My friend asked me if he should buy a $5000 hot tub

[dycker1978]

But it's a dry cold.  ;-)  As in "It's not the heat (cold), it's the humidity.

Seriously, my Mom grew up on the prairies, and she froze when she moved to Toronto.

A hot tub is nice in winter, when you have just spent an hour shoveling snow from the side of the house to keep the furnace vents open (BTDT).  But there are other ways to warm up.

-40 to -50 is a reality here at least 3 weeks to a month every year.  We do not stop working, and just go about as normal (I even ride my bike the 10 each way to work). 

I had a co-worker that I hired when I was at the hotub place that was from the Toronto area.  He said that the dry cold thing is crap... -40 with a 60 mile an hour wind is much colder then -10 in Toronto...

[Hunny156]

We have a jetted tub in our home.  Pretty useless, but we went with it for resale value.  My cats spend time napping in it, so I guess it serves SOME purpose!

Pool maintenance can be done very cheaply, Google the BBB method.  My last house we had a large pool, in Central TX heat, full sun for 12 hours/day.  One case of bleach each week at Costco, ran about $8.  I was diligent about keeping my water crystal clean.  Most important thing I learned is that when you start using the "easy" chemicals, it adds all sorts of crap to your water, which then requires another product to take that out of the water.  Brilliant marketing from all the pool stores!

We also had a hot tub at the last house.  I started looking at Craig's List for gently used stuff, but came across a company that refurbs the older tubs.  Got a great one, which they tested and refurbished, for about $3K.  Since it was older, my utility costs were a bit more, but nothing too crazy.  Hubby & I have chronic pain issues, so we use ours as a necessity, not a luxury.  Still, when you add in the cost for the level placement $1,500) and the hard wired power ($2K), it was a bit more anti-mustachian than we anticipated.  We left it behind since it was getting older, and we suspected some internal leaking and other maintenance issues that made it worthwhile to include with the sale of the house.

This new house is very different for us.  We recently purchased a basic tub for $3K from Costco.  Check your state laws, many states will allow you to waive the tax if your doctor writes a script that it's medically necessary.  This one is plug n play.  The jets are not nearly as powerful, but it's better insulated, and it works just fine for our needs.  We had the builder pour a very large patio, so the pad was ready to go once Costco put this model on sale.

I check my water weekly, and use powdered Bromine to keep it sanitary.  Filters can be reused for a long time if you soak them in some TSP and rinse well.  If your Total Alkalinity is off, you can regulate that with baking soda or a touch of muriatic acid.  So far, our TA has been perfect, so just a cup or so of powdered Bromine/week, which I usually buy in bulk at Spa Depot or Ebay.

Like anything else, you can optimize to provide efficiency.  :)

[NVDee]

Hot tubs are great, we love ours and use it at least 3-4 times a week.  Buy on credit though?  Not a chance.  We bought ours using an annual bonus.   

We bought a Softub, which is a lightweight foam tub (not inflatable) that uses a standard electrical hookup, and you don't need a concrete pad.  It's not quite as nice as a fiberglass one, but has some advantages for us.  The military won't move a standard hot tub for you, but this we can send with the rest of our household goods.  We've also had no problem finding rentals that let us have it there.  Chemicals and electricity cost about $20/month.  I have chronic back pain, and my job doesn't make that better.  Soaking in the hot tub with the jets going makes a huge difference in how my back feels.  I'd pay well over $20/month for that.

edit: eh, looks a bit pricey for what it is

Wow, that's pretty cool.  I'm putting it on my research list.  Seems like it is more efficient due to being 100% foam?  I'd worry about longevity, though....

We've had our Softub for over 16 years !   Hubby bought it for me for Christmas (work bonus) as he knew how much I loved having a hot tub, my mom had a Softub in our house when I still lived at home.  The real benefit of these types of tubs is that there is no heater, yes it takes a long time to heat it up (several days) but once it is at temp it remains there with little energy expenditure.   On average we spend $100 - $150 per year on chemicals, buying  them at Canadian Tire.  We unplugged and emptied the tub for the first time this summer  ( the lid has retained water and I was struggling with lifting it)  We did not notice any reduction in our hydro bill for the past 2 months.

[stlbrah]

my parents gave me their hot tub a while back. I hated paying the higher electric bill to use it once per week at the most.

Sold it on craigslist and gave them the money

[dragoncar]

Rethinking the softtub-- anyone have an estimate on operating costs (replacement filters, etc)?

Any other ideas what kind of hot tub a mustachian would buy?  It seems like the only information out there is marketing.  Any good resources for actual reliability/cost info?

[KD]

I'm with you Goldie.  We bought our new to us home 2 years ago.  It was then 4 years old.  Giant monstrosity jetted garden tub in the master bath.  We've NEVER used it as intended.  There's a normal size tub in the guest bathroom.  NEVER used it either except to wash the dog.  I use the garden tub in the master as just that...a garden tub.  It sits in front of a giant window and during the winter I put my outside plants in there on little tables/stools.  Otherwise a total waste of space.  I'd like to take it out and put in a much smaller window at the very top and put in storage shelves where it now sits. 

Great idea for the hair cutting use!


Ya'll are hilarious!  I can see the headline now..."Mustachian Abuses Friend's Hot Tub!"  Could be misconstrued!

[LiveLean]

I always encourage friends to buy hot tubs, along with boats and other expensive high-maintenance items I enjoy but have no desire to own. I'm always happy to help with party prep, pay for gas, etc.

Swimming pools also fall into this category -- maybe the most overrated "improvement" you could add to your home. Living in Florida, we wanted to have one (and do), though our next house will not. Actually, our next home will be a rental condo with an awesome community pool.

[Capsu78]

Yes, my neighbors (who can afford it)  have a swimming pool as well as a family shared lake house with multiple watercrafts.  I don't want for any of those things!

[Tabaxus]

I always encourage friends to buy hot tubs, along with boats and other expensive high-maintenance items I enjoy but have no desire to own. I'm always happy to help with party prep, pay for gas, etc.

Swimming pools also fall into this category -- maybe the most overrated "improvement" you could add to your home. Living in Florida, we wanted to have one (and do), though our next house will not. Actually, our next home will be a rental condo with an awesome community pool.

That doesn't seem to be a very friendly thing to do.