Hi everyone!
I am new to the forums here, and I am soon to own my first hot tub!!!
Pretty exciting, as the Mrs and I have been talking about one for a few years now. I am totally new at this, and I have been looking around online and reading up on the general maintenance for hot tubs. I have been in them before, but never owned one. Never owned a pool either, so I am kinda un-experienced with the chemicals and maintenance and what not.
Let me start off with the general info. I am having a new deck put on my home. I have placed an order for our hot tub to put on the new deck. The hot tub is the Aqurest AR600. The official website link is here:
http://aquarestspas.com/spa-showroom/x600-2/Does anyone have any feedback on these tubs? I know a couple of people who have them personally and they have nothing bad to say about them. For the price we got it for, we couldn't pass it up. It's a 6 seater, but we're probably going to have no more then 4 people in it at a time.
The official website has it listed at 220 gallons, but I ordered if off of the Home Depot website and it shows 250 gallons. So I am not sure which one it is yet. Again, I don't know much about these as of right now.
On my new deck, there will be no roof over it. There is no trees or anything near by to drop leaves or anything like that in it, and we do plan on keeping it cover at all times when it is not in use.
The plan is to use it all year around. We live in the hills of PA, and last winter was brutal with many days in a row in the -15 to -29 area temperature wise, so we are really looking forward to using it in the winter months.
I have well water with a Culligan water filtration system on it. I also have a tank-less hot water system, with a separate filter system for that as well, so the water runs through a 2nd filter before it runs through the tank-less system. The contractor who is installing the hot tub, is going to be running a direct line from the tank-less hot water system to the deck specifically for the tub, so the water will already be good in temperature as we fill it.
How is all of this so far? Is there anything we should look into doing differently or changing? Here are some general questions I have off the bat.
1. I have been looking into test strip kits. Are there any advantages to using the digital testers with the strips?
2. I am reading that when you fully drain the tubs (every few months or as needed?), they should be fully cleaned, but I am confused as to what can or can't be used as a cleaner. Some people saw you need special spa cleaner, while others are saying that's just a sales picth, and a lot of home cleaning products are fine. So, do you have to use special spa cleaner? Or do home cleaning products like Scrubbing Bubbles do okay? Is it safe to pressure wash the inside of the tub during the cleaning process?
I am also looking at something called 303 formula I believe it's called, for the hot tub cover, as again, there is no roof over the new deck, and it will see sun light for an average of about 7 to 9 hours a day during the summer. I read that you need to condition the vinyl on the covers for UV protection?
Like I said, I am totally new to all of this. so if anyone has any feedback, or tips on what to do when we get it up and running, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance for any and all replies!
