Hot tub? Yay or nay? Update: Huge YAY!!

[Methos1979]

Original post: We've been thinking of putting in a hot tub for several years now and have just never got round to pulling the trigger. We had an above ground pool years ago and loved it for the first several years while the kids were young and it got used a lot. But once they moved out it got used less and less and the upkeep became more and more a burden in time and $$$$$ so when the liner went we decided to just get rid of it. Now, we live in New Hampshire, so the outdoor swimming season is relatively short which is certainly a factor. I'm sure if we lived somewhere with a much warmer climate, we'd likely still have the pool and use it regularly.

We retired a year and a half back and now each year we pick a couple 'large' upgrade projects for the house. We are playing a LOT of pickleball these days so we find ourselves very sore in the evenings. So now we're thinking the time might be right for that hot tub. You can use them year round even up here and we actually have gone to friends homes in the past and sat in their hot tubs in the winter and it's really neat. We thought about just grabbing one of those inexpensive inflatable ones to 'test the waters', pun intended, just to see how much we would actually use it. Obviously, you can't keep those going in the winter up here but for the investment of just $500 (vs $5,000) it would allow us to check it out.

The other option is to go with the Dreamworks brand Plug & Play tubs which are relatively inexpensive ($5g) and can run off 120v or be wired for the full 240v. So what we're looking for is for people that have direct experience with owning a hot tub. People our age and activity level would be even more welcome. Same with people with experience with the inflatable and/or Dreamworks brand. Anyway, if you have or had a hot tub somewhere in your past, please let us know your thoughts on the matter. Is it the type of thing that is awesome when you first get it but then quickly use it less and less or is it something that keeps giving year after year? We have friends that have both pools and hot tubs and most of them say they love and use the hot tub way more than the pool.

During our discussion about it today, my wife said, "You and your AGF pals always talk about EVERYTHING in the Open Mic section - go ask for their opinions!" She's not wrong, I thought!! As always, thanks in advance for your thoughts, experiences and opinions.

Update: We got a lot of info/opinions here over a three day period and I realized I never did comment again or thank you all. So, thanks! We did in fact end up getting a hot tub. Two, actually. We decided to try one of those little inflatables just to see if we liked it enough and would use it enough. We were actually very surprised with just how robust those little inflatables are! It was very nice to be able to get into a tub of hot water after a day of playing pickleball or working on a house project. We rather quickly decided we would definitely be the types to regularly use the 'real deal'. So we started looking at them in earnest a month into owning the inflatable.

The first thing that hit was was sticker shock. Like everything post-pandemic, hot tub prices have gone through the roof. But they are still selling like hotcakes and won't come down anytime soon and likely never. And since time is more important than money at this stage of our lives, we continued to on. We started looking at the plug and play rotomold shell tubs but quickly dismissed those. Then we started looking at some of the major brands that had reputable dealerships around here. Our options were Marquis, Bullfrog or Hot Springs/Caldera. We initially dismissed the last one as they were quite pricey. Also dismissed the Bullfrog which left the Marquis.

We were looking at a few options in the $10k/$12k range. Then one of the Marquis Crown series (their top-tier) showed up that ticked a lot of boxes for us but that was also $15k. Since we were seriously considering that one we felt we needed to revisit the Hot Springs/Caldera dealer since spending that much put their offerings back on the table. In the end after many weeks of research, comparison and testing we went with the Caldera Seychelles which ticked all our boxes. It's a salt water system which seems to have a love/hate for a lot of people. People that have them love it while people that don't hate it. Yes, more expensive to run but much less work and time to keep the water balanced.

Next up was the patio needed to put the tub on. I got a couple quotes for both a patio with pavers or just a cement pad and as with everything else, the prices were just too high. $4k/$6k. I figured I could make my own out of compacted gravel and pavers for much less, which is what I ended up doing and it came out pretty gosh darn good, if I may say so. Cost was well under $1k. I had my electrician friend hook me up for a great price and we got the new tub delivered a week ago. We love it! We're in it at least once and oftentimes twice a day. Practicing on the inflatable got me very comfortable with the water chemical balancing and the salt system is way-cool and will be easy to use and maintain.

Anyway, I figured I'd update the post since I never did thank everyone and you never know who might find this post when doing a search on hot tubs in an acoustic guitar forum!

