New tubber questions

[Harleyman]

Hi, we are brand new hot tubbers, just bought our first one two weeks ago. We live in Wisconsin and have placed the hot tub on our deck. My questions involve using it during the winter. As I said it is on our deck which is uncovered. We get alot of snow and drifting on the deck. I assume I will be shoveling the snow off and around it whenever it snows. I will also try to keep the eight feet between the patio doors and the hot tub clear of any snow. Do I use some type of rug or matting between the house and tub? When getting ready to use it do I remove the cover while in my swimsuit? Do I leave a robe and towel near the tub while we are soaking or will it become cold and wet? Do I use some type of waterproof box to put them in? After soaking do I close it up while barefoot and wet or do I go in the house, dry off and go back out? I have heard that winter is the best time to use it but I am having a difficult time figuring out the logistics. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[goneaway]

Only you will know what's right for you.
Some people have mentioned towel or robe warmers, and I guess being sensible, a water proof stacker box or something would be the very least.
Personally, even though we've not yet done a winter, I find that getting the cover on whilst still in my robe and sandals, is easier than going in the house, getting showered, dried and dressed, to come back out and put the covers back on.

I f youre going from the house to the tub barefoot, then i would recommend a foot bowl, however, this gets cold pretty quickly at this time of year, not to mention what it will be like in the dead of winter.

The best advise i could give, would be to enjoy it, and worry about the logistics later.

Welcome to the club by the way.

[wmccall]

Winter tubbing is great.  We wear robes out to the tub and crocs.  I have a shepard's hook near the tub entrance to hang our robes.  I keep the tub stairs clear and we frequently leave the shoes outside the tub, but with crocs if its really snowy and icy we can wear them right into the tub and then take them off.   After a 20 minute soak at 104, you can get out of the tub, put the robe on add chemicals and close the tub before you start to feel cold.   Wind is the bigger factor than the temp in most cases.   I've soaked at near 0 with no wind, but not gone out when it is 25F and a 30mph wind.

[Spoiledrotten]

The wife and I don't experience winters like you guys in the north, but we do have 25-30* evenings/mornings. We use flip-flops on the feet, robes on our body, a towel warmer for when we get out. A nice warm towel is a wonderful thing.
I open everything up when I go out to enter the tub and close everything for the night while outside. A really great benefit about soaking in the winter is that the wine stays chilled as long as there's some in the glass (plastic glass). 

One thing you could look in to is to see how much a heat strip would cost and install under a thin rubber pad of some sort to keep the area clear of snow for you. Just an idea; don't really know if that would work.

[Harleyman]

Where can towel warmers be purchased. I did a search on the internet and was only able to find indoor models.

Thanks for the tips.

[Bill]

We do pretty much like most others: robes and shower sandals to get to/from the tub and a hook for the robes (nice if the hook's out of the weather when is snows or rains while you're soaking). There will be plenty of body heat to close up and get into the house without chilling off.  I find that if its in the teens or lower I need a stocking hat to keep the head and ears warm.  You  can always dunk under to warm up but then the evaporation works against you.  Maybe if I had more hair on top or a bigger wine glass...

I keep a push-broom nearby to get the snow off the cover before attempt to open it up and will maintain a narrow pathway through the snow as needed.  Good luck and enjoy those winter soaks!

[MarkW]

Like wmccall, we use Turkish terry robes (hooded) and crocs. I find the crocs very easy to slip in and out of compared to slippers.  We have deck railing next to the tub so the robes hang over the railing while we are soaking.

 We also heat our towels in the dryer for a few minutes before going out and then put them in a portable cooler and leave it next to the tub for when we get out of the tub.

 I also use a foam snow broom to remove the snow from the tub cover after I shovel the deck.

Such is life in snow country, but we love it.

[Spoiledrotten]

Where can towel warmers be purchased. I did a search on the internet and was only able to find indoor models.

Thanks for the tips.

Do a search for towel warmer on Amazon.com. You'll find several to choose from.
This is the one I have:

http://www.amazon.com/Brookstone-Towel-Warmer/dp/B0045DO720/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1380888036&sr=8-2&keywords=towel+warmer

Then, there's this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Conair-Therma-PTW1-Towel-Warmer/dp/B004U28JRA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1380888036&sr=8-3&keywords=towel+warmer

We have a cover over our HT, so the only time we worry about the towel warmer getting wet is when a storms brewing, then we put it in the carport.

[Harleyman]

The crocs are an excellent idea. Thank you.

[wmccall]

The crocs are an excellent idea. Thank you.

The float too.