THREE UNDERRATED WAYS HOT TUBS CAN BRING YOUR FAMILY CLOSER TOGETHER

With technology today and the ever constant demand on everyone’s time, it’s no wonder there are articles posted daily on the detriments of distracted parenting, distracted ‘spousing’ as I will call it, or just over-whelming yourself to the point of putting your own health and mental well-being in jeopardy…

I see more and more articles on how to set boundaries for yourself, disconnect from technology, and schedule in ‘white space’, in an effort to allow for everyone to simply take a breath and enjoy what is going on in the present.

There are a variety of lists and solutions offered from technology free dinners to date nights and family game nights.

I have another recommendation that isn’t often thought of, but provides a solution to spending quality time as a family, as a couple, or even just for yourself – a hot tub!

I know you're most likely rolling your eyes at this suggestion, but from personal experience, I can vouch for the quality time a hot tub can provide.

Starting with simply putting down the technology—the hot tub solves this one immediately given that water and smart phones simply don’t coexist well.

From the moment you dip your toe in the water, technology disappears immediately.

I have personally experienced what no distractions can get you from your spouse or kids, ages ranging from 4 – 18, and the amount of connection that can be made in a 30-minute soak is amazing.

How a Hot Tub Helped Us Hear More From Our Teenager in 30 Minutes than in the Past 30 Days

Starting with teenagers, since that seems to be the hot topic with connecting, I have 2 step-children, 1 boy, and 1 girl.

We had a hot tub when they were in the pre-teen years and through their teenage years, and I can honestly say the information my husband and I got during 30 minutes of hot tub time was more than we previously heard in an entire month of trying to find out how life was going.

We didn’t even have to ask the dreaded question of ‘How was your day?’ – simply being in the hot tub with them and allowing them a ‘safe space’ to talk was all that was needed.

We rarely asked questions, just simply listened, and each subsequent visit to the hot tub gleaned more information about what was troubling them, how school was going, what their views on things were, and what type of person they were becoming.

An added bonus – we became the ‘go-to house’ during the winter months, and when you get a group of teenagers together, they are just as chatty as toddlers – with a wealth of insight into what they were dealing with, which helped us get a handle on what topics we really needed to make sure we talked to our kids about.

Eliminating Distractions to Connect With Your Younger Kids

My husband and I also have younger kids together – 2 girls age 4 & 7. We all know that getting kids to talk at this age is not a problem, but I have found hot tub time offers a very different experience. (Please note that my husband and I are aware of safety concerns with younger kids and hot water and therefore we do not let them in a hot tub with water above 98 degrees and never for longer than 20 minutes at a time.)

Our girls see the hot tub as a time when they know they have our undivided attention, and therefore, they put on a show for us! Dancing to the music, singing, and just simply being kids, with no inhibition whatsoever. They do all of these things in the house as well, but I will admit, they don’t always get 100% of my attention in the house with competing factors like laundry and dishes, but in the hot tub, none of that exists and my husband and I can simply enjoy their playfulness.

How a Simple Soak can Help Rekindle The Flame With Your Spouse

Finding time to connect with your spouse is, I’m sure, on a list of things to ‘do better’, but things always seem to take priority. This past winter, my husband and I made it a point to get in the hot tub every night, just the two of us – generally after the kids were in bed. We can definitely be the married couple that simply coexists in a space, and I will admit, allow screen time to monopolize most downtime when it is just the two of us.

What happened this past winter though was very different. I found us talking to each other, undistracted by bells and dings, or tv shows, for a solid 30 minutes or more each night. We got back to the conversations you have prior to having kids – goals, dreams, plans for the future, etc….all the things you talk about and ponder as a young 20-something, but once you have kids, get put on the back-burner.

It was enlightening to hear how my husband’s goals and plans for his career or what he wants to do as the kids get older, had changed since we got married and actually had the kids. And it was refreshing to actually think about those things myself, instead of the normal routine of keeping up with kid’s schedules, Dr. appts., lunches, homework, etc.

Can a Hot Tub Really Help Your Family Connect?

I’m not proposing a hot tub is the solution for everyone, but it is definitely an option worth considering.

