Is a Hot Tub Worth it?

Deciding to get a hot tub is a major investment both in terms of the amount of time you will spend choosing it,  it installing it and maintaining it and particularly in terms of finances. So, you might be wondering whether or not a hot tub really is worth it.  Will the benefits that a hot tub brings be worth all of the time trouble and expense? Could it be that you will buy a hot tub and quickly get tired of it and regret your purchase or will it be one of the best decisions that you’ll ever make? To a certain extent, only you can answer these questions and also, time will tell as to whether a hot tub is really a worthwhile investment for you. However this post will point you in the right direction, give you some things to think about and also make the decision about whether a hot tub is worth it for you a little easier.

So is a hot tub worth it?  A hot tub is definitely worth it if you are going to use it on a regular basis.  It really needs to become part of your lifestyle and you could very well find that you would quickly find it hard to imagine life without it.  On the other hand. you might find that the maintenance or running costs of the hot tub are just too much or that you just simply don’t use it all that often.  In which case it becomes a very expensive luxury and you would be better off spending your money going on the occasional Hotel Spa day instead.

What are the benefits of a hot tub?

There are a huge number of benefits to owning a hot tub and some of them will be more important to some people and than others depending upon your particular situation.  I have written a detailed blog post on the benefits of owning a hot tub here but here is a quick summary:

Hot tubs aid relaxation –  The obvious, massive benefit of owning a hot tub is it’s ability to help you relax and unwind.  In fact, there are few more relaxing places than being cocooned in warm water with the jets of your hot tub gently massaging your muscles, a lovely view and possibly a glass of your favorite drink in your hand as well.  For many people a daily soak in the hot tub becomes the highlight of the day. Coming in from a hard day at work and dipping in the hot tub is the perfect way to start the evening and have some high-quality personal time away from screens, computers and phones and is highly beneficial for anyone.

Soothing sore muscles – Apart from just being generally relaxing, most hot tubs have hydrotherapy jets that can help massage and soothe sore and aching muscles.  If you have just come in from a workout then a hydrotherapy hot tub is the perfect way to relax and revitalize your tired body. Similarly, if you suffer from backache or neck tension then again a hot tub can really help to relax your muscles and to ease your pain.

Quality time with family and friends – You will probably find that your hot tub will become a bit of a magnet for family and friends to spend time in and relax together.  There are very few situations these days where people sit together and chat without the distractions of modern technology or the business of modern life getting in the way.  A hot tub is the perfect relaxing environment for bonding with loved ones in a natural and fun way. You may also find that friends and family become increasingly keen to come round and to use your hot tub and if you have children you may find that they use the hot tub with their friends as well.

Using a hot tub is good for arthritis – Arthritis can be an extremely painful condition and there is some significant evidence that suggests that using a hot tub on a regular basis can ease the symptoms of arthritis.  There doesn’t seem to be any suggestion that it will improve arthritis in the long term but it can certainly relieve the symptoms on a regular basis.

Hot tubs are good for weightloss – Ok, so it might be quite difficult to see how relaxing and lounging around in the big bath of warm water will help you lose weight but there are a number of ways that regular hot tubbing can actually help.  Firstly, when you are in warm water, your heart rate will be slightly increased which will burn more calories. This isn’t a huge amount but every little helps! Also, if you exercise in a hot tub, it can be both extremely pleasant because the water supports you and helps with buoyancy and it also provides extra resistance which means that you burn more calories per movement. 

However, one of the best ways to use a hot tub to lose weight is to have a hot tub session before your main meal of the day.  When you come out of the hot tub your appetite will be somewhat suppressed, you will still want to eat your meal but you will be much less tempted to over eat and over indulge.  We have also looked at how hot tubs can extremely stress reducing and, as this leads to a reduction of the amount of cortisol in your body this can also help to cut back on sugary and fatty food cravings as well.

Helps sleep –  Many people like to end the day with a hot tub session and find that the relaxation, warmth and peace and tranquility is the perfect way to wind down ready for a good night’s sleep.  Sleep is of vital importance and in today’s busy environment it’s all too easy to cut down on sleep or to find that once you get into bed you can’t actually get to sleep.

What are the drawbacks of owning a hot tub? 

We have looked at a few of the very many benefits of owning a hot tub, now let’s have a look at one or two of the drawbacks as well.

