Long story short, we bought a mountain condo in WV to be used as a weekend get-away, we are not planning on renting it. It has an outdoor hot tub, and I know literally nothing about hot tubs.

So far from reading it seems like a giant pita to maintain these things. One proposed maintenance schedule I read involved testing the water twice a week, and based on the amount of chemicals you need to have on hand I can only assume that left unattended the water goes all fukushima or something.

I am a low maintenance type of person, and no one in the family has a strong interest in this thing. So far I’ve just left it with the water in it and occasionally looked at it skeptically.

From other hot tub owners- do you think these things are worth it and how do you maintain yours?

We bought a house with a hot tub on the back porch. They are a total PITA and a lot of work. But it is really nice to sit in when it is cold or when you have sore muscles.

Had one
Got rid of it
Chemical nightmare sitting in other people's dead skin cells

I had a friend who just kept his empty. He'd fill it, heat it (takes a day or so), enjoy it for a day or two...then drain it. He usually just had it ready for every other weekend.


That made sense to me. No chemicals.

We have a hot springs spa. My wife maintains it. We use it regularly. Thanks Roger. There is some maintenance. But worth it. Not sure if it was at a secondary location. Maybe hire a company to maintain? Just a thought.

We’ve had one for years. Basically, with our well water, we refill twice a year, balance the ph and add some bromine every time we use it. Not a lot of work.

Our water is excellent drinking water but very alkaline with high total dissolved solids.

quote:

Originally posted by AKSuperDually:
I had a friend who just kept his empty. He'd fill it, heat it (takes a day or so), enjoy it for a day or two...then drain it. He usually just had it ready for every other weekend.


That made sense to me. No chemicals.

That makes a lot of sense to me too, there is a spigot right by it and could be drained right off the deck. At least by taste, the water quality is very good. It’s off a mainline and not well fed.

I appreciate everyone’s comments. It is a secondary location, but only about 60 miles away (90 minute drive, all secondary roads) from our primary. The water that is in it now has been in it for who knows how long.

We bought an EcoSpa a couple years ago. We use enzymes and sanitizer (chlorine) from Water’s Choice and it stays clean and clear. Every time we get in it we remark how it was the best investment we ever made. Love that thing!

It does take some work to maintain but once you figure out how your tub behaves the testing and chemical maintenance takes less than 5 minutes.

I drain it and flush it in the summer. At 102 the tub is cooler than the ambient temp.

That said the water jets are great for sore muscles and aches.

Nothing, I mean nothing compared to a pool. Learn, it’s easy to maintain. And easy to work on. Start learning.

Had one for 10 years in Vegas. Sometimes it would go extended periods without use. As long as you kept the chemicals in line no problem. Assume it's covered so you don't lose water \chemicals. Once the wind lifted the cover open while we were gone (couldn't believe it could due to the weight, but it did) and the tub was nearly empty when we returned a week later.

quote:

Originally posted by Whisp:

I am a low maintenance type of person, and no one in the family has a strong interest in this thing.

Sell it. We enjoy ours but it's an expense and takes up space if you don't use it. Have it filled and running when you sell. It will bring more money.

When we lived in Washington state we had a hot tub. That was 25 years ago. We liked it and sat in it every night during the winter. The chemicals were necessary but really not all that hard to learn.

Having said that, I wouldn't do it again.

Yep PITA. For the last 10 or 15 years, ours has been a
lego and nerf gun storage facility.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
Nothing, I mean nothing compared to a pool. Learn, it’s easy to maintain. And easy to work on. Start learning.

And a pool is really nothing either once you get it set up right and understand what you're trying to accomplish. Guys who maintain pools for a living around here spend 2 days a month checking/working on pools they maintain and are there for less than a half hour per day, so less than 1 hour a month.

I've owned my own in ground pool for a little over 16 years, maintain it myself and an hour a month is about what I spend working on it.

A hot tub is the same thing only smaller.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Flash-LB,

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:
We’ve had one for years. Basically, with our well water, we refill twice a year, balance the ph and add some bromine every time we use it. Not a lot of work.

This.

Link Swim University - Beginners Guide on how to maintain a hot tub

I used one every single day for a year. I absolutely loved it. Sold that house, and I miss it.

Bromine is a sanitizer that floats around in those little pool floating things. If you get a bromine floater and throw some bromine tablets in it, it will last 1-2 weeks or so I would guess without having to touch it.

You could hire a pool company to come check the numbers and clean it for you. Maybe $40 to $80 a month or so....

Honestly, super easy to maintain. Just drain the water and start over. Old water has a ton of dissolved solids and its best to start over. You wouldn't jump in someone else's used bath water, would you?

You'll need PH up, PH down, some calcium, and a sanitizer (chlorine or bromine). That's the basics.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Link Swim University - Beginners Guide on how to maintain a hot tub


[FLASH_VIDEO]<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bDOc6oGRkUc" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>[/FLASH_VIDEO]

Thank you, that’s the best explanation I’ve seen online.

I think I’ve been in a hot tub maybe twice in my entire life. I always thought seeing “foam” in/around hot tubs was normal. Now that just seems gross.

I have a Endless Pools swim Spa. I had it installed about 2 years ago.
I use it year round.
I switched to Bromine as a sanitizer and find it much easier to work with. I fill a floating dispenser with the small pellets and let it do its thing. I test the water several times a week but rarely have to do anything except refill the bromine dispenser every week to week and a half.
I buy the bromine in a large bucket that lasts months. I also have the shock, but rarely need to add it.
Balancing the PH is the most important part. This needs to be done before sanitizer levels are calculated.
To balance the PH I use 1# boxes of baking soda or muratic acid depending on what the PH level is. My Spa holds about 1200 gal. I usually need to add some baking soda about once every couple of months to balance the PH level, a 1# box is usually all that's needed.
Now that I have the hang of it I find it very easy to maintain all year round.
If you don't really want it get rid of it.