version of this spa (. . .)

It appears that the folks at Homedics have been reading these reviews because many (if not all) of the concerns raised by the reviewers have been addressed. The hose is now reinforced and doesn't collapse when hot. The suction cups are well designed - there was no way this mat was coming off my tub floor. The unit is quite powerful - my wife is quite happy using it on the medium setting. Cleaning (really just blowing out any water in the mat) is quick and easy. As a bonus, the unit is 50% smaller then the Deluxe (or at least that's what the box says).

One thing the mat isn't, however, is quiet. The unit sounds like a turbo-powered hair dryer and the bubbles make a lot of noise as well. You shouldn't buy this product with visions of a quiet bubble bath listening to Enya. (You're not supposed to use soaps or oils, anyway, because they get into the mat and cause bad things to happen). To minimize the noise, I tried putting the unit behind the bathroom door, but the remote didn't seem to work through the wall. I finally just threw a towel over the unit and this helped quite a bit. The air intake is under the motor so I think I can do this without causing it to overheat and blow up. My wife (the one in the tub) didn't really have a problem with the noise. With the bubbles all around her ears, she said the sound wasn't bothersome.

All in all, this Homedics products does what it promises and does it well. I felt kind of silly buying my wife a bubble mat for her birthday, but she really liked it. I liked it because it costs about $1500 less than the jacuzzi tub she really wanted for her birthday. Who knows, when nobody's looking I might try it myself.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BMAT-2 is quite impressive, August 10, 2001

By 

Mike (Autralia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HoMedics BMAT-2 Bubble Spa Bath Mat Massager with Remote Control (Health and Beauty)

I thought this product would be a bit gimmicky, frankly. But I've been very pleasantly surprised.

I've only used it a few times so far, so I can't comment on its longevity.

However, it does everything it claims it can. Unlike other reviews I've read here, I had no trouble with getting the mat to stay stuck to the floor of the tub, nor have I had any trouble with the hose disconnecting itself from the mat when in use. Just follow the instructions and make sure your bath is clean and it all works just fine.

Bubble-wise, I was expecting it to be lacking in power, but this unit is well powered. On the highest setting, it is almost too powerful for a standard sized tub - there is lots of agitation in the water. Very good!

The mat is quite comfortable to sit on too; you don't really notice it once everything's up and running.

Certainly the unit is noisy - it is, after all, just like taking a bath with a vacuum-cleaner switched on next to you! But this to be expected. However, thanks to the long hose and the remote control that works through walls, you can hide the noisy control unit somewhere - like in the shower, or in a cupboard under the sink, or even put it outside the room and close the door. That cuts down on the noise considerably. And of course, the vigourous splashing of the bubbles tends to drown out the machine noise anyway.

I agree the heat option doesn't seem to do an awful lot. While the hose warms up considerably and there must therefore be some heat coming through the mat; it's not enough to combat the cooling effect of blowing all that air through the bathwater continuously. However, that is hardly surprising and you can't really blame the unit for not being able to get hot enough to compensate for all that heat loss. All this means is during a half-hour session in the bath, you might need to top up the bathwater with more hot water a couple of times.

Clean up is really easy too - just drain the bath after you're done, put in some clean water, and run the unit for a while. Then hang the mat up somewhere (like use its suction cups to stick it to the shower wall) to dry.

All in all, I think this unit is very good for the price. It's actually very effective and pleasant to use - compares quite favourably to a real spa bath, considering the price. Given that you'd easily pay twenty times as much to upgrade your bath to a real spa bath; I'd say it's a very good compromise.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bubble spa bursts!, September 18, 2002

By 

Joe L (Tidewater, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HoMedics BMAT-2 Bubble Spa Bath Mat Massager with Remote Control (Health and Beauty)

My wife bugged me until I finally got her this product. She loved it! Said it was as good as what she used at Bally's. However, we did find that the suction cups wouldn't stick to our non-slip tub finish. Nothing I tried would make it stick. My wife gets in the tub on top of the mat and then turns on the blower. The hose did cause problems by coming out, but by putting a tye wrap arond the plastic socket for the hose, it stays in. Then the other end came out of the fitting going into the blower. Oh well, I fixed that too.

Finally, it just quit working. I think there was water in the hose from being left in the tub after it came out of the mat once, and water drained back into the blower unit.

The unit just won't turn on. I let it dry out one evening and it worked the next night for a little while, but finally quit completely.

Next question if HoMedics looks at these reports. What kind of warrenty does it have. My wife got it for Christmas and we haven't had it a year yet.

My wife does want another one, but I'll probably see what else is available , given the problems I've had to deal with on this one.