Improve the Efficiency of Your Tub

The first and foremost function of your spa cover is to keep the heat in the tub, and to keep cold air and precipitation out. Your hot tub cover is designed to insulate your tub against the outdoor atmosphere and elements. You should always keep your cover on when it’s not in use, in order to keep your spa operating efficiently — otherwise, you could see a spike on your electric bill.

Keep Dust, Leaves, & Debris Out

Think about all that dust and debris that settles on your porch and patio. Now imagine all that stuff finding its way into your hot tub. If you leave the cover off your spa, you’ll find that it’s liable to catch leaves, dirt, dust, tumbleweeds, you name it. Instead, keep that tub covered, so that you can keep your water and filters clean. If you happen to leave your cover off for a while, just be sure to check the chemical and pH balance of your water, and clean out your filters.

Keep Your Spa Safe

It’s a good idea in general to keep your cover on your spa. If there are pets or kids in your neighborhood, your hot tub can be an (albeit unlikely) hazard. Keep that cover on your spa to keep curious kids and pets from jumping in.

Reduce Exposure to UV Rays

The sun’s rays won’t damage your hot tub much if you accidentally leave the cover off for an hour or two. However, over time the sun’s rays can discolor your hot tub, including the sides of the tub, various fixtures, and the headrests of your spa. Fortunately, these components are designed to resist ultraviolet rays, and keeping the cover on your spa on those sunny days will ensure that interior components remain protected.

Secure Your Tub

If you’re worried that someone might try to use your tub without your knowledge, then a locking cover will ensure that it remains private. Many tub covers come with secure, locking straps that you can latch with the turn of a key.

Count on Colorado Spas for Covers & Accessories

If you have an old tub that could use a new cover, or if you’re looking for the perfect cover for your new spa, we can help guide you to the right solution. Give us a call if you have any questions about our spas and accessories or visit us in our Fort Collins showroom!

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Build Into Your Deck or Patio

While it’s common for folks to simply pour a slab of concrete for their new hot tub (and there’s nothing wrong with this easy, cost-effective solution), others opt to “sink” their spa into their deck or patio by lowering it into their landscape. If you’d like, you can build your hot tub into your patio by dropping it down a few feet so that the edges of your tub are flush with your patio. Or, you might keep your spa raised up on your deck, but build wrap-around stairs that make your tub easily accessible. If you are planning on integrating your hot tub into your deck or patio, just be sure that you measure your new spa properly, and make sure that your design still allows for access to the maintenance panels of your tub!

Installing a Pergola

A pergola will look great above your new hot tub, and it can serve to provide you with shade, and some protection from precipitation if you like to use your spa while the weather is a bit adverse. You can create a custom pergola that features everything you’d like to have for your tubbing experience: Build in curtains to provide spa-goers with a bit of privacy. Or install a sunshade spanning across your pergola to keep the sun’s rays at bay. Tack on a few shower hooks to the columns of your pergola to keep dry towels at arm’s reach. Or top off your pergola with a sloped roof to keep rain and snow from falling on hot tub attendees (personally, I like it when there’s some precipitation while in the spa!). You can even install speakers along the columns of your spa, or string up a line of outdoor Edison bulbs to give your hot tub even more of a cozy appeal. The possibilities here are endless!

Privacy Fencing

If you want a truly intimate setting, you can build privacy fencing around your hot tub. You can build a high fence for complete privacy, or, you can opt for latticework and trellises to partially mask the views of your spa. You can even integrate vines that will grow to cover your trellises and latticework, or the privacy fencing that you’ve installed.

Lighting

While your spa will have some interior lighting, and it may feature some exterior lights as well, you may want to create a fully integrated atmosphere throughout your landscape. You can install landscape lighting that highlights your hot tub. Or perhaps you’d like to have string lights that span over your spa. Light installations will improve the appeal of your hot tub, and they’ll help to ensure that your guests move safely across your deck or patio as they walk from your house to your spa, even on dark nights.

