Hot tubs and spas

[Maccapacca]

Any one any experience of these, owning / using / maintaining?

What I thought was a cheap MOT think has now cost me a hot tub, wife and I walked around a hot tub place whilst the car was being MOT'ed and the greasy salesman has got her thinking about all things hot tubs.

Completely new to me so any help appreciated

At least the car past the MOT

 

[nightwish]

We inherited one when we bought our house. It's nice the two or three times a year when we can be bothered to use it! Wouldn't spend what it costs to buy a new one though. It takes about 24 hours to warm up from cold. Costs to maintain it too - we had to replace our pump/heater a while back - cost about £400 iirc. Can be a pain to clean. On the plus side, it makes people jealous! I've had people asking if we have, ahem, naughty parties in ours! lol! I wish!

 

[Heliospherez]

Tell her it isn't California or Arizona she lives in. I have yet to see a house which is better looking due to the addition of a Hot Tub / Jacuzzi etc (whether Inside or Out)

Also - tell her does she fancy swimming around in other peoples dirt / bacteria for half an hour or more....
As they aren't really designed for washing in - and as they aren't chlorinated - those germs aren't going to be going anywhere quickly, especially with the added bubbles to help them thrive

Most importantly - you will hardly ever use it as it's just too much hassle to fill and wastes a huge amount of space in a house that could be put to far better use.

 

[Derek W]

How far past the mot did your car get? Might have to get someone in to look at the brakes

 

[Pers]

I have a spa and it's fairly easy to maintain. It comes with the apartment I rent and as I'm in Spain it gets well used. I use chlorine in mine as advised. Just have a testing kit and keep the levels spot on.

Biggest problem I had was getting a cover. The proper ones cost a lot. Managed to get a kids pool cover for 8 euros

I think you and the missus will enjoy it. But I guess it's a case of how much will you use it to warrant buying one. I'm lucky my apartment has one and I can say it's a hit with female visitors

 

[LordSplodge]

Classy.

 

[theleg]

Tell her it isn't California or Arizona she lives in. I have yet to see a house which is better looking due to the addition of a Hot Tub / Jacuzzi etc (whether Inside or Out)

Also - tell her does she fancy swimming around in other peoples dirt / bacteria for half an hour or more....
As they aren't really designed for washing in - and as they aren't chlorinated - those germs aren't going to be going anywhere quickly, especially with the added bubbles to help them thrive

Most importantly - you will hardly ever use it as it's just too much hassle to fill and wastes a huge amount of space in a house that could be put to far better use.

They most definitely are chlorinated. Or at least should be. and how many 'other people' will be using their personal hottub?

 

[theleg]

Macca,

They arent much hassle at all. Takes about an hour and a half to fill an average sized hot tub. Then about 18 hours or so to heat up. Chemicals are a doddle and if its just you and the misses, you can keep an eye on it daily and make sure the chlorine level is good and all is right with the world.

Clean the filter every once in a while, more often if you use it a lot etc.

 

[areksnumbr1sxylady]

Tell her it isn't California or Arizona she lives in. I have yet to see a house which is better looking due to the addition of a Hot Tub / Jacuzzi etc (whether Inside or Out)

Also - tell her does she fancy swimming around in other peoples dirt / bacteria for half an hour or more....
As they aren't really designed for washing in - and as they aren't chlorinated - those germs aren't going to be going anywhere quickly, especially with the added bubbles to help them thrive

Most importantly - you will hardly ever use it as it's just too much hassle to fill and wastes a huge amount of space in a house that could be put to far better use.

You got OCD??

