You wanted to relax for a while in the comforting warmth of your hot tub, but you’ve overfilled it! What happens now?
It might sound obvious, but if you overfill your hot tub, the water will spill over the sides and cause damage to the surrounding area. However, it might also damage the electrical components on your hot tub that aren’t insulated against water damage – it seems bizarre, but they definitely exist.
Read on to learn more about hot tubs, how much they tend to cost, and the damage you can cause by misusing one.
Relaxation And Extravagance
When it comes to hot tub ownership, it isn’t just a case of plugging it in, filling it up, and relaxing for hours on end. There’s actually a whole host of things you need to do to maintain your hot tub, keep it clean and hygienic, and avoid damaging it or the area it is kept in.
There are countless styles, types, and brands of hot tub to choose from, ranging from the minuscule and unimpressive, to the luxurious and well-equipped. You can start with an inflatable hot tub that costs just five or six hundred dollars, for example.
However, that scale can rise, and it does – quite rapidly. At the higher end of the spectrum, you can expect to pay as much as fifteen or twenty thousand dollars for the full construction of an outdoor space to accommodate a hot tub.
This latter option doesn’t just include the hot tub itself, but perhaps an outhouse, decking area, or patio, fully powered and with a plumbed-in water line. You could also include lighting, an outdoor shower, purification systems, and a grill or dining area.
After all, a hot tub is a party in and of itself, and it can serve as the focus of many summer evening parties – particularly the larger ones. There are some enormous hot tubs with multiple levels that include ‘swim spas’, deeper sections that give the user the ability to swim around a little.
These types of hot tub are the pinnacle of the industry, and they often come with RGB mood lighting, sound systems, digital screens, and comfortable seating. However, they’re also in a league of their own, with the top models costing as much as thirty thousand dollars, including installation.
They’re the ultimate addition to a sumptuous and extravagant home that might also boast a zero-edge pool, a wine cellar, a circular driveway, and walk-in closets. If you have the ability to spend thirty thousand dollars on a device that’s used solely for relaxation, you’re obviously not troubled for cash.
Don’t Overfill, Don’t Underfill
As we’ve just said, hot tubs come with a lengthy list of maintenance requirements, ranging from cleaning to repairs. Although, there’s a lot to consider in the mere operation of a hot tub, such as filling, emptying, and powering one.
In most cases, a hot tub will simply be filled by a hose that plugs into a water outlet; a considerably simple system. However, this presents an issue – if you forget you’re filling the hot tub (as it does take a while) you may walk off and the water could overfill, spilling over the top.
Not only will this damage the surrounding area, but it may also cause water damage to any electrical components on the hot tub that aren’t insulated. This type of damage will leave you with a hefty bill, and you may irreparably break your hot tub.
Alternatively, if you err on the side of caution and underfill your hot tub, the results can be equally as devastating. If you don’t pour in enough water, the pump in the hot tub itself will be overworked and it’ll suck in air, eventually destroying it.
Admittedly, the list of rules for operating a hot tub is considerably lengthy and long-winded, but there’s plenty that can go wrong with one. For example, if you have an imbalance in the chemicals used to clean the water, it becomes harmful for users.
If you leave the water to stagnate, it will become incredibly dirty, potentially filling with mold, mildew, and algae. This is an even bigger possibility when a plastic cover is pulled over the hot tub, trapping heat from the sun that makes the water a breeding ground for bacteria.
So, if you’re going to spend thousands on a hot tub, be prepared to make the effort to maintain it and keep it fully functioning for as long as possible.