Wintertime Hottubbing Tips

Over the life of our HotTubs101 blog, we've written many posts offering tips and suggestions for hot-tubbing in the wintertime! We've compiled the tips here so you don't have to go searching high and low all over the site!

1. Should I winterize my hot tub and "Close up shop" for the cold season!? Read "To Winterize or Not to Winterize" here
2. How do I prepare for the cold weather this season? "Preparing for the cold" 
3. What should I be doing once the cold weather hits!? "Winter Time Hot-Tubbing Tips"
4. Cover tips for the winter
5. What to do if your spa stops heating
   
6. And lastly, ENJOY your hot tub this winter! Winter is our favorite time to get in the hot tub! There's nothing like coming home from a hard day at work, pouring yourself a glass of wine (or hot chocolate!), running quickly through the cold and into your spa to relax and warm up while the air around you is frigid and snow falls lightly to the ground! Ah... bliss!

Hot tub image courtesy of Hot Spring Spas Installation Ideas!

What to do when your hot tub stops heating

PANIC!

No.. just kidding. You don't need to panic. In the rare case that your Hot Spring, Caldera or Sundance spa DOES stop heating, know you're in good hands. First of all those 3 brands have the BEST warranties in the industry, and even if your hot tub is out of warranty, our service department has highly trained service technicians who can take care of your spa quickly and efficiently!

In the cold season, you do need to remember a few things if your hot tub stops heating:

1. Don't panic :)
2. Contact our service department if you're a Spring Dance Hot Tub's customer OR contact the service center where you purchased your spa if you're outside of our area
3. Do not under any circumstance drain your hot tub! Especially when the temperature drops below freezing, you could be doing MORE damage to your spa if it's empty and the plumbing lines are still filled with water. And freeze damage is not covered under ANY warranty!

After the jump, read some suggestions for hot tub heater fixes!

DID YOU KNOW: Cover straps

Did you know that the most common complaint we hear from our customers about hot tub covers is that one or more of the straps & buckles from the 4 hot tub corners have broken?

9 times out of 10, this is preventable! Usually where we see broken straps & buckles is at the BACK of the hot tub, where the cover rests when the hot tub is in use.  Do you know that handy-dandy cover lifter you have installed to help you lift your cover off your spa? Well, it's usually VERY helpful (especially for weaklings like ME who can barely lift off even the smallest hot tub cover!) except that- you must remember to unbuckle your cover straps in the BACK of your hot tub! If you forget, the lifter does it's job and lifts your cover smoothly & easily but will tear out the cover strap at the back because of the force.

So just a tip from us to you- unbuckle those back straps and you won't have any hot tub cover strap and buckle issues!

Want to learn more about caring for your hot tub cover? Check out the archives here

Funtimes at a hot tub store

One of the best things about working at Spring Dance Hot Tubs is that we get to laugh a lot. Whether it's because of a mistake someone made, something funny our general manager says over the intercom when there aren't any customers in the store or a new picture posted on our "wall of funny pictures" in the back office, there's always room for laughs!

I just had a "laugh out loud" moment in my office after reading a recent e-mail. Lately we've been getting a lot of scam e-mails from people in foreign countries asking how much a hot tub would cost to ship to a place like Nicaragua. Usually I ignore them because it's an obvious scam, but sometimes it's not so obvious. Or sometimes I haven't laughed in awhile, so I play along

Yesterday we got a request for a quote on Cantabria model hot tub. My first clue that it was a scam was that it was signed:

Best regards,
Egidijus Grigas

#1 Someone needs to clue the foreign scammers in that NO ONE says "Best regards" in the US, but I decided to respond to this e-mail just in case it happened to be someone living locally. Writing a 2 sentence e-mail only wasted 30 seconds of my time!

I asked Egidijus where he lived so I could forward the request on to a sales rep in a store closest to him.

This morning I read this response:

HI,

I‘m understand, but I‘m interesting how much it cost in your country.

And if price will be lawer, maybe I move to your country.

Oh really Egidijus? You'd move to the United States because you can get a "lawer" price hot tub here!?

Thanks for the LOLs today!!! [And I won't be responding to him, obviously :) ]

It's Fall! Time to clean that Hot Tub!

We think the best part about the chilly season ahead is relaxing in a warm hot tub while the air around you is brisk and cool (although, I'll admit, I like it more than warm- 102-104 degrees is best for me!) On the other hand, the worst part about the chilly season is cleaning your spa in the cold!

Why not do a thorough hot tub cleaning NOW so that you can enjoy the cold season without worrying about going out into 10 degree weather and scrubbing down your hot tub shell (because let's face it- you're not going to do that. So you'll probably just end up avoiding your hot tub all winter long- NO FUN!)

Last fall we introduced this Fall Hot Tub checklist. We've updated it a bit with some new tips:

• Drain your hot tub water and before you do, run a Spa Purge through the water to get rid of any build up.
  
