Hot Tubs in Arizona are great during the winter, but what do you do with them during the summer months?
Is your hot tub bumming you out? It's no doubt, summer time in Phoenix is hot and so is your backyard jacuzzi. All that fun and entertainment your hot tub offered throughout the winter is long gone once we hit our 100+º days. But your good times don’t have to come to an end when the temperatures start to climb, instead, try a few of these tricks to extend your hot tub enjoyment all through the scorching summer months.
You can get the most out of your hot tub this summer by changing your thinking. In the winter it's a hot tub, in the summer it should be a cool spa.
Lowering your hot tub's temperature
The easiest thing you can do to get more enjoyment out of your hot tub is to reduce the temperature. Start by lowering it to 94 degrees or less. Since your body temperature is a steady 98.6, this slightly colder water should help cool you off and will help you relax. You can enjoy a book and a few cold beers for hours at this temperature.
If you think 94 is not low enough, you can turn it down even further, closer to 85 degrees. At this temperature, the water will feel cool to the touch. It might not be the cold dip you would get from a large pool, but 85 degrees will definitely leave you feeling refreshed after a long grueling day. And you can spend as much time as you want soaking and relaxing until you are sufficiently pruned up.
At these temperatures, you can simply rest and soak in the water, unlike a colder pool, that requires constant activity in order to stay warm.
A Few More Tips To Cooling Down Your Hot Tub In Arizona
If you're having trouble getting your water cold enough, which can be tricky in 110-degree weather, here are some tips.
1
Check the Settings...
There may be a summertime mode or a rest mode. Either option will stop the spa from heating the water.
2
Cover the Tub During the Day
Keep your tub covered during the daylight hours. The heat of the sun will warm the water up to a boil, plus it may cause damage to the spa itself.
3
Uncover at night
On cool(er) nights, uncover the spa and let the jets run. Once the water starts to circulate and aerate the temperature will drop pretty quickly. As always keep an eye on children around water.
4
Drain & Refill
You can drain some of the water, around half, and then refill it with a hose. The coolness of the fresh water should keep the temperature down.
5
Purchase a hot tub cooling system
Maybe you’ve tried these cool spa ideas and they just aren’t enough for you during sweltering calefaction which is known as Phoenix summers. There is one final option. Some spa manufacturers have started developing chilling systems as accessory items to their tubs.
These chilling systems can reduce the temperature of the water as low as 60 degrees. If that’s not cold enough for you, then it might be time to make a move to the northern states.
6
DIY Water Cooling System
Adding cool water to your hot tub is tricky since tap water from your hose will introduce more calcium and deposits into your hot tub. Aside from adding more water, there is a solution that is foolproof and actually works in your favor. You'll need to do some DIY action for this but makes sense as you figure out how it works. First, you'll need two important items which include a strong submersible fountain pump.
The second item is a large ice chest that you'll use as your main water chamber. You'll also need to buy at least 25 feet of clear 1-inch plastic tubing. Just like the kind that you use for your aquarium but the interior of the tube must be at least 1-inch for the inside diameter. There is a release tap on most ice chests to let out water. Find an adapter that can fit into your tubing and into the hole on your ice chest drain.
The fountain pump also needs a section of tubing that exits into the drain from the inside of your ice chest so the water is forced through the tube. This tubing is placed inside your hot tub and held in place with plastic zip ties or anything that will attach your tubing to the inner walls of your hot tub. The very end of your tubing needs to return back into your ice chest. The easiest is just attaching it with a plastic zip tie to the lid if there's an entry latch door.
Now fill your ice chest with plenty of ice cubes and top it off with water. You can start your fountain pump to circulate chilled water through the plastic tubing. As this continually circulates, it will cool your hot tub water more effectively. The ice chest will prevent your ice from melting in the AZ heat because it's double insulated. Now you can enjoy a cool afternoon or evening in your hot tub with little effort spent on your behalf.
7
Use Dry Ice
Take a couple floating chlorine dispensers and clean them out for this next DIY project that will add some mystery and effect to your hot tub. You'll need to buy dry ice for this project so, be sure to have a freezer close by to keep your dry ice from melting off too quickly. These need to be broken up so you have small chunks that you add to the chlorine dispenser and close the top. Then you plop them into your hot tub water and watch the fun happen.
As the water reacts with the dry ice it will create a white fog that comes from these dispensers and also chill the surrounding water as it dissolves. The fog also has a nice effect of covering the surface of the water and will give your hot tub an appealing and cool appearance. You'll need to refill these dispensers after a few minutes depending on how much dry ice it can hold, and be sure to use an oven mitt so you don't get burned by the dry ice.
8
Setup a Misting Fan
Misting fans are always a great addition to give dry and hot weather an immediate cooling effect. This is why you see so many restaurants and theme parks using these water misting nozzles. The trick is to use clean bottled water or filtered water since the nozzles get clogged easily if you use tap water that contains minerals. Attach a misting fan or string a portable misting system over your hot tub so you get continual misting that can cool you off.
A fan that is blowing in any direction will give your skin some immediate cooling that lowers the overall temperature by 30 degrees if you've installed misting equipment correctly.
Ideal Temperatures for Hot Tubs
Here are some target heat temperatures and soak times you can shoot for when heating your hot tub for various purposes.
RESULTS | TEMP | DURATION | TIME OF DAY |
|---|---|---|---|
Sleep Better | 104 | 20 MINS | 90 MINUTES BEFORE BED |
Energize | 100+ | 10 - 60 MINS | FIRST THING IN THE A.M |
Muscle Recovery | 100+ | 20 MINS | 30 MINUTES AFTER WORKOUT |
Warm Up Muscles | 100+ | 10 - 15 MINS | BEFORE WORKOUT |
I hope this article has been helpful in keeping your hot tub cooler during our scorching hot summers. If the time has come to say good-bye to your spa, jacuzzi or hot tub, give us a call and we'll pick it up; assuming you live within the metro Phoenix area.
FAQs
One of the easiest fixes for too hot a hot tub would be to get a cover. Covers do help keep temperatures down and is usually the easiest fix. You can also provide some other form of cover like a tree or awning, but those aren’t always practical or cheap.
Yes, you can add ice to a hot tub to cool it down, but you are going to need a LOT of ice! Also, you need to be mindful of the amount of ice you add, as too much ice can cause the hot tub's temperature to drop too quickly, potentially damaging the system.
Shading a hot tub can help cool it down by reducing the amount of direct sunlight that reaches the hot tub, which can raise its temperature. This holds true for a pool or tub. Try setting up your hot tub in a shaded area. Or install an awning to help shade it and help block out the sun.
Floating pool covers are the best option to cool down a hot tub because they’re cheap and they are easy to place on the water and take out when you want to use it. These types of pool covers are soft and easy for one person to manage, unlike the hard pool covers that also help cool off a tub, but are also a lot heavier and more expensive
No, you should never use chemicals if at all possible for any reason. Remember, this is a body of water you should want to relax in without fear of absorbing a bunch of nasty chemicals. Use a floating cover or try building something that can keep the sun off your tub. It’s a far safer option.
That depends on you. Most hot tubs will regulate their own temperatures once you set the thermostat as far as hotness is concerned. It’s only the cooling part that can get tricky. Just regularly check the water temperature and adjust the settings as needed.
