Early Fall is Hot tub Covers season! We sell more covers now than during any other time of the year!
There are quite a few tips for buying the perfect spa cover. Get your spa ready for winter with this helpful guide.
In addition to advice on buying spa covers, I have some spa cover maintenance tips at the end, to help your spa top last longer.
All of our spa covers include a 2″ skirt, 2 bonded handles, and 4 locking cover straps – all standard! We use polypropylene stitching and webbing, and our foam cores are vacuum wrapped with heat sealed seams.
Spa covers are available in 14 standard colors, one that’s sure to match (or contrast) your spa patio decor.
To best differentiate among our 4 grades of hot tub covers, look at the warranty and the foam core density and thickness.
Spa Cover Warranty:
They range from a 1-year warranty, all the way up to our 5-year warranty, which covers not just materials and workmanship, but water absorption, too! It’s one of the strongest spa cover warranties available!
Foam Core Density:
Foam density is measured by pounds per square inch. The lower the foam density, the more air contained in the foam. Much like the foam thickness, higher foam density makes a stronger spa cover that can handle heavy snow or sleeping dogs. Denser foam also has a higher R-value, to provide greater heat trapping insulation to reduce heat loss.
Foam Core Thickness:
Outdoor spa covers are tapered to allow rain to run-off. The hinge is the thicker end of the cover taper, running across the middle of the hot tub for support and strength. We have three tapered thicknesses available; 4″ to 2″, 5″ to 3″ and 6″ to 4″.
If you live in colder temperatures and see a good amount of snow, a thicker foam core will help bear the weight of the snow and provide proper insulation in extreme weather. We recommend the 6″ to 4″ taper, with 2.0 lb foam density, for cold-weather areas.
Indoor / Outdoor Use:
All of our spa covers can be used outdoors, but our Budget spa cover is recommended for indoor use or warm weather areas, with only a R-value of only 13. Our Supreme spa cover by contrast, has an R-value of 40, for the most heat retention.
Spa covers can be ordered by spa manufacturer, or if that’s not known, by shape and size of tub. Print our spa cover measuring form to email or fax, or just fill out all of the questions on our online spa cover ordering tool.
How to Measure for a New Spa Top
The measurements needed will vary based on the shape of your spa; the diagram on the right gives an example of the simple measurements that are required for a 2 cut-corner spa cover.
When measuring, take the dimensions of the spa from outside edge to outside edge. You want the spa cover to rest on top of the spa, if you were to take inside measurements, the cover would fall in!
If you have an in-ground concrete spa and the spa cover will be lying on the ground, be sure to note that on the form. These spa covers need to be larger to lay on the coping around the spa without falling in. For inground spas, the cover should be about a foot larger than the spa itself. We recommend that you provide the inside dimensions of the spa and allow the manufacturer to determine the necessary overlap.
If you are ever in doubt of what measurements are required, or think your spa top might need some special modifications, sending some pictures along with your measurements is always a good idea. Good digital photos can speak 1000 words to our spa cover designers!
To determine the specific measurements required for your spa, please see our spa cover measuring form. Always be sure to note if you have any obstructions or a control panel that you would like to be able to access while the cover is on the spa. A cut out in the foam may be required for the proper fit.
Spa Cover Measuring Tips
- Use a real tape measure, and not a ruler. Take your time.
- Measure from outside to outside; to the outer edge that the spa top will cover.
- Round up all measurements consistently to the nearest inch.
- Do not measure your old spa top but measure the spa or hot tub shell itself.
- Check your measurements against our Spa Cover Designer tool.
Round Spas: These are the easiest to measure you just need to take a diameter or overall width. Check it twice measuring perpendicular to your first measurement. This double checks your accuracy and ensures that the spa is a true round and not slightly oval.
Square Corners: Square spa shells are rare but they do exist. I am not talking about the shape of the spa skirt around the spa but only the spa shell. These shapes are also fairly straight forward to measure. Measure from outside corner to outside corner, and record your measurements.
Spa Cover Maintenance Tips
There are several products available for maintaining the cover, including our Spa Cover Cleaner. Avoid cleaning products that contain alcohol, oils, detergents or bleach. Anything with the word ‘flammable’ on the label means that it will damage the marine grade vinyl of your hot tub cover.
Remember to keep the water balanced – poor water chemistry leads to damage to the stitching and seals on the underside of a spa cover.
Floating spa blankets reduce evaporation and chemical gas-off, which can also be a problem for the underside of the cover. When shocking your hot tub, you should leave spa blankets and spa covers off for several hours.
When removing a cover, Spa Cover Lifts can be handy because it prevents stress on the cover, and on you too!
When using a Spa Cover Lift, it is important to use the handles. To prevent damage to the spa cover, don’t let it slam open or closed, and never lift the cover by the skirt – use the handles.
And that’s all there is to it! You can place an order for a custom spa cover on our website, or if you have a more complex spa or pictures to include, you can fill out our spa cover measuring form and mail, email or fax it to us.
Spa covers generally take about 3 weeks for delivery by truck line, and all of our hot tub covers come with free shipping.