• Clean or replace your filters
• Clean & scrub down your hot tub shell
• Clean your hot tub pillows
• Clean your Spa Cover and condition it with our 303 vinyl protectant product!
• Check to make sure your all 4 cover locks aren't brittle or broken. If they are, it might be a good time to replace them! Or take our Cover Check-Up test to see if it's time for a new cover.
  

If you know you aren't going to use your hot tub during the chilly months, you may want to consider winterizing your spa. Having this done professionally by our service department will ensure your spa won't freeze when the weather dips below 32 degrees.

Download our Hot Tub Housekeeping Instructions document for more detailed Fall cleaning instructions!

You may be the type of person who wants NOTHING to do with draining & cleaning a hot tub. If so, you're in luck! We've partnered with David Decker (a former employee) to offer our customers a great deal on "Drain & Cleans" for your hot tub. If you have David come out to your home, he will:

• Completely drain the hot tub water
  
• Clean & sanitize the entire hot tub shell
  
• Clean and treat the cabinet
• Clean and condition the spa cover
• Refill the spa
• Start up & balance the chemicals

Plus, David will pick up and deliver any chemicals or filters you need at no extra cost! Make sure to mention you are a Spring Dance customer when you call him to get a quote for your spa!

Phone #: 267-421-4371
OR
E-mail him at: DeckerCleaning@gmail.com

Let David do the work to get your hot tub
in top condition for the chilly months ahead!

Fall artwork Source

Warm Up in Your Hot Tub on Chilly Nights

Our General Manager, Jeff, was interviewed for an article on PoolLifeMagazine about ways to increase the enjoyability of your hot tub in the upcoming chilly months! He was quoted as saying:

“People are tying their hot tubs in with their backyard sanctuaries,” says Jeff Bailey, Vice President of Spring Dance Hot Tubs. He suggests spicing up the scene by adding lighting or water features to the mix.

The article has some GREAT tips for chilly hot-tubbing nights!

Smell: Try Aromatherapy like Being scents for your hot tub. Just pour in a capful & relax while smelling the soothing scent of green tea, lavender, lemon cypress & basil and so many more! (Try my favorite Release- Chamomile & Clarky Sage!)

Sight: Add a few candles around your hot tub for a romantic ambiance!

Sound: Most likely, if you have a tub from Spring Dance, you have a water feature in your spa. Try turning off the jets but keeping your waterfall on. Lay back, enjoy the smell of your aromatherapy & the glow of the candles around your spas- Ahhh! Bliss! (and if you don't have a hot tub with a water feature, why not shop our virtual showroom to see what is available!)

If you have a stereo in your hot tub or an ipod hook-up, pop in your favorite tunes! By the way, what is your favorite type of music to listen to in your hot tub? Share it with us in the comments!

Touch: Nothing is worse than touching a dirty hot tub or dirty feeling hot-tub water! Make sure to keep your hot tub clean so you can enjoy the chilly fall nights. Read all about hot tub cleaning care here! And why not try our new product, Silk Balance, that our customers are RAVING about because it clears up your water while providing a silky, clean touch!

Taste: Our favorite! The article on PoolLifeMagazine has a great recipe for a Strawberry Sensation Smoothie that you can enjoy in your hot tub on those chilly nights! Read the entire article here for the recipe plus many more chilly night hot-tubbing tips! What is your favorite thing to drink while you're relaxing in your hot tub?

And just for YOU, our blog readers, enjoy a 10% discount through the end of the September in our online store! Maybe you can try out a few Being scents!
Use the promotional code: BEING10

Start Shopping now!

Silk Balance- further instructions

We introduced Silk Balance a few weeks ago through our blog, on our website and via e-mail to our customer base (psst- are you on our email list? No!? Why not!? Join it here) and so far it's been flying off our shelves!

Have you tried it? What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

We've updated our instructions & changed them slightly- you can find them here. (Just a note- these instructions are for hot tubs with circulation pumps only! If your tub does not have a circulation pump or you are unsure if it does, please contact us for different instructions!)

Since you use the same amount of the Silk Balance product weekly (4 oz), we figure you'll need a new bottle every 15 weeks or so. By signing up with our Auto-Ship program, we'll send you a new bottle every 15 weeks with free shipping! Sign up here

Our General Manager, Jeff, recently took a bottle of Silk Balance home to try it out in his spa- he had a problem with "gunk" still in his spa from the old chemicals he used- his pipes seemed to be clogged with it, even after a purge with Natural Chemistry's Spa Purge. He suggests a DOUBLE purge before you start Silk Balance and here is what he did:

To purge the spa you need to use Borax (available at any grocery store in the Laundry Detergent Isle)

1. Remove the filters from the Spa
2. Poor the entire Box of Borax in the water
3. Run the jets for one hour (In the combo position)
4. Let it sit over night and then run again for 15 Minutes and then Drain
5. Clean out all the debris in the spa.
6. Refill the spa, run the jets in the combo position for 30 min. and the Drain the Spa again
7. Refill the spa and you have completed the purging process.
   
   If you do not fill the spa and drain it a second time the silk balance system may not work properly

So....? How are you liking it!? What questions do you have for us? Leave us comments and questions below!

A buy your first bottle of Silk Balance here