Hot Tub (Pros And Cons)

The hot tub is an addition to the home that can be considered a bit of a luxury to some but an essential for those who can truly afford it. The concept of a hot tub is pretty simple. You basically get a large tub with water that’s been heated and you go in for hydrotherapy, relaxation, or simply for the mere fact that it’s fun and it feels good to be in one.

The term is a bit generic, really. It can apply to any tub that can hold hot water, regardless of the features. Some may have bubblers, some may have water jets, whereas some may not come with any extra bells and whistles at all.

Pros

It can be a helpful means of relaxation at home – One of the best things to do at the end of the day is to let time pass and soak the tiredness and stress away in a particularly nice hot tub. On top of all of that, it can definitely come with a number of benefits, which will lead us to our next point.

A hot tub offers a lot of health benefits – Aside from setting you right mentally and helping you destress, a hot tub is backed by a lot of scientific data on why it can be really good for you. 

• It can increase blood circulation, helping the body recover quickly.

• It can relieve sore muscles.

• The installed water jets can facilitate recovery from sports-related or activity-related injuries.

• Several medical journals have ruled favorably towards heat therapy when it comes to alleviating the condition of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

• Hot tubs can help with sleep problems as it helps the body relax and naturally shut down, in preparation for a good night’s sleep.

May ease backache pain – The bubbly and warm water coming from a hot tub is said to ease pains and body aches especially from conditions such as back pain, arthritis, or even certain cases of fibromyalgia.

Before exploring one, make sure that you consult your doctor if it is absolutely recommended for you. It may not be safe for pregnant women, people with heart diseases, or people with certain physical comorbidities.

Hot tubs are great for socializing – Hot tubs are wildly popular, especially when you happen to have events or get-togethers at home. They offer a wow factor that very few other additions in the home can oftentimes match. And the best part in all of this is that a hot tub can work itself into literally any type of occasion. 

Hot tubs can be utilized all throughout the year – Compared to swimming pools, hot tubs are friendlier to use all year round because of its capacity to maintain its temperature regardless of the weather. There’s certainly nothing stopping you from using your hot tub during the dead of winter.

As a matter of fact, it’s actually more favorably used during the cold and harsh winter months compared to the rest of the year. See our guide to hot tub sizes here.

Cons

Very expensive cost on the front end – Here’s the thing, getting a hot tub is a serious investment. This is mainly because they really don’t come cheap. The initial investment required is quite high and if you aren’t committed to it, the price alone might deter you from getting one in the first place. 

You also need to consider other factors such as the cost of its installation on top of its actual unit price. You will need to consider the wiring requirements as well as getting the services of a professional and qualified electrician for the job. 

Another thing to consider is where you’re installing the hot tub on. You might need to make modifications on the site of installation such as reinforcing it or changing it altogether to make sure that it will be able to handle the weight not just of the hot tub itself but when it holds water in as well.

The maintenance can be a real chore – Hot tub maintenance can be a really daunting task at the end of the day. However, once you get a good grasp of what it’s all about, what you need to do and how frequently you need to do it; it isn’t really all that impossible to take some time out of your week to get it done. 

Higher utility bills – Obviously, getting a hot tub would mean that you will end up consuming more electricity right off the bat. The silver lining here is that most of the newer hot tub models these days are actually energy efficient.

They oftentimes come with great insulation and far more efficient heaters than the older models. All of these things, along with a high quality hot tub cover, would mean that you get to limit your heat loss in all of the best ways.

Hot tub use may come with some potential health risks – These may include the following:

Heart problems – Hot tubs may facilitate blood flow increase which can’t be good for certain heart issues. It may be beneficial to some but in the end of it all, it would be best if you consult your doctor about it especially if you have a specific heart-related concern.

Pregnancy – This isn’t a health problem, of course. However, pregnancy does come with specific sensitivities which means that you need to be careful with your hot tub use if you happen to be pregnant. It may increase the risks of having a miscarriage so it would be best if you just stay away from the hot tub altogether, at least during the timeline of the actual pregnancy.

Diarrhea – Diarrhea could be infectious to the other people who happen to be sharing the tub with you, as it may be transmitted through the shared hot tub water. You shouldn’t use the hot tub at all if you are suffering from diarrhea.

Urinary tract infection – UTI, similar to diarrhea, can also spread or be infectious in a hot tub environment. Apart from that, it could personally be detrimental for you as getting in the hot tub would worsen your infection.

Hot Tub maintenance – Hot tub maintenance is not the type of thing that you just “wing”. You really have to study it, read through the manual for it, and some even take courses on hot tub maintenance to make sure that they’re doing it right.

