Frequently Asked Questions:

 Where can I find a used hot tub? Craigslist.com Or your local newspaper.

What do I do if the kids want a pool and the grown-ups want a hot tub? Buy a hot tub and let us build a spa pad AND a splash pad water park next to the spa for the children. Easy low cost maintenance without all the hassles of a pool. Splash Pads cost $4000-7000. www.BackyardSplashPads.com

How do I know it’s a well manufactured spa? Get an independent evaluation of the manufacturer. Hot Springs is universally known to make a great spa, but it is expensive. Consumer Reports is a great resource. Don’t fall for “fake award” that are paid advertising in disguise.

How do I evaluate the spa?  …condition, quality components and options.

Make sure the spa cabinet isn’t cracked or rotten. Check for plumbing leaks while the spa is running. Check carefully for the source of the leak as it may be concealed with foam. Spider cracks in the shell are only a minor cosmetic issue. 

Additional evaluation criteria:

 1.  Look under cabinet for ease of axcess for repair.  All side panels should be removable. Equipment should be located so that you can remove parts without difficulty.

2.  Thermal pane design is best(cabinet is insulated). Too much styrofoam directly on the individual components makes for difficult repair/locating leaks/replacing parts and high pump operating temperature.  Insulated cabinet walls are tightly sealed to keep cold out.

3. Spas with standard parts are best. You’ll pay much more for “exclusive” replacement parts.4. Look for hot tubs with acrylic backed by vinyl ester bonding resin and hand rolled fiberglass with glass cloth or chop. This is the shell with the most history for strength, reparability, and beauty.

4. Look for hot tubs with acrylic backed by vinyl ester bonding resin and hand rolled fiberglass with glass cloth or chop. This is the shell with the most history for strength, reparability, and beauty.

5. Look for quality electronics. Right now Hydro Quip Gecko or ACC make the best and Balboa is very good. The safest is to use steel boxes not plastic.

6. Look for pumps that are mounted to reduce noise. We use rubber mounting pads, solid 2 x 4 frames and lag screws to hold the pumps solid and get rid of "sounding boards" (thin plywood or plastic). Listen to the pumps running on high. If you can't have a conversation, don't buy it. All you should hear is water! 

7.  Look for hot tubs with a flat surface on the upper shell that is comfortable to sit on.  At some point you are going to want to sit up on the shell and cool down, especially in summer.  There should be multiple spots to sit around the perimeter of the spa with just your feet submerged.

8.. Buy hot tubs that are ANSI/NSPI conforming to industry standards.

 How do I locate the hot tub?  Measure the length width and especially height. The spa will usually be moved vertically thru tight doorways. The height is typically 30-40” so it can sometimes be necessary to remove doors etc.

How much does it cost to have a spa foundation pad built?

It depends on the size of the pad you want. For example a common spa is 7’x7’ which is 49 sq ft.

Gravel/patio stones:                                     $200             50 sq ft

Mixed/2^nd Pavers*                                        $360             90 sq ft                      

Concrete: Broom finnish                              $400             90 sq ft

1^st Run Pavers:                                            $450             90 sq ft

Concrete: Colored/stamped                        $500             90 sq ft

Paver 2nds are very limited and only available in small amounts. Usually enough for a spa pad, sitting area and a small walk 100-300 sq ft.

PLAN AHEAD FOR SPA PAD STRENGTH AND SAFETY

No matter where you decide to place your hot tub you need to make sure that the location has a solid foundation. What this means to you is that the foundation must be a uniformly firm, continuous, and it must provide a level setting. The recommended foundation is a concrete pad with a minimum thickness of 4 inches with steel reinforced cross bars throughout.

When installing your spa on a wood deck or balcony, the same load requirements must be met. Total load may be as much as 90 pounds per square foot. Remember that your hot tub weights about 700 pounds on its own, then when you add water and people, it could have a total weight of up to 4,000 pounds.

Regardless of the location that you decide upon, you need to be sure that the hot tub is not within 10 feet of overhead power lines and that you leave access to the internal equipment.

In order to complete maintenance or to make a needed repair, you will need adequate space to be able to reach the internal components. If your hot tub has external equipment you need to know that most city codes require that the equipment be at least 5' from the tub, unless they are separated by a permanent solid barrier.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR INDOOR PLACEMENT OF YOUR HOT TUB

If you decide to place your hot tub indoors you need to understand that moisture will accumulate. Think about it, when the hot tub is being used, it puts off a great deal of steam. The steam that is created must go somewhere, and it will leave moisture on your walls, ceiling, floor, etc.

In any indoor location, you absolutely need to make sure that you have really good ventilation. The amount of moisture created will vary according to how frequently you use your hot tub. The ventilation not only helps dissipate the moisture and steam, but it also allows the chemicals to be circulated out.

