Vapor barrier - What is that?Starting on the outside, lets list the components inside our hot tub covers. On the outside is the hot tub covers vinyl skin that is in plain view. Inside this skin are two foam cores, which give hot tub covers their ability to insulate the hot water from the outside air. The foam cores are sealed inside what looks like a giant plastic bag, called a vapor barrier in the industry as it better describes the function of it in hot tub covers. The goal, keep water vapor from getting to the hot tub covers foam.
Water logging - How does this happen?
Hot tub covers spend their life in a harsh environment. Above, the sun's UV rays beat down day after day. The weather and elements take their toll as well. Underneath hot tub covers is another challenging environment. The chemical soup from the water is constantly in contact with hot tub covers as the steam rises and then condenses onto the underside of the cover. The chemicals used to keep the water safe from bacteria, has a long term cumulative effect on hot tub covers. Eventually, the chemicals will cause enough decay to the vapor barrier, that it is compromised and the steam is able to reach the internal foam core. Keep in mind also that ozonators also speed the decay of the hot tub covers vapor barrier.
Hot tub covers insulate by sealing to the acrylic lip of the hot tub. This sealing also keeps the steam inside. This sealed in steam is looking for somewhere to escape. Once the vapor barrier fails, the steam heads directly to the foam. The steam condenses and turns into water again upon contact with the cooler foam. This water is then absorbed into the foam. The absorbtion is similar to a sponge, but the foam cores in our hot tub covers are made specifically to have very low water wicking properties. In other words, our hot tub covers cores absorb water very slowly. At this point however, it is only a matter of time till the core is saturated and weighs hundreds of pounds.
Having explained all this, understand that the scenario above is the BEST case scenario for our hot tub covers. The cover has to live long enough for all the above to happen, but snow, ice & icicles, children, dogs, animals, tree branches, etc all can play a role in the demise of hot tub covers. The vapor barrier can be punctured, torn, ripped or slashed in many ways. Once this happens, and without a quick repair of the hot tub cover, the end has begun
Damages from abuse such as above can be repaired inside hot tub covers. An effective method is to unzip the vinyl and pull the foam core out of the damaged side of the hot tub cover. Once removed, any cut or puncture of the vapor barrier can be patched and resealed with clear packing tape. The beauty of this is the hot tub covers vapor barrier and core are repaired, then reinserted into the hot tub covers vinyl skin, where the repair will remain unseen. |
Water logging - How can I stop it?We offer a couple of upgrades to the standard vapor barrier in our hot tub covers.
A). Double thick vapor barrier - If the hot tub covers are not damaged by some accident, they will live as long a life as possible till the decay explained above happens. Given this, it is quite easy to understand that a vapor barrier that is TWICE as thick, would have TWICE the life when exposed to the same harsh environment. Our statistics show that our hot tub covers last an additional 12 to 18 months with a double thick vapor barrier.
B). Big Blue Barrier - In January of 2009, we had a whole new material created for our hot tub covers. This material had a blue tint to it and was a mix of polypropylene and polyethelyene. The specific combination of these two components has created a material with much greater resistance to hot tub chemicals and ozonators. With the Big Blue Barrier, it is made TWICE as thick as our standard vapor barrier AND made from superior materials. Due to this, it is not an equal comparison to compare only the thickness of different company's vapor barriers. The material used is equally critical to know to determine how long the hot tub covers will last. For example, our Big Blue Barrier WILL outperform any other vapor barrier of similar thickness, giving our hot tub covers much longer life. It is too new to have statistics yet, but we expect hot tub covers with Big Blue Barrier to last up to two YEARS longer than standard hot tub covers.
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