Cost – There’s no two ways about it, a hot tub is an expensive luxury.  A reasonable hot tub will set you back roundabout $10,000 and you will obviously also need to factor in the expense of running it as well. Many good quality modern hot tubs can be run for as little as $10 of electricity a week but if you have an older or a cheaper model it could be considerably more than this. You also need to factor in the cost of regularly buying chemicals or running whatever sanitization system you decide to use.  Hot tubs are generally quite reliable but when they do go wrong they can be expensive to fix. Bear in mind also that once you have installed your hot tub it can be almost prohibitively expensive and awkward to move it if you decide to move house. 

Regular maintenance –  Many people are put off having a hot tub by the fact that it will need regular maintenance.  Many more modern hot tubs require less maintenance as the technology improves but realisticly you will need to spend a little bit of time every day or so checking your water chemistry and cleaning the hot tub.  Most hot tubs also require a complete drain, clean and refill every three to 4 months.

Noise – Whilst hot tubs are not massively noisy, one of the biggest complaints about them is that the regular and continuous noise that they can make is disturbing for neighbors.  If you have a hot tub near your house or only have a small garden you might find that you have a noise problem with it. There are of course ways to limit the amount of noise your hot tub makes but it is a consideration.

Potential risks of infection –  Some people worry a lot about the potential risks of infection in hot tubs.  It is true that the warm, moist conditions of the average hot tub are the ideal breeding ground for all sorts of unpleasant bacteria however, if you are meticulous in your maintenance and sanitization there is no reason why why you should be in any particular risk of infection in your hot tub.

Amount of space taken up –  A reasonable sized hot tub will take up quite a lot of space and if you have a smallish garden it might be quite a compromise fitting one in.  Bear in mind also that it will need a proper base to take the weight of the hot tub and you will probably want some sort of landscaping around the hot tub as well.

Environmental impact –   It has to be said that traditionally, the manufacturing process of hot tubs hasn’t been particularly environmentally friendly.  They are also known to use a lot of water and of course traditionally use fairly unpleasant and environmentally unfriendly chemicals.  However, times are changing and hot tub manufacturers are becoming much more tuned in to producing hot tubs with the minimum amount of environmental impact and also hot tubs that can be recycled after use.  It is also possible to run a hot tub using a minimal amount of harsh chemicals. This does take a little time and effort sometimes but as technology improves this is becoming simpler and more effective. 

 Is a hot tub worth it for me? 

So, we have looked at the benefits and also the drawbacks of owning a hot tub.  How do you possibly decide if it’s the right thing for you to do? First of all let’s have a think about some rather interesting maths.

Go to your local spa –  How much does it actually cost for you to go for maybe a half-day to your local thermal spa?  It’s probably not a huge amount and of course it’s convenient in that you don’t have to worry about whether the water is clean or not and it’s a luxurious and relaxing experience.  Now let’s have a think about the cost of ownership of a hot tub. This is only a very rough example of course but say your hot tub costs $10,000 and it lasts 10 years. That’s obviously $1,000 per year to own your hot tub.  Now, if you are going to spend that amount of money there’s no point in only having it on every so often so let’s assume that it is on all the time and uses $10 of electricity per week so that’s an extra $500 per year.  So in total, not allowing for chemicals or repairs or breakdowns, your hot tub is going to cost you roughly $1,500 per year over 10 years.

How many visits to your local spa hotel can you make in a year for @1500?

That is the big question because if you can satisfy your need to hot tub by going to your local spa for anything less than $1500 then you seriously have to question whether it’s worth getting your own hot tub. 

If you are going to hot tub on a weekly basis or a fortnightly basis then actually it’s probably not worth getting your own hot tub.  However, if you know that you are going to use your hot tub three or more times a week then it probably is worth it assuming that you will continue doing that for the next 10 years.

What if you like the idea of having a hot tub but you aren’t sure you will use it on a regular basis?  Well, in that case, my advice would be to get in the hot tub in your local spa as often as possible to make sure that you really do enjoy it on a regular basis.  Then, if you do decide that it’s something you want to do regularly, if you are still in doubt, I would actually recommend getting an inflatable hot tub for a season or so to see how it goes.  They are ridiculously inexpensive for what they are and, and even though they are nowhere near as good as a hard shell hot tub, they will give you a flavor and a good indicator of whether or not hot tubbing is something that you want to do regularly on a long-term basis before you take the plunge and invest in a full hard shell hot tub.