The odor of the cleaning components can accumulate indoors and even create electrical problems, unless the area is well ventilated. The good news is that if you place your hot tub indoors it will probably stay cleaner and require less frequent chemical treatments.

Here comes the big news about installing a hot tub indoors; you should have some kind of drainage system in place! Experts recommend that you change the water in your hot tub every four months or so. And, the bucket brigade is not my idea of a Saturday afternoon well spent.

You always have the option of running sewage drains to your hot tub, and if you are placing your hot tub on an existing slab, you will need to dig up the concrete to build your drain system.

Another option that is a little less painful would be to get a small submersible pump. You can use the pump to push most of the water out of your hot tub, but pumps usually fail to move the last inch or so of water at the bottom of the tub.

Some manufacturers, build their hot tubs with a water hose connection inside of the cabinet at the bottom of the hot tub. This will enable you to hook a water hose to your hot tub, so that you can easily drain the water and move it to another drain or outside on the ground.

ADDITIONAL TIPS

No matter how well made your hot tub is, it is always possible that after years of usage, leaks can occur due to worn gaskets or seals. That water must have a place to go. Be prepared to deal with this if the situation arises.

Another obvious thought that may sometimes get overlooked is that you have to get the hot tub into your house. Measure to make sure that you have enough room to navigate it into your house and then measure again, after you do that, measure once more!

Many companies suggest that you spend the money to have a licensed contractor make sure that the local building codes are met, and the installation can occur safely, and that load requirements can be met.

YOUR HOT TUB OUTDOORS AND UNDER THE STARS

For many people, outdoors is the best location for a hot tub. A hot tub can be enjoyed on a warm sunny day or on a chilly night while you stay nice and toasty in your hot tub.

Being outdoors, there are fewer concerns for the hot tub. You do not have to worry about the steam and humidity or the chemicals affecting your home. Locating your hot tub outdoors though does mean that you may have to get a concrete pad laid down so that the hot tub has a proper foundation.

Other considerations with placing a hot tub outdoors include that it will get dirtier easier. Walking to and from the hot tub, your feet will get dirty and that will get in the hot tub. You also have to consider that leaves and such may end up in your new hot tub.

A cover is very important when placing a hot tub anywhere, but it is especially important when placing it outdoors. Always have a cover on the hot tub when you are not in it. This is a safety measure to prevent small children from falling into it and it also helps it to stay cleaner and keep insects out. The cleaner the water in the hot tub stays, the less frequently you have to treat the water with chemicals.

There are a wide variety of pictures on the Internet of hot tubs being placed outdoors in very creative ways. If you want to invest the money, a stand-alone deck can be built that encompasses the hot tub. The only limit here is your imagination and your budget.

PLACING YOUR HOT TUB IN A SCREENED IN ROOM

Putting a hot tub in a screened in porch mostly resembles an outdoor installation. You have to consider some of the factors that go with both indoor and outdoor installations though.

A screened in porch will obviously allow for ventilation and the steam and humidity will not harm your walls.

You will still need a drain put into the floor of the porch though, if one does not already exist. If the manufacturer uses the water hose connection, this will not be an issue for you.

Again, you can find many creative pictures of hot tubs installed in screened porches on the Internet.

How do I maintain chemicals?

(see www.spababes.com for additional details)

Chlorine, bromine, Baquacil, ozone, oxidizers, ionizers, sanitizers, pH up, pH down, stain and scale, clarifiers, emulsifiers, enzymes, and  de-foaming agent.

The following items are the CORE of your spa care regimen. You will use them whether or not you have OZONE. 

Testing
Test strips eliminate your excuses! Testing is your most important task because you can't tell just by looking! You've got to know for sure if you have enough sanitizer OR if your pH is low. Water balance is essential or your water will eat up your equipment. With test strips you just dip and compare colors couldn't be easier! 3 in one strips give you bromine or chlorine residual, pH and total alkalinity readings. With those three tests you will know all you need, in most cases, to create the safe, clear, sparkling water you desire! There are also more advanced test kits available. Kits are available that test for calcium hardness, the presence of metals, the presence of sequestering agents and many different factors, but the big three are right here! 

Sanitizing
Keep algae, bacteria and viruses from growing in hot tub and spa water. It is not safe to use a spa that has unreadable sanitizer levels. pH refers to how acidic (LOW pH) or basic (HIGH pH) the water is. It needs to be just a little above neutral. Perfect spa and hot tub pH is 7.5... that's also the ph of your body so at that pH the water is chemically in sync with your body's pH. Water doesn't burn eyes and is kind to your skin etc. As it drops to 7.4 then 7.3 it becomes more acidic and begins to be corrosive to metals (heater elements, pump seals, heat exchangers and plaster), if you have a plaster spa. Once the ph drops below 7.0 and stays for a while - it has done some damage. It may take a while to manifest itself but it will! High pH is also a problem. It causes scale and stains to form. 