Stairs & Railings

Speaking of safety, you may want to install stairs and railings to make access easy for those who are taking a dip. While your hot tub will come with a small set of stairs, per your request, you may opt to create stairs and railings yourself. Perhaps you’d like to create a custom set of stairs that matches the wood and stain of your deck. Or you’d like to install a rail alongside your stairs to give those who are entering or exiting your spa something to hold onto. Oftentimes, it’s best to build stairs and railings in after the spa has been set in place, since it will make the installation easier, and you’ll know precisely how high to make your stairs and their railing counterparts.

Changing Room

Do you plan on having guests over who would love to jump into the tub? Then you may want to build a changing room near your tub. Now, you don’t have to get too fancy with your changing room. A few square feet of space, some shelves for towels, a mirror, and a bench would be more than sufficient to give your guests a small, private space to change out of their clothes and into a suit for the spa.

Other Features

On top of all those additions, you may want to consider building in a sound system around your patio or deck (if your spa doesn’t come with built in speakers!). And you may want to add some towel racks or towel hooks throughout the space, as well as a cubby to keep clean towels for your guests. You can also build in shelving around your hot tub to hold drinks or any other items that you’d like to keep nearby (although your spa will likely have its own cup holders as well). Get creative, and add anything that you can imagine!

Find Your Dream Spa at Colorado Spas

We get it — buying a spa is an exciting time! We’re always here to provide you with the spa of your dreams, so that you can make your home even more cozy. Count on Colorado Spas to find the perfect tub to fit your abode, your landscape, and your desires. We carry a litany of spas, provided by some of the best hot tub manufacturers in the nation. Check out our Clearwater spas, Marquis® spas, and Cal Spas® hot tubs! You can also visit our showroom in Fort Collins at 6208 South College Avenue, and feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about our spas!

The post How to Integrate Your New Spa With Your Home & Landscape appeared first on Hot Tubs, Swim Spas, Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor, CO.

Keep Your Hot Tub Cover Clean

Your hot tub cover is responsible for keeping the tub clean — it keeps leaves from falling into the tub, it keeps insects from making your spa their home, and it helps to keep your filter from working overtime. Plus, your cover ensures that your hot tub retains heat efficiently. However, your hot tub cover can actually harbor mold and bacteria. On occasion, it’s best to give your hot tub cove a cleaning with diluted bleach to keep the tub clean. The underside of your cover can eventually grow mold and bacteria, since it encloses a warm, moist environment. It’s best to keep your hot tub cover clean. You can use a solution of water (9 parts), and bleach (1 part) to spray down and wipe the underside of your hot tub cover. Clean your hot tub cover once every 90 days to ensure that bacteria and mold don’t grow.

Fill With Filtered Water

Whether you’re filling your tub for the first time, or you’re refilling your tub to give it a fresh start, it’s best to use filtered water to fill up your spa. Now, that doesn’t mean that you have to buy gallons and gallons of filtered water — and no, you won’t have to fill up pitcher after pitcher of filtered water from that little water tap on the sink. You can actually purchase a water filter that is designed to work on a garden hose. These water filters will pull out particles and contaminants that may otherwise be caught by your hot tubs water filter, forcing your filter to work overtime as you turn the spa on for the first time after the fill-up. Utilizing filtered water ensures that your hot tub’s filtering system will have an easy time keeping your fresh water clean.

Swap Out Your Filters

It’s always a good idea to keep an extra filter on hand, in case your current filter gets gunked up beyond use. While your filter should last for months on end, under normal care conditions. However, you never know when your filter will be on its last leg. Keep an eye out for signs of wear or damage. Tears and holes are indicators that your filter isn’t doing its job. Also, if you can’t clean out your filter by spraying it down with a filter wand, then it may be too dirty to continually clean your hot tub. It’s time to swap out your filter.

Follow Care Instructions to a T

Your hot tub will come with care instructions that will aid you in keeping your hot tub clean. Be sure to follow the instructions that come with your spa to a T, to ensure that your filtration system works, and your water is clean and safe for use. If you’re uncertain how to clean or maintain your tub, don’t hesitate to reach out to a spa specialist to ensure that your hot tub remains clean and safe, and to maintain the longevity of the tub.

