Everyone wants to save money. Due to this strong motivator, many hot tub owners consider a soft spa cover or spa cap instead of the more typical foam core hot tub covers. This post will help to detail the differences in these two approaches.
A soft spa cover or spa cap is shown above
Soft spa cover or spa cap
Soft spa covers and soft hot tub covers are a lower cost option than foam core hard hot tub covers. This is due to several details:
In short, soft hot tub covers work well for situations where keeping the heat in the water is not a priority, where there will always be water in the hot tub and where the cover will be able to be strapped down around the sides.
Hard hot tub covers and spa cover
Typically, hard spa covers are considered those that have a core of hard foam, similar to styrofoam. Foam is used for the following reasons:
In short, to lower the heating and operating cost of running your hot tub, a foam core spa cover will provide the best heat retention. For very cold areas, the hot tub cover can be ordered with foam up to six inches thick to maximize the insulation value of the cover. Greater density foam cores can be selected to improve the strength of the cover to handle weight such as snow.
The final factor to consider is how quickly you need to get your hot tub covered. Soft spa covers are off the shelf and ship in 2-3 days with UPS. Foam core hard hot tub covers are custom made, taking about 2 weeks PLUS they must ship with the freight companies such as Estes, Yellow, SAIA, Overnite, etc. which will take 3-7 days depending on the distance. Freight shipments cannot be expedited for any reason.
Hopefully this information will help you to decide which cover fits your particular needs.
Happy Tubbing!
Ethel Elliott
Written by Ethel Elliott. +Ethel writes about all things backyard with a focus on replacement hot tub spa covers. You can also chat with Ethel on Twitter! Follow this author on Twitter