Total alkalinity... The buffering ability of the water. Alkalines in the water " buffer" or protect the pH from change. 

Sanitizers commonly used for hot tubs and spas are bromine and chlorine.  bromine and chlorine are in the chemical family known as halogens. They are oxidizers. They burn up anything organic they come in contact with. They have a tendency to combine with nitrogens and ammonias which are bather by products. This reduces their effect and we must regularly rearrange this little chemical bonding orgy by shocking, adding a bunch more single atoms electrons and stuff to tear them assunder. 

Ozone is a gas produced by a piece of equipment called an OZONATOR. Ozone is an oxidizer like chlorine and it's powerful too, but it has no residual effect. It does not linger in your water on patrol. It reduces your need for chlorine or bromine but when using ozone to treat your spa you still need some chlorine based SANITIZER to have complete protection! In a bromine treated spa ozone does a great job of keeping bromine away from nitrogen and ammonia. Shocking is reduced but the need for residual sanitizer remains. You won't need alot but you will need some. Nature2 reduces your need for chlorine or bromine by using natural elements to trap viruses and kill algae. It is becoming popular as a sanitizer assistant! It does not work with bromine however. Spas treated with bromine must be drained and refilled first. 

Raising sanitizer levels is shocking
The quickest way to raise sanitizer levels is to shock with a chlorine based shock. This is NOT harmful even in a spa treated with bromine. Dichlor and lithium are granular chlorines with close to neutral pH. They are completely soluble. The amount to add would be approximately a short cap full of lithium or a tablespoon or two of dichlor. A little more little less depending on the size of your spa and your water condition. You can always dissipate chlorine by running your spa and aerating it. If it looks crummy, or you've ignored it for awhile, lithium or dichlor will immediately correct any sanitizing problem lack of attention may have generated (algae, cloudy water, musty locker room smell!) A weekly shock would be in order for all bromine treated spas. I'd recommend it as well for spas using ozone or Nature2. That weekly treatment may be the only chlorine you'll have to add! 

Lowering your chlorine
Oops, you meant to sprinkle it in but a big clump fell out. Don't despair! Just turn on your spa with the cover off and run it for awhile with the jets on and the blower on as well. Turbulence, sunlight and heat all decrease chlorine levels. If it's slightly high don't worry about it it will dissipate fairly quickly. 

pH level and alkalinity level
Raising your pH is accomplished by feeding the alkalinity. If you use bicarb (baking soda) you will raise the alkalinity as well as the pH. They follow each other and using bicarb is a gentle way to effect a pH rise. Use 1/3 cup to raise 20ppm per 500gals. While you don't want to way over treat, like put 5 cups in at a time, over treating won't really hurt anything. If the spa shell becomes sand papery, your pH and alkalinity is too high! You'll need to drain your spa.

Lowering Your pH is accomplished by adding acid, pH Down. This will erode both the alkalinity and the pH. In some areas of the country water is extremely alkaline or hard and adding acid is necessary at fill. Most areas do not require lowering the pH. You only need to lower it if it tests above 8.0. If you misuse pH down (acid) it will eat up your equipment and your plaster!

When to drain
Hot tubs and spas need to be drained at least once per quarter. If you are really using it daily then possibly you might want to drain it even more often. Just remember, if you are suddenly having a hard time getting the chemicals to line up right -  just drain it. Starting over is sometimes the best thing you can do. As we use the spa it builds up with TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS that are too small to be filtered but can cause cloudy water and alot of foam. If this is happening a fresh fill will help the situation. If bromine smell is catching in your throat and the water from your jets looks like smoke - drain it. Shocking will help but not for long. Think about an ozonator and Nature2. Caution. Always turn your heater thermostat all the way down when draining. You always want to turn the heater on LAST after you power back up and only when you are sure the pump is primed and pumping! 

Problem Water

WELL....If you have well water with a high mineral content, you may need a stain and scale preventer. These products either sequester (cause to clump) or chelate (surround and protect) metals and minerals. They are extremely important at fill in some areas of the country and completely unnecessary in others. They should be used if needed and not used if not. If you know you have problem water they will be part of your regimen. Follow the instructions on the bottle. 

Soft Water 
Try not to use soft water. Bypass your softener if you can. Soft water is aggressive and can cause problems with your equipment or plaster.  If you must use it you'll need to add calcium back to it and toughen it up.