Happy Holidays and Winter Fun

Tis the season, Hot Tub Season.  Imagine the ultimate Christmas gift.  A gift everyone can enjoy.  A gift the whole family can use together.  A gift that can be enjoyed anytime time of day or night.  A gift that can be used in any season, at any time of year, year after year.  The ultimate holiday gift is a new spa from Hot Spring!

Whether your dashing through the snow to a holiday gathering, shopping, or just trying to get home after work, a new hot tub will brighten your holiday season.  Why put it off.  It's been something you've been thinking about forever. 

                                                                                
Now is the time to make your life better, more relaxing and at the same time make this the best Christmas ever!

Ace now Available on Limelight spas

The same Diamond Technology that's available on Hot Spring Spas is now available on the Limelight spa line as well.  It's completely integrated into the Limelight spa control, state of the art, and available immediately. 

To Lounge or not to Lounge

That is the question, certainly for most first time hot tub buyers.  In fact, it may not be a question at all, but a feature that is an absolute must.  I've heard my prospective customers say it over and over.  "We want a spa with a lounger."  A lounge in a spa can be very appealing.  To recline in a soothing, warm spa environment with the jets working your sore and tired muscles sure seems like heaven to me. This perception is reality for many, but not for everyone.  Many spa users, while being enthralled with the thought of a lounger at first, find their preconceptions were misplaced.  There are several issues that make a lounger work well for one individual and not so well for another.

                                                              

         

Let's begin with defining just what a lounger in a spa is.  A lounger is an area in a spa the allows the bather to recline in a position that puts your feet up and your shoulders back, often with your head on a spa pillow.  It's like lying in a bed of soothing warm water.  At least that is the goal, which many spa makers fall short of. 

If the lounger in a spa is not designed well, if it allows your hips to float up when you recline, then you feel as if you must hold on to keep from floating out into the spa. Some spas makers put too many jets in a lounger.  When the jets operate, they can lift you off the lounge, again making you hold on in a less than relaxing manner.

Hot Spring  has designed their loungers to keep your center of gravity under your shoulders, with the knees slightly higher.  This allows most bathers to completely relax their body and not float.  I say "most" because individuals vary in shape and size.  The very smallest may never be able to enjoy a lounge the way they may have imagined, feeling that if completely relaxed, their head would slip under water.  My point is that people come in many different sizes and shapes.  Hot Spring designed their loungers to accommodate most body types.  But one size can never fit everyone.

I do have a very general rule for loungers.  Women have more tendency to float than men.  But this is general and for you to know if a lounger in a particular spa is right for you, you MUST wet test the spa.  Sitting in the spa dry gives many insights to a prospective customer, but only a wet test can tell you if a lounger is right for you.  So bring your suits the next time you visit one of our stores and wet test.  You'll be glad you did.         

The Swim Spa Fallacy

     You've seen or at least heard of the Swim Spa.  It's a hydrotherapy/exercise product that can be a self-contained, all in one product, like a portable spa. A swim spa can also be an in-ground, custom built product, like a swimming pool.  They are smaller than a pool and able to heat to temperatures like a hot tub. The swim spa will use powerful pumps that move water to create a flowing current one can swim against.  The idea is that it can be used for soaking in hot water, like a hot tub, and it can also be used for exercise, swimming in a stationary manner.  Like running on a tread mill.

     The fallacy in this perception is the water temperature required for soaking comfortably is much higher than the temperature that makes swimming for exercise comfortable.  At your local swimming pool the water temperature is around 82 degrees.  This temperature allows a swimmer to raise his heart rate and get the cardio exercise desired, while not over heating.  A water temperature of 100 - 104 is required to comfortably soak in a hot tub.  Anything lower than body temperature cools you to the point of being chilled if you're not moving or exercising.  So the images many of these swim spa makers present of people enjoying the soak while a family member exercises are not realistic.

     Another issue I have is the constant nature of the water flow.  When I swim laps to exercise I am constantly changing speed.  As I feel winded or tired I slow, as I begin to feel stronger I increase my speed.  I even change strokes, free style for when I'm feeling strong and breast stroke for when I tire.  When water flow is created mechanically it is constant.  The speed of the current does not slow when you swim slower or increase when you swim faster.  It is difficult to use these products the way the makers claim they can be.                                                                                                                            

The Horse Power Conundrum

     One of the things many spa sales people talk about is horsepower and jet numbers.  They'll say things like this tub has "two, five horsepower pumps and 80 jets".  You might hear another say "two, seven horsepower pumps and 100 jets".  The idea is that more is better.  It does seem logical, if 1 is good, 2 must be better.  I think the most jets I've ever heard of in a spa is 150.  What is being implied is that if you have more horsepower and more jets, the better the hydrotherapy, the better the spa.  In fact, horsepower and the number of jets in a spa have very little to do with the quality of the hydrotherapy or the quality of the spa.  

