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Smart Buyers Guide Hot Tubs & Spas 7 Essential Questions to help you find the best Value ‌. & Avoid You Being left High and Dry!
www.superiorhottubs.co.uk
The 7 Essential Questions You MUST Ask BEFORE you Part with your Money How To Get the Luxury You Deserve and Avoid Unwittingly Buying an Expensive Headache
Smart Buyers Guide Hot Tubs & Spas
We have written this guide for smart buyers who want to make sure they know all the essentials before they buy a hot tub. With floods of less than reliable tubs on the market, it’s more important than ever to know what you are getting for your money so you can make the best decision for your home and lifestyle.
Having your own spa at home really can enhance the quality of your life! Anyone who has leisurely soaked in a hot tub knows the warm, soothing water promotes stress relief and relaxation. Stress relief like this leads directly to a healthier lifestyle.
Why?
The warm water of a spa buoys you up, making you feel weightless, and the tub sustains the warm temperature, unlike a hot bath that can grow cold before you're fully relaxed. A warm bath helps you begin to relax after a long day, but a hot tub expands the experience and aids deeper relaxation. It’s not just about health, it’s about fun, friends and family too. And there’s no better way to enjoy your garden all year round.
Carolyn Hall – Partner and Your Main Contact at the Office Available for friendly and impartial advice on matters hot tub related
01242 279 484
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1. Where is the Hot Tub Made?
Seems like a strange question right. So, why is it so important to know where your new tub has been made? If you want a reliable tub with good quality parts, then we recommend you buy a tub that has been made in Europe or the USA to high engineering standards and using high quality components.
…..The price difference might seem attractive but your repair bills won’t be! Because of the popularity of home spas over the last few years there has been a bit of a race to discount prices and sell hot tubs over the internet so it’s never been more important to know exactly what you are buying. All Hot Tubs are NOT created equal. The outward appearance of a tub is easy to copy; good engineering isn’t! Being able to buy cheap tubs online has meant that more people are able to take advantage of having a spa at home, but it’s also meant that many owners have bought spas that haven’t proved to be as robust as they’d hoped.
USA and European Manufacturers have strict safety and hygiene standards, plus a ready supply of parts and spares just in case anything gets broken or damaged.
It pays to shop around, but you can get still great value from a retailer where you can see and sit in the hot tubs before you buy. Oh, and you would be well advised to always check the origin of equipment and whether it complies with European legislation (otherwise called CE Conformity), and you should always be able to see the product before you buy. This is essential because a poorly made control system that comes with some value tubs can end up costing a fortune to repair - or even replace! A good control system is simple to use and will last for many years. And it’s much more than just the touch pad that you can see from the outside of the tub.
The control system is the brain of your hot tub. It contains a circuit board and most of the time, the heater too. So make sure you do some research and that your retailer doesn’t brush over the details! A good quality control system from an industry leading company adds very little to the cost of the tub, but makes all the difference when it comes to reliability. The best control systems come from the USA or Australia and are engineered to the highest quality standards. At Superior Spa Services we are often called out to troublesome budget tubs which have been known to break down within a few weeks of delivery - and it’s often the control system that goes first.
3. Are the Pumps Tested and Engineered Properly? You can choose from single speed or dual speed pumps. The quality of the pumps has an impact on the amount of electricity your tub uses too. Some of the higher quality brands of hot tub have filtration pumps that reduce electricity consumption. For example the Wellis range has a filtration pump that uses half of the electricity of most other spas. That saves you money and reduces the environmental impact of your tub too.
4. How is the Hot Tub Insulated? Firstly, is there any insulation? Some manufacturers of budget tubs cut costs by skimping on the parts you don’t see – in fact some don’t even include a base! So the bottom of the tub is open to the elements – you are literally paying to heat the air outside. It is very important to have a solid base. A high quality abs moulded base provides good insulation as well as strength and will not deteriorate.
Effective insulation is extremely important in order to reduce running costs to a minimum. There are two main forms of insulation:
Fully Foamed: Many spa manufacturers still use discredited spray foam insulation. This does provide insulation, but heat is gradually transferred to the outer edges of the spa cabinet where it is then released into the outside air. Foam degenerates over time and eventually breaks down, giving no insulation at all.
Barrier Insulation: Barrier insulation should cover the cabinet walls and the base to provide maximum efficiency. It prevents cold air from entering the cabinet to cool down the water which is in the pipework and stops heat energy from escaping through the exterior of the cabinet and base. This heat reflective insulation also reflects the waste heat created by the pump motors back into the plumbing equipment. This “free� heat energy is reflected back into the plumbing to be pumped back with the water into your spa. you would be well advised to always check the origin of equipment and whether it complies with European legislation (otherwise called CE Conformity), and you should always be able to see the product before you buy.