[catdaddy]

Got one in 2001 and used it regularly for 15 years. More recently, my wife and I have concluded that the risk of a fall, especially on exiting the hot tub, outweighs the benefits so we've chosen to go with ibuprofen as our go-to remedy for sore muscles.

[Acousticado]

We’ve had an inground pool for a loooong time spanning two homes and we wouldn’t be without one as long as we’re into home ownership. We live in Canada, so our swim season isn’t long, but last year we had a gas heater installed and that’s made a world of difference both in having a consistent temp that pleases everyone, you know it’ll always be like that, and it extends the season to the beginning of April until end of September. The key to pool maintenance is becoming knowledgeable and diligent about water chemistry. This season we’ve converted from a straight chlorine system to a mineral system (a electrical copper anode added into the water line which results in less need for chlorine, easier on skin and liner). This is keeping the water nicer. We also have a robot cleaner which is GREAT. Personally, I’d int find the maintenance to be onerous at all...the pros far outweigh any minor cons.

As for hot tubs, personally, I like them, but won’t ever have one. But then again, we don’t really have to because both of our sons/d-i-ls have one and they live within a half-hour of us. Of course, it’s not the same as being able to use your own whenever you want. Just can’t see that we’ll use it often enough to justify it. My wife certainly won’t, especially in winter when it’s best and that factors into it a lot. For it to be more than just a short-term fad, you really have to think about the way you’ve come to live and habits, especially when older. Introducing a hot tub into your lifestyle is a big decision.

Our youngest son, d-i-l love theirs, use it often and this hasn’t changed for five years or so. Our eldest son, d-i-l and g-daughters remains happy they had one installed a couple of years ago, but they only use it infrequently. They’re too busy year-round with family activities to have the time to really enjoy it.

It’s really is a personal choice. Ya gotta know yourselves and real interest in it not becoming white elephant.

[TheGITM]

Had one for nearly two decades and just got rid of it a couple of years ago. I used it a lot back when I was running a lot of marathons. The wife rarely used it. We started having issues with it, and since I'd stopped training for distance running and had not been using it, we just decommissioned it and paid to have it removed.

The main question is whether or not you will use it enough to warrant the expense. Another option is a health club membership somewhere that has spa facilities like a hot tub, sauna, and/or steam room. I had that for many years, as well.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[Dirk Hofman]

We put one in over the pandemic, use it all the time, way more than I thought we would. Kids and their friends like it. Great for after bike ride muscle soothing which for me is 2-4 times a week. Wife loves it, was all her idea.

Just depends I guess. I would have never done it but my wife really wanted it and she doesn't ask for much. Glad we did it.

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by TheGITM

...Another option is a health club membership somewhere that has spa facilities like a hot tub, sauna, and/or steam room. I had that for many years, as well.

This is worth thinking about. We've never owned a hot tub at home, but have extensively used them in health clubs. Nothing feels better than the heat and jets after a hard workout, or the day after a big yard work project. The key is making sure that the club tends to it diligently. It is pretty bad when all they do is pour in huge amounts of chlorine to make up for minimal maintenance.

Our next door neighbor offered us his hot tub when his skin could not take the chlorine any more. I suggested switching to bromine as the chemical, which works well for most people with skin issues. He opted to give it to someone else, and that was OK too. We no longer maintain a health club membership where there is a pool or hot tub (I sometimes miss that big handicap accessible hot tub). My wife recently started swimming again at the new YMCA facility four miles away. But swimming is no longer a viable option for me, dang it!

[Acousticado]

Until last year, for 10 years we’d owned a SW Florida winter vacation home at a 55+ resort. We’re sure the chlorine pools and hot tubs were well maintained, but early-on when using the pool and tubs, we realized how long some people stay in both...without getting out to use the restroom (especially the older folk). This was a real turn-off, especially for my wife. We never used them again. Went to the beaches instead. Ymmv.

[RP]

I love having access to a hot tub after my hour swim, but that thing is off-line a lot. And that's with a full-time guy at the club who maintains it...

[Talk2Me]

Originally Posted by catdaddy

Got one in 2001 and used it regularly for 15 years. More recently, my wife and I have concluded that the risk of a fall, especially on exiting the hot tub, outweighs the benefits so we've chosen to go with ibuprofen as our go-to remedy for sore muscles.

Trading the risk of a fall for liver and kidney damage risks. At least with the fall you can put in a railing.

As to the topic - A friend had a hot tub and all his friends would come over for years and use it and hang out. In the end that's why he said he was getting rid of it. He wanted some quiet time alone.