Ultimately, it is something that you would have to invest a bit of time on. Although this may be a hassle in the beginning, it is time and money that pays for it plenty of times over because it would mean that you get to extend the life span of the hot tub that you’ve invested a good amount of money in.

How Long Does A Hot Tub Last?

The lifespan of a hot tub can be a tricky thing to calculate. It is widely ranged from 5 years to up to as long as 20 years or even more than that, if things go your way. There are a lot of factors that go into this from the quality of the hot tub that you’re purchasing to the actual maintenance of it. 

It would be fair to say that as a hot tub owner, you have a lot of control over how long your hot tub will last. This is because you need to factor in things such as how frequently it is being used, how much regular maintenance and care you are giving it, whether you are able to replace faulty parts right away, and so on.

Are They Hard To Maintain

 

The quick answer to this is NO. Hot tubs are not dauntingly high maintenance. In reality, all they require is a basic understanding of how water chemistry works, some basic scheduling, and a little bit of due diligence when giving yourself time and spending a little bit of money on tools and supplies to get its maintenance going.

You will need some testing supplies, some chemicals, and other tools. A good range of cost for this would be at around $20 per month, which isn’t really that bad considering the fact that you’re extending the lifespan of a hot tub, which costs so much more if you miss out on its maintenance.

How Often Should You Change The Water?

There isn’t really a finite measurement of time when it comes to when you should change your hot tub’s water. Every now and then, the recommendation is for you to add in chlorine to help keep the water clean.

The basic rule of thumb is for you to observe how quickly the chlorine is dissolving. If the dissolution process is beginning to get extremely slow or if the chlorine isn’t dissolving at all anymore, this may be the indication that you need to get the water replaced or changed. 

As a good ballpark average, though, for the point of discussion, this would be every 3 to 4 months or so. 

Do They Add Value To Your Home

Quick answer: yes. Having a hot tub most certainly adds value to your home. And here are the main reasons why:

In-ground hot tubs add more value compared to freestanding ones. The reason behind this is because of the notion that in-ground hot tubs are commensurate to the impact of having in-ground pools.

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Freestanding hot tubs, on the other hand, are considered as removable personal pieces of property and are oftentimes not factored into the actual valuation of the home. If you want to make sure that this adds in to your home’s value, you can opt to have your free-standing hot tub to be built into the ground. 

Another reason why a hot tub can add value to your home is because water features normally do. They really can increase the value of the home, especially when they have been incorporated well into the landscape. 

And this is another important thing to remember when you’re bringing a hot tub into your home. In order for you to get the most value out of it, you have to really incorporate it into the landscape, make it look like a part of the actual property. Check out wooden hot tubs here.

Attractive landscaping also has a lot of take into this. Go out of your way to go for landscaping that’s visually appealing. There are a lot of ways for you to do this.

You can build a deck around your hot tub, add in a gazebo or some type of pergola, incorporate a patio into it, and so on. 

A careful thing to note though is that if you are adding a hot tub for the mere purpose of increasing the value of your home, this may not be the best way to go and this may oftentimes lead to disappointments.

Yes, having a hot tub offers a bit of a wow factor and may be a good thing for hot tub lovers to consider but they’re not an absolute deal breaker when it comes to them buying a home. 

After all, they can still buy a home without a hot tub and then just decide to get one further down the road. So the rule here is for you to add a hot tub in your home for your own enjoyment and consider its extra value to your home as a bonus and not as the primary reason you’re getting one in the first place. See jacuzzi vs hot tub comparison for more ideas and options.

Are Hot Tubs Worth It?

Hot tubs are a specific luxury to have in the home for sure and in order for you to make sure that you really get the most out of it, make it a point to really do the following:

Invest in a higher end brand. – Even if this will cost you more upfront, this will also mean that it will cost you less in terms of electricity consumption and heat insulation in the long run.

Use it all year round and as frequently as you possibly can. – The more you use it, the more value you’re getting out of your money so make it a point to really enjoy it as much as you can. Also make it a point to never winterize your hot tub or leave it empty for a few months at a time. This can lead to leaks and other issues when it thaws out.

Incorporate it into your lifestyle to really maximize the health benefits that you can get out of it. What’s great with a hot tub is that it can be used regardless of what the weather is because its temperature is controlled all throughout. Use it when you wake up in the morning or after a long day from work.

As for the maintenance, it can be a bit too much if you do it all at once. Instead of sectioning it off to a big weekly task, it might be less labor intensive if you check the water quality every 3 days or so and add in chlorine and other needed chemicals bit by bit instead of postponing it to a certain day in the week.

You also need to make sure that you never leave your hot tub out in the sun without any water in it. This can damage the tub’s actual surface. Make use of hot tub covers for additional protection.