Test Your Water Often

Testing your water will ensure that your water is balanced and clean, which will help the pump and filter to last their longest. More importantly, these tests are designed to ensure that your water is clean, and safe for use. Test your water before each use to ensure that your water is perfect for a dip, and test your water at least twice per week to continually check the pH and chemical balances of your water.

Use Caution When Adding Chemicals

Again, it’s best to follow your care instructions to a T when it comes time to balance your water. Over or under-use of chemicals can damage your hot tub, and it may make your spa unsafe for bathing. Be sure to measure out your chemicals as you add them to make sure that you don’t over or under-use your spa chemicals. If you’re adding chemicals to your hot tub, you’ll want to wait several hours before taking a dip, since the chemicals require time to balance. Be sure to test your tub again before you jump in!

Let Your Spa Breathe After Adding Chemicals

If you’re adding chemicals to your tub, especially bromine, it’s best to let it “breathe” for a few minutes to ensure that these chemicals don’t corrode the exposed components underneath the cover of your tub. Fifteen minutes is plenty of time to make sure that corrosive air doesn’t fill the void between your spa cover and the water.

Know When to Refill

Refilling your spa will be necessary from time to time. If you aren’t going to be using your hot tub for an extended amount of time, it’s best to drain the tub, so that you don’t have to maintain the balance of the water, and you won’t have to keep the filter clean and the pump running. Also, you should drain your tub during the winter, if you’re planning on shutting off the heat. If the temperature of your water gets low enough, your pump and pipes may fail. Finally, you’ll want to refill your spa when the water is dirty, and it won’t respond to chemical solutions. For instance, if your water is starting to smell funny, or if the water won’t lose its foam when you add an anti-foaming solution, then it may be time to give the spa a fresh start with a drain and fill.

Shower Before You Tub

The water in your tub is a rather delicate balance, and that balance can be offset by oils, makeup, and other products. It’s a good habit to take a quick rinse before you settle into your spa. Oils, makeup, and skin products can slow down your filtration system, and they’ll make it more difficult to maintain a balanced tub.

Reach Out to Your Local Experts

If you ever need help with your spa, you can count on the local experts here at Colorado Spas. We’re proud to sell spas here in Fort Collins, and we’re ecstatic to work with spa owners throughout Northern Colorado, providing advice and care to ensure that their spas remain in tip-top shape. Reach out to us if you have any questions about caring for your hot tub!

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Once you have made your purchase, our staff will walk you through the steps you need to take before delivery day. In the meantime, check out these tips on how to prepare your home for your new hot tub.

#1: Choose A Space Large Enough

The first thing you should do is determine the best place for your hot tub to go. You will want to find a space that is large enough for your hot tub to be comfortably used. Think about more than just “will the hot tub fit into this space?” but rather “will it be easy to use the hot tub in this space?”. You want to have room to walk around the hot tub, allowing for easy entering and exiting.

You also want to ensure you can service the hot tub easily. Leave some room around the different components of the tub so you can access them as needed. Having a little extra space will be better than not enough as it will also free up room for additional tables or seats around the spa.

#2: Think About Proximity

02 Sep 2014 — Tea set on table on wooden patio in zen garden — Image by © Trinette Reed/Blend Images/Corbis

While a hot tub tucked away in the woods might sound like the ideal location for a secluded soak, proximity will actually be important to the functionality of your hot tub. Not only do we tend to utilize things that are closer to us more than if they are out of sight, it is also important that you can run the appropriate electric to the hot tub. Something that is placed far out into the woods will require a lot of extra work in regards to wiring.

It is also going to be useful to have a hose nearby for times you need to clean out the hot tub and refill it. Think about how you can drain water in the area as well. Closer to your house will make using your hot tub much easier.

#3: Consider Adding In Privacy Features

Soaking in your hot tub is a relaxing venture and it is one you probably want to only share with your close friends and family. If you don’t already have a privacy fence in your yard and you live around neighbors, consider adding in privacy features. You can either upgrade your fence to a privacy fence or you can simply add a privacy screen around the hot tub area. A little extra privacy will make soaking in your hot tub even more relaxing for you and your friends.