[joe white]

Got our first one in 2000. I used it a lot then to help recover from lower back surgery. We moved to a home in 05 that had complete hot tub privacy and we used it even more often. Got a larger one with better jets, more power and more seating. Used it a lot as well. We just got a new hot springs similar to our last one but now no chemicals. Uses salt and some other gadgetry to create healthy water. It's a great tub but the new place doesn't have the privacy of the old house and within the last few years I get hot so easily and have trouble cooling off so the thought of getting in 104° water and trying to cool afterwards kind of puts me off. This is not meant as snobbery but 5k does not buy a quality hot tub thee days. I think my first little Caldera two seater was about 5k in 2000.

[catdaddy]

Originally Posted by Talk2Me

Trading the risk of a fall for liver and kidney damage risks. At least with the fall you can put in a railing.

As to the topic - A friend had a hot tub and all his friends would come over for years and use it and hang out. In the end that's why he said he was getting rid of it. He wanted some quiet time alone.

As a retired pharmacist I'm well aware of the relatively low risks of taking ibuprofen (which, btw- isn't much of a challenge to the liver). Take a look at the data of outcomes for falls for septuagenarians sometime if you want to see serious risks.

[Acousticado]

Originally Posted by joe white

Got our first one in 2000. I used it a lot then to help recover from lower back surgery. We moved to a home in 05 that had complete hot tub privacy and we used it even more often. Got a larger one with better jets, more power and more seating. Used it a lot as well. We just got a new hot springs similar to our last one but now no chemicals. Use's salt and some other gadgetry to create healthy water. It's a great tub but the new place doesn't have the privacy of the old house and within the last few years I get hot so easily and have trouble cooling off so the thought of getting in 104° water and trying to cool afterwards kind of puts me off. This is not meant as snobbery but 5k does not buy a quality hot tub thee days. I think my first little Caldera two seater was about 5k in 2000.

I now recall that some years ago, my wife and I had considered buying a hot tub, a Hot Springs which is a quality unit, albeit pricey. I agree that you have to be careful if considering a lower cost unit. Also, I wouldn’t buy one from a large box store ala Home Depot because although it may bear a brand name, it may not be of the best quality.

In my initial reply to this thread, I’d mentioned that both our sons have hot tubs. Our youngest son bought a refurbished tub about 5 years ago at significant savings and has since had to replace the motherboard. Actually, any parts and replacement hasn’t cost him that much. He’s happy he went the used route. I think our eldest son, in hindsight, wishes he would’ve done that too.

OP, you may want to consider starting with a refurbished tub so that you won’t be expending too much if you end-up not using it much.

[buddyhu]

We had one that we used frequently for many years. And then we gradually stopped using it…no particular reason. And when we sold our house and moved, we decided against buying one for the new house: not as much privacy where we would put it, and weren’t sure we would get back in the habit of using it regularly.

I know several people who have used theirs religiously for decades. But most people use it a lot for a while, and then give up on it.

Most folks I know who have had one don’t regret the purchase, even if they only use it for a few years. The ones who seem to regret it either have one of those inflatable ones, or they place it in a location that isn’t convenient to get to.

[Acousticado]

Originally Posted by buddyhu

We had one that we used frequently for many years. And then we gradually stopped using it…no particular reason. And when we sold our house and moved, we decided against buying one for the new house: not as much privacy where we would put it, and weren’t sure we would get back in the habit of using it regularly.

I know several people who have used theirs religiously for decades. But most people use it a lot for a while, and then give up on it.

Most folks I know who have had one don’t regret the purchase, even if they only use it for a few years. The ones who seem to regret it either have one of those inflatable ones, or they place it in a location that isn’t convenient to get to.

That’s another good point...kind of akin to always casing your guitar or having it sitting out within arm’s reach. Often, the latter gets played much more.

Especially in the cold of winter, close proximity to get back into the warm house can be the difference between loving or hating a tub, especially for those averse to the cold...and potentially slippery conditions.

[Dogma]

How does the cost and experience, for your tastes and lifestyle, compare to a bathroom remodel to include a big jacuzzi tub, or a Japanese style hot soaking tub? Yeah, not outside, but lower maintenance and better longevity as a result, I'd imagine.

I don't think I'd spend the money on the inflatable or whatever the low budget try-it-out option is, as the reason you don't like it (if that were the case) might not a accurately reflect whether you would like a better one.