The rental house where I live now has an indoor hot tub. I’m asking the smartest people I know to tell me what I should do with it. (Explanation: The house is a few decades old, and at some point in the past, a previous owner must have looked out at his backyard and thought, “Fuck this humidity, let’s climate control this baby.” So there’s a room in the back of the house with outdoor brick and exterior windows, on an interior wall adjacent to our bedroom. Someone made part of the backyard into a room. Yes, it’s as weird as it sounds.)
The tub is full, and the water was treated shortly before we moved in (August) and the whole thing has a nice lid on it … And we haven’t touched or us it once, (it’s Texas! It’s been dang hot until just now!) so I’m wondering, should we drain it and start all over?
I don’t know what the heck I’m doing in general with this thing, as you can plainly tell from this thread, so any advice, tips, admonishments etc. are all welcome.
My friends growing up had a hot tub in their basement. I don’t remember thinking much about it one way or another, but then, they moved out (just a few blocks away) when I was probably 12ish. We spend most of our time down there, but again, I don’t remember thinking anything of it, OTOH, this was 25 years ago, I may just not be remembering it well.
I would assume humidity would be an issue, even with a lid. I mean, humidity can be a probably just around drafty windows. Even with a really tight lid, steam is going to get out when you’re in it. I’d probably suggest a dehumidifier. Just keep in mind, at some point, the dehumidifier will draw moisture right though uninsulated concrete and/or suck it right out of the hot tub, so don’t so it to high.
Anyways, that’s not what I came to say. You’d already know if this was a problem, but we ended up being good friends with the knew people that moved in. When of the first things they did, like within the first year or so was to pull the hot tub out. Because they couldn’t stand getting smacked in face with the stench of chlorine every time they walked in the house. Keep in mind, that even if you get used to it and/or stop noticing or caring about it, guests will notice right away. That’s what I was referring to at the beginning when I said I never thought anything of it. Maybe I got used to it practically growing up over there, but I don’t remember that smell at all.
Anyways, something to think about.
If there is a smell, it could be as simple as closing the door (or installing a door/barrier) to the room. That might be all it takes to keep the smell (and the humidity) contained to that area.
I don’t go to that forum, but the ones for swimming pools are great.
TFP is run by experts on chemistry, troubleshooting, construction, etc.
Register and ask questions if reading the stickys don’t answer them.
You WILL need good ventilation. How much chlorine is an open question for me - the public hot tubs of an earlier, funner time had enough chlorine to kill anything that came off or from the people using them.
If you remember to bathe before getting in and don’t make too much of a mess, you will not need that much chlorine.
The big difference between pool and spa is the temp - at 100F, the chlorine gets excited and off gasses. Look into ceiling exhaust fans - no, NOT a Casablanca style ceiling fan - a real exhaust unit like bars used when simply everyone smoked at once.