#4: Ensure It Has A Solid Deck

Hot tubs are extremely heavy and when you fill them with water, you are looking at a massive amount of weight. This weight can destroy a yard, which is why you should never place a hot tub directly on the ground. Instead, your hot tub should be installed on top of a deck. You can utilize a deck that is already in place or build a deck specifically for your hot tub.

Make sure that if you are using an old deck it is stable enough to handle the weight of a hot tub. When in doubt, ask your spa dealer for help with an inspection of the space. The last thing you want is for your hot tub to come crashing through your deck as you soak.

#5: Clear The Area The Day Of

Finally, when the day of delivery arrives, make sure you clear the area of any clutter. Ensure there is plenty of room for the delivery team to bring the hot tub into the space. Put up any pets during delivery time as well so that they are not running underfoot. The less obstacles the delivery team has to navigate, the better.

If you are ready to purchase your very own hot tub, we can help. We provide an array of choices when it comes to spas in Northern Colorado. We invite you to reach out to our team to learn more or simply stop by our showroom. We will be happy to walk you through the vast array of products we carry, ensuring you find the perfect hot tub for your needs.

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Before you come visit us to check out our vast array of spas in Northern Colorado, we invite you to check out this how-to guide on choosing the right spa. As always, reach out at any point with further questions about the products we carry.

#1: Think About Size

One of the first things you need to do is measure the space you will be putting your hot tub in, ensuring you don’t pick something larger than the area you have. Take detailed measurements and account for extra walking room around the spa. Write down all the measurements and bring them with you to the spa showroom.

Not only should you think about the size of the hot tub in relation to the space you will be placing it into, but you should also think about the number of people you plan to entertain. Are you hoping to use your hot tub for hosting friends? Will it be just for you and your significant other to enjoy? Spas come in a variety of styles and sizes, with some that are cozy and romantic and others that are meant for parties. Decide what style you want beforehand.

#2: Consider Extras

Do you a hot tub with all the bells and whistles? Start compiling a list of the extras you definitely want to have. For example, are you looking for a hot tub with extra jets for the perfect massage? Do you want a table that rests in the middle of your hot tub allowing for beverages to be easily brought to the spa. Think about everything you want from your spa so you can ensure you don’t forget any important features when you get to the showroom.

Not only should you factor in fun features, such as extra jets, but you should also consider the necessary add-ons. You will need a hot tub cover, cleaning chemicals, extra filters, and other important items for upkeep. Ask the showroom you visit which of these extras are included with different models so you can factor this into the pricing.

#3: Understand Your Budget

Another important aspect to shopping for a spa is to create a realistic budget. Without having any budget in mind, it will be hard for you to even begin when you reach the hot tub showroom. If you have a set number in mind that is the top of your budget, you can enter the sales floor and immediately weed some spas out of the picture.

Take the time to think about not only how much you want to spend on the hot tub, but also factor in what you will need to spend on accessories and upkeep. Many spa showrooms also offer financing options, so be sure you ask about this route as well. The right financing plan can help you purchase the spa of your dreams.

#4: Pick A Good Dealer

Finally, no amount of planning will do you any good if you choose a bad place to purchase your new spa. Visiting a store in person is ideal, as you will get the best idea about the hot tubs in question if you can see them for yourself. Going to a physical showroom, rather than purchasing a hot tub online, will also afford you the chance to speak to a knowledgeable staff member. A salesperson who specializes in hot tubs will have years of experience working with people to find the ideal solution for their needs. This expertise will ensure you are actually purchasing what will work for you.

Here at Colorado Spas, we invite you to come visit our showroom. We provide an array of spas in Northern Colorado and we can help you find the one that will meet your needs. Owning a hot tub is an amazing experience and we want you to be 100 percent satisfied with the product you choose. Talk to us today about how we can help you pick out a stunning spa and start enjoying the benefits of hot water perfected.

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