Hot tubs provide endless hours of relaxation and enjoyment, but that doesn’t mean they’re perfect! Here is our list of essential hot tub accessories that will help you improve your hot tubbing experience.
HOT TUB STEPS
Our first essential hot tub accessory is also the simplest, a set of steps. Hot tub steps make it safer and easier to get in and out of your hot tub. They do, however, also tend to get wet as people move in and out of the hot tub. For this reason we recommend purchasing steps with textured treads to reduce the chances of slipping and falling when entering or exiting your hot tub.
COVER LIFTERS
Another essential hot tub accessory is a cover lifter. Cover lifters are devices designed to help you easily open your hot tub cover. Although hot tub cover lifters can differ quite a bit in terms of design, they all share the same advantages:
- They make your cover easier to remove. Cover lifters make removing your cover quicker and easier by removing the need to lift the cover off of the hot tub and onto the ground.
- They increase the lifespan of the cover. Cover lifters provide even support across the entire cover and ensure that you don’t have to drop it or slide it on the ground; which greatly reduces the wear and tear on the cover that comes from manually removing it from the hot tub.
BOOSTER SEATS
Most hot tubs now offer seats that are different depths. This means that no matter how tall you are, you should be able to find a seat that is the right depth to keep your head comfortably out of the water. What if you prefer the jets of a different seat though?
Hot tub booster seats are small pillows that you can sit on. They let you sit up a few inches higher in the hot tub than you normally would; allowing you to enjoy hot tub seats that would normally be a little too deep for you.
AROMATHERAPY
No matter what you use your hot tub for – relaxation, hydrotherapy, stress relief or catching up with friends and family – aromatherapy can help you relax and de-stress.
When buying aromatherapy oils or crystals, however, it is important to make sure that they are designed for use in hot tubs. Aromatherapy products that haven’t been designed specifically for use in hot tubs can affect the quality of the hot tub water; from altering its pH, to causing foamy or cloudy water, to clogging the plumbing lines.
FILTER CLEANING TOOLS
Anyone who has owned a hot tub long enough knows that rinsing hot tub filters can be a bit of a pain. Removing dirt and debris that is trapped deep in the pleats of a hot tub filter can be almost impossible with a tap or hose (without damaging the filter at least). Fortunately, there is a great tool designed specifically to help get trapped dirt out of hot tub filters, the Filter Flosser.
The Filter Flosser is an attachment for your garden hose that delivers a powerful, targeted spray designed to get deep within the pleats of your hot tub filter. This allows you to clean your filter better, in less time, and without using as much water.
EXTRA FILTERS
Having a spare hot tub filter not only comes in handy if something happens to your main filter, it also helps to keep your hot tub filters working at peak efficiency.
When it comes time to chemically clean the filter that’s in the hot tub, put your spare in the hot tub. This allows your original filter to fully dry, which resets and tightens its fibres; improving its filtering ability. When it’s time to clean your spare filter, you can then swap in the original filter and let the spare dry. Doing this will keep your filters working more effectively over time; extending the amount of time that they can do their jobs.
OIL ABSORBING SPONGES
Oil absorbing sponges have a simple job; absorbing oils and lotions that build up on the waterline of hot tubs. The oils and lotions are responsible for foamy water, water line buildup on the shell of the hot tub and can cause changes in pH that make the water harder to keep balanced.
To prevent these oils and lotions from building up in the water, simply add the sponge to the water when you’re not using it. The unique molecular structure of these sponges will then absorb and trap the oils and lotions that naturally sit on the surface of the water.
FLOATING INSULATING COVERS
While most modern hot tubs are fairly well insulated, no hot tub is perfect. One of the biggest sources of heat loss in most hot tubs is through the cover, especially if the cover is more than a couple of years old.
The best way to reduce this heat loss and improve the energy efficiency of your hot tub is with a floating thermal cover. These insulating covers sit on top of the hot tub water to provide an added layer of insulation; greatly reducing the amount of heat that is allowed to escape the water through the cover.
SPA CAPS
Spa caps are covers made of a tough woven polyethylene that fit over your standard hot tub cover. They are designed to protect your hot tub covers from the elements; especially snow and ice in the winter. There are two major benefits to using spa caps:
The added protection they provide will extend the life of your hot tub cover.
They make removing snow and ice buildup on your hot tub quick and easy.
MOBILE APP CONTROLS
Our last essential hot tub accessory is also one of the newer ones available; mobile app control systems. Most major hot tub brands now allow for their hot tubs to be fitted with control systems that can be run from a mobile phone app. Hydropool Hot Tubs, for example, are all able to be fitted with the iCommand system. This system allows you to fully control your hot tub from your phone, including:
- Operating the hot tub jets and lights.
- Setting the water temperature for your hot tub.
- Programming your filtration and enable/disable economy mode.
- Displaying alerts if there is a problem with your hot tub.
WRAPPING UP
There many great hot tub accessories available that can help improve anyone’s hot tubbing experience. Whether you want to make your hot tub safer, easier to use, easier to maintain, or more energy efficient there are at least a couple of accessories here that can help get you where you want to go!