6. What does the Guarantee Cover? Be sure that the supplier you choose to buy your hot tub from provides a good solid warranty. You are making an investment when you buy a tub and you want to be sure that you have a qualified engineer available on hand to help you if you need it. A good engineer will be able to advise you on electrics, siting your tub, having adequate foundations and more. They should be there for you before, during and after you take delivery of your new tub and be happy to advise you on things like water quality, routine maintenance and helping you if you need to drain down your tub for any reason. That’s why it’s so important to buy a good quality product from a reputable retailer who can help you through the entire buying process and who can give you the security of a comprehensive on-site warranty.
7. What Conditions can a Hot Tub Help? Relax Away High Blood Pressure A spa can help increase blood flow and actually lower blood pressure. Relaxing in hot water makes the heart beat faster and moves the blood more rapidly. Initially, this creates higher blood pressure. However after a few minutes, blood vessels dilate, the newly warmed blood spreads throughout the body and blood pressure drops. This helps create a wide variety of health benefits, from relaxing the muscles and increased circulation, to a deeper, more relaxed sleep. However, if you have high blood pressure or any other medical condition, please consult your doctor before using a hot tub.
Hot Tubs Promote Healing In addition to helping your body relax and de-stress, hot tubs help promote healing throughout the body. Adding the jets to warm water therapy can increase relaxation and speed healing in sore muscles. The heat of the water and the pressure of the jets promote healing inside and out. There is also evidence that the jets can raise antibody levels and white blood cells in injured areas, which helps them heal faster by destroying injured cells and stimulating the formation of new, healthy tissue. That’s why athletes soak in a hot tub after a match or sports. The warm water helps them relax, but more than that it will help speed up their healing so they can play another day.
Hot Tubs Help Diabetes It is estimated that there are 4.9 million people in the UK living with diabetes. Hot tubs help promote diabetes relief, including helping increase the benefits of exercise for Type 2 Diabetes, which is the most common type of diabetes in the UK today. The warm water and increased circulation spas provide helps simulate the benefits of exercise. This can help diabetics control and manage their disease more effectively. One recent study followed diabetes patients who sat in a spa six days a week for 30 minutes each day. After three weeks the patients had reduced their blood sugar levels by 13% - just by sitting in a hot tub.
Hot Tubs and Circulation
If you suffer from circulatory problems, the increased blood flow spas encourage can help the patient with poor circulation. Exercise in the spa is also much easier than regular exercise, and even a minor workout helps promote better circulation and blood flow throughout the body.
Hot Tubs Relieve Arthritis Pain
The Arthritis Foundation is so sold on the benefits of hot tubs for arthritis pain they recommend daily use of a spa to ease pain and increase range of motion and flexibility. The hot water helps increase circulation, but the buoyancy of the water in the tub also temporarily relieves joint strain and friction. So, when you sit in a hot tub and feel your pain subside, it’s not your imagination. The jets can promote healing of damaged muscle tissue too. Hot tubs keep the water temperature constant, which allows continued pain relief.
Hot Tubs Ease Back Pain
Regular spa use can help ease back pain. The warm water soothes away tenderness and stiffness by loosening muscles and dulling pain, while warmer blood coursing through the body relaxes muscles and lessens aches in the body. Anyone who suffers from back pain knows how debilitating it can be, but regular use of a hot tub can reduce stress, which can also help create tension in the neck and spine and lead to more pain. Powerful jets massage deep into the muscle tissue to relieve tension and increase endorphin levels. These are the chemicals which the body releases to make you feel good, which is very effective in managing chronic pain.
Two European studies indicate back pain is consistently improved after using a hot tub. One study measured results in a group of sufferers who used a hot tub for three weeks, and another group who only used medication for their back pain. After three weeks, the group who used consistent hot water therapy in the hot tubs had less pain and pain intensity along with more back flexibility. The study continued for six months, and participants continued to show significant improvement. They also used fewer pain killers.
Test Jets Before You Buy
What jets are right for easing your pain? There’s only one way to truly find out if a hot tub and its jets are right for your particular needs. Sit in it! Sitting in the tub in the showroom ensures the jets are placed correctly for your needs. In addition, testing a hot tub before you buy lets you know if the seating is comfortable, if the lounge fits, and the controls are easy to reach and use while you’re in your tub. Reaching, stretching, and pulling may harm your already aching body, so test all these little details before you purchase the tub that’s right for you.