While technology free dinners sound great in theory, and we can all strive to achieve those, with after school activities and competing schedules, having a technology free hot tub gathering with your family or spouse every night before bedtime, might be more attainable, and may not get the eye rolls the dinner table always seems to get!

Plus, added bonus – no dishes!

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HOW TO MAINTAIN A FLAWLESS HOT TUB IN LESS THAN 10 MINUTES EACH MONTH

One of the most frequent questions that comes up around the purchase of a hot tub is ‘How much time is it going to take to maintain?’, or ‘How much am I going to spend on maintenance?’.

To be honest with you, as a busy mom of two that works full time, if I honestly look at a hot tub purchase, not from the stance of someone that works in the industry, I would totally be one of those people…

Who has the time to add even 1 more thing into their day to check on, take care of, keep up with?

However, since I am in the industry, I understand the benefits that come along with hot tub ownership, so I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about it from the other side, and really understanding this primary concern.

I want to address this concern with all the busy mom’s and dad’s, homeowners, workaholics, grandparents and health aficionados and discuss the reality of hot tub maintenance.

Can you really get by with just 1 hour of upkeep?

I can tell you, we have owned our newest hot tub for about 9 months now, and between myself and my husband, we have probably spent a combined total of 1 hour of time on the maintenance of our hot tub, and approximately $55 in chemicals in addition to what was provided with the actual hot tub purchase (our tub came with a fairly substantial set of ‘opening chemicals’ that was a part of the purchased kit).

The time spent was primarily my husband cleaning out the filter—he has done this 3 times in total now, basically once a quarter. This process requires nothing more than a hose and a high-pressure nozzle attached to the hose…you simply hose the dirt and dust off until the filter is white again.

Some people like to be uber clean and will perform a more extensive cleaning of their hot tub filter. They will purchase a secondary filter to use as a backup and will rotate the two filters to allow for more in depth cleaning. They will take the used filter out and will acid wash it (basically soaking in a muriatic acid/water rinse), and will use their backup filter while acid washing the first one.

If you are a person that enjoys that feeling of knowing you have gotten things as clean as possible, this may be the route for you, but in all actuality, it isn’t vital. If you choose this route, you will have the expense of approximately $50 - $100 for the backup filter (depending on your hot tub model), and the cost of the muriatic acid, which costs about $7.50 / gallon.

How much should you expect to pay for chemical costs?

As far as the chemical cost – most of this went to replacement Frog Bromine cartridges. We have found that if we change the Frog cartridge every 3-4 weeks on the dot, our water stays crystal clear. Note that our hot tub is equipped with ozone that runs 24 hours a day, which does most of the water sanitation.

Our start-up kit that was included with our purchase included 3 of these cartridges – we have purchased an additional 3 cartridges at $15/each. This only accounts for 6 months of use with the math I provided, so to clarify, we don’t use the tub much in the summer as it is our busiest time at work, and the kids prefer to get in the pool vs. the hot tub, so we haven’t changed the cartridge since May – I looked and the water is still crystal clear, going 3 months without spending a dime. Keep in mind, there was NO USE of the hot tub during this time period though!!

The other $10 in chemical cost was for the second bottle of defoamer. With our kids’ bathing suits being washed frequently, they tend to cause some bubbles in the hot tub, so we went through the provided bottle of defoamer in the first 4 months, and are working our way through the second bottle now.

The bottom-line for everyday hot tub maintenance

In taking an honest look at the time and cost of maintenance for our hot tub, I can say for us it hasn’t been a huge money pit or time sucker…purchasing a hot tub with a primary sanitizer of ozone is probably vital to our success with low maintenance cost/time spent.

One caveat I would say from the ‘industry’ perspective is that our hot tub sits under a covered patio that gets little to no direct sunlight, so we haven’t had to spend any time or money on maintenance for the cover, which at this point would simply be applying a protective product to it to keep it from fading.

If your hot tub were going to be sitting in the direct sunlight, I would recommend a protective sealer for your cover be applied at the beginning of spring and again at the beginning of fall – this would take about 15 minutes to do max.

Also, going into the spring season in Oklahoma, I would have a sheet of plywood on hand to cover up the hot tub cover during hail storms…That $25 plywood investment could wind up saving you a cost of a new cover at $400!

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