 

[dowie]

Tell her it isn't California or Arizona she lives in. I have yet to see a house which is better looking due to the addition of a Hot Tub / Jacuzzi etc (whether Inside or Out)

Also - tell her does she fancy swimming around in other peoples dirt / bacteria for half an hour or more....
As they aren't really designed for washing in - and as they aren't chlorinated - those germs aren't going to be going anywhere quickly, especially with the added bubbles to help them thrive

Most importantly - you will hardly ever use it as it's just too much hassle to fill and wastes a huge amount of space in a house that could be put to far better use.

erm wat?

you sure you're not confusing hot tub with bath tub that produces bubbles....

a mate of mine who decided to live outside of London ended up renting a nice house in Essex which (in true Essex style) came with a shed in the garden containing a hot tub - had a few parties where the hot tub proved popular and it definitely did have chlorine in it... perhpas too much because in addition to the ridiculous hang over the next day (these things dehydrate you if you're in them for a while so bare in mind when going in one at a party) my eyes were fairly sore too...

 

[bitslice]

I'd rather have a Sauna or one of those Japanese Baths.

Mate has a hot tub, his kids like to have pool parties during the summer, I've not really seen him make that much use of it to really justify having one. It's also massive and a bit of an eyesore in his garden.
You could always go to a hotel that has one, it would probably work out cheaper overall, plus you get breakfast in bed

 

[mattyfez]

Keeping it up to temp and clean 24/7 will cost a lot. I's a little bit like maintaining a very small swimming pool.

you can turn it off/drain it between uses but then you have to refill/reheat it 24 hours in advance as they take a long time to heat up.

 

[theleg]

Keeping it up to temp and clean 24/7 will cost a lot. I's a little bit like maintaining a very small swimming pool.

you can turn it off/drain it between uses but then you have to refill/reheat it 24 hours in advance as they take a long time to heat up.

its about 27p a day in electricity. about 2 quid to heat at water change..chemicals depend on where you buy them and usage but its not too much.

its a luxury item tho, you gotta expect to pay..i wouldnt say they cost a lot tho

 

[unwashed potato!]

bumpming as been thinking of getting an inflatable hot tub for internal use. i've got the space in a "gym" room (bascially a large basement style area) and thought this would make a neat addition, plus a great way to get girls back and quickly out of their clothes

anyone got an inflatable one? i'm not looking for heavy use, over winter in particular i imagine i'd deflate it to save as i would assume heating in the cold months in a room that is unheated so as cold as outside but without the wind would cost a lot.

got any suggestions, warnings etc? from what i can tell the information from the companies who sell these are literally plucked out of thin air and the photos are done in such a way to make the situation look way different, e.g. i think everyone is siting on their knees getting as low as possible.

my main worry is the on going cost. £300~ to buy one isn't much, and if i sell in a year or 2 for £50 i'm ok, i just don't want to pay £60+ per month to heat it and use it over weekend only for instance.

 

[PaulM]

We had one at our old house, no problem to maintain, drop a chlorine tablet in once per day and some other chemicals every 3-4 days. Empty/clean/re-fill it every month (or few months depending on how often you use it) which takes about 2 hours.

I'm not sure if ours was inefficient but it was pretty expensive to run, it cost around £75/month heated to 38.5c, but we did use it almost every day (outside).

edit: Didn't notice the original post was from June, did you end up buying one? This post doesn't really apply to the bumped question

 

[travischelsey]

Spam removed.

 

[Participant]

That's great travis, thanks so much for that insight.

 

[peter]

We have a soft tub

Costs on average £15 a month to run, but as we have solar panels so for most of the year it cost nothing in electricity. We did not buy it new but it is handy being able to move it around when empty.
http://www.softub-international.com/

 

[Hades]

Holy thread revival!

Clearly a spam account to advertise his company.

 

[D.P.]

Tell her it isn't California or Arizona she lives in. I have yet to see a house which is better looking due to the addition of a Hot Tub / Jacuzzi etc (whether Inside or Out)

Also - tell her does she fancy swimming around in other peoples dirt / bacteria for half an hour or more....
As they aren't really designed for washing in - and as they aren't chlorinated - those germs aren't going to be going anywhere quickly, especially with the added bubbles to help them thrive

Most importantly - you will hardly ever use it as it's just too much hassle to fill and wastes a huge amount of space in a house that could be put to far better use.

Rubbish, you clean it when empty and they are heavily chlorinated, more so than a swimming pool!