     What makes for quality hydrotherapy is engineering and design.  It is not how many jets or how much horsepower, it is the way the spa feels when you use it.  Are the jet configurations designed to deliver a comfortable massage?  Does the spa work different areas of the body as you move from one seat to another?  Can you sit in a multi jet therapy seat for more than just a few minutes before the jets start to feel uncomfortable or irritating?  When you turn on the jet pumps do they operate quietly or are they loud and noisy?  A Hot Spring Spa delivers superior hydrotherapy, quietly and energy efficiently.  They accomplish this through superior design and engineering. 

     The Moto-Massage DX jet is an exclusive jet system in Hot Spring Spas. Imagine two warm streams of water sweeping up and down the entire length of your back, soothing overworked muscles and loosening all the little knots of tension. With just a slight shift of your body, the warm stream glides easily over the muscles on either side of your spine.

The Soothing Seven jets are unique as well.  Each jet's seven outlets broadcast a large volume of water. Positioned side by side, these hot tub jets provide gentle treatment to your shoulders and upper back. A Hot Spring spa exclusive.

These are just two of the nine different jet systems you'll find in a Hot Spring Spa.  They provide excellent hydrotherapy.  And they do it quietly and in an energy efficient manner.  It's all about engineering and design.

Silk Balance spa water care system

     Soft, silky, sparkling, clean water.  Silk Balance, a water care system for spas that leaves your skin silky smooth, soft, and moisturized.  It's like a  spa salon skin treatment every time you use your personal backyard spa!  This is real luxury!  You'll feel like a million bucks!!!    

     This product is the real deal.  Finally, a water care system for spas that is simple.  Really!!  Simple!! No testing.  No balancing. Just put the products in and your done.  It's used with spa chlorine, monpersulfate (non-chlorine shock), and a silver ion mineral purifier (Nature II).  It will work with any spa but it's best with a spa that features a constant circulation pump and a 24-hour ozonator. This product was made for a Hot Spring Spa that uses a Silent Flo Circ pump and constantly injects ozone.

     I know many struggle with dry skin in Colorado, especially in the winter.  Some may even use their spa less.....or not at all.  And that's a shame.  Hot water therapy is a wonderful thing and for anyone who has been forced to limit his or her time in a spa, Silk may be the answer.  We've been selling Silk for over 18 months and have overwhelmingly positive customer feedback.  I can recommend it with complete confidence.  There's a 30 day guarantee.  If your not satisfied with the product, return it and we'll replace it with conventional chemical products of your choice.  Try it, you'll love it!!  
   

Fun Friends & Family

Of all the things you can do outside, in your own backyard, in Colorado, nothing can have a more positive effect on your life than a Hot Tub. Everyone who has ever soaked in a spa knows how fantastic it feels. The aches and pains of daily life, the stress from all of life's demands, they all seemed to melt away in a hot tub . So I've started this blog to help my friends and customers with the adventure of spa ownership.

While owning the right spa is a wonderful thing, finding the right spa can be a confusing process. There are so many choices, so many decisions, it can be overwhelming. But it doesn't need to be. I'm going to talk about one specific issue in each of my posts. And in the spirit of first things first, why do you want to own a hot tub? Understanding your own spa dream, the reasons you want to own a spa, that's the first step.

Your Spa Vision "Where should I put it?"

     When you fantasize about the luxury of a personal spa in your own back yard, what do you see?  Do you see scenes from that new movie, Hot Tub Time Machine? For some, perhaps. Maybe you see family time, with the kids or grandkids. How about quiet time, early, early morning. Just before sunrise. You're in the tub listening to the birds begin their morning melodies, sipping a cup of your favorite brew. I could go on and on.....the reasons you want a spa are personal and unique. But understanding those reasons enable you to begin deciding, how big, where, what features and so forth.

    

    One thing many prospective spa owners struggle with is choosing to install the spa outdoors rather than indoors.  Concerns for privacy and weather conditions often lead  one toward an indoor installation.  It's easy to assume you'll use your spa more inside than you would out.  But exactly the opposite is true for most people, especially in Colorado.   The dry weather and air make an outside installation a wonderful experience.  The beautiful night sky, the sunsets and sunrises make your hot tub experience visual and well as tactile.

     There are some things you can do to make an outdoor installation work best.  First, the closer to the door the better.  Taking just a few steps from the door to the spa makes it easy and comfortable to use your spa.  Longer distances from the door to the spa can make it more chilling than warming.  Also, a cover lifter makes removing and replacing the cover simple and easy.  Of course your landscaping and garden beds, patio furniture and grill equipment,  make everything come together to create  your vision, your backyard paradise.