In Search of the Perfect Hot Tub Cover

Why would you buy a different kind of hot tub cover than the one your spa came with?
Because, ANY hot tub cover that uses rigid foam is going to end up the same as the one you need to replace right now!

No matter how big the taper, no matter what the foam is wrapped in, no matter how it is reinforced, Every Foam Hot Tub Cover ends up saturated, heavy or broken.

Once the foam gets saturated, the cover gets so heavy that it doesn't matter if you do have a cover lifter, you still won't be able to lift it. If you do manage to flop it over your bar lifter and push it off the spa the weight will either rip the cover in half or tear the lifter off your spa.

Why would you buy something that you know is going to end up the same way?

There Has To Be A Better Way To Cover A Hot Tub

In the late 1970's, we were basically a small canvas shop doing everything from boat upholstery to truck tarps. One of the products we manufactured was traditional rigid foam Hot Tub Covers. Because we wanted ours to be the best hot tub covers available, we tried several innovative techniques to make our spa covers last longer. What we discovered is that no matter how you make them, the rigid foam hot tub covers are flawed technology: All rigid foam spa covers will always eventually become moisture saturated, heavy, and might even break or blow away. Plus no matter how thick the foam is the bottom of the rigid foam spa cover is never in contact with the water that it is supposed to keep warm. So we set out to develop better spa and hot tub covers that would not become ineffective from moisture and could insulate right from the spa water surface.

A More Perfect Spa Cover Invented

In 1976, we developed and patented the next generation of hot tub covers. The new spa cover design was easy enough for a woman to get off and on by herself. The bottom of the cover laid right on the water which was an improvement since the water was what we were trying to keep warm. With this innovative design the spa cover was supported by the water so weight of rain, hail or snow won't crush it. At the time we would have been happy with an insulation value comparable to a traditional foam hot tub cover so we began testing the new spa cover with that in mind. What we found was better than we expected. First because the new spa cover is designed to be in contact with the water it also virtually eliminated cooling due to evaporation and condensation which is always present with typical rigid foam hot tub covers. This also reduced the amount of chemicals needed to keep the spa water clear. Typically steam from the warm spa water hits the bottom of a rigid foam spa cover which is colder. The steam cools, condenses back into water and drops back into the spa. The cooler condensed water cools down the spa water which makes the hot tub work harder which translates to more energy used to keep warm. Second unexpected benefit was that the insulation value of the air chambers was similar to storm windows and the overall effect resulted in a greater energy efficiency than foam spa covers.

Armed with this information we tried to market the new spa cover through spa dealers, but they were reluctant to sell a product that doesn't wear out, when they could continue making money on other, cheaper, inferior hot tub covers that wear out and need replacing?

Getting it Out There

In 1990 management of the business was turned over to the second generation of the family. Convinced that spa owners would want this product if they knew about it, we tried to find the best way of advertising. If you would like to know what it was like for a small company to market a product to the world before the World Wide Web,think homeshows, travelling across the country, yellow page ads in every major city, thousands of dollars in color brochures and looking for a better way. The Internet has made it possible to take our new Hot Tub Covers, direct to consumers all over the world. You can shop online, buy direct from the factory, and best of all, get exactly what you have been looking for custom made for your spa.

If you bought your spa for therapeutic reasons, you owe it to yourself to get a hot tub cover that won't injure you. Contact us today and stop the hassle!

Made in the USA

All SpaCap Hot Tub Covers are made by hand, to order here in the United States. Years ago we were approached by representatives for a foreign company to see if we would be interested in having our hot tub covers made overseas. The low price made it a difficult decision. But the bottom line was we would be shipping jobs overseas. Made in the USA is important to us. Our workers are part of our local community. They add to our area with their personalities, friendship and character. I would hate to see them have to leave to find work elsewhere. They have a great attitude and care about putting out a product we can be proud of. Most of our quality control comes from the fact that our workers know their job and want it done right. Yes, we could build our Hot Tub Covers overseas. But the spa covers would not be Custom made to order, it would be part of a one size fits all. If the price was all we worried about then yes, we could build them out of lower quality materials. Think of it this way, if there are roughly 10,000,000 spas in the USA and all were covered with rigid foam hot tub covers, that needed to be replaced every two to three years that would mean we would be adding a little over 2 million cubic yards of waste to land fills around the country just in saturated foam spa cover material. Heavy foam Hot Tub Covers are not a recycle product. If you have owned your spa for a while you know what fun it can be getting rid of the old spa cover. You can't burn the foam it would harm the atmosphere. So if we build a spa cover that doesn't use foam but instead uses air to insulate your spa water and insulated that spa water more efficiently we would be saving natural resources and protecting the environment.

The History of the spa

More information about the history of spas than you ever cared to know. We just thought it was important for you to know that we are not the first generation of humans that found using a spa on a regular basis healthy and relaxing.

For the western world the earliest proponent of the spa for therapeutic purposes was Hippocrates (460-370 BC). Before that time bathing was used mainly for cleansing and hygienic reasons. However Hippocrates put forth the idea that the cause of all diseases centered around an imbalance of bodily fluids.
Considered the “Father of Medicine,” suggested perspiration, walking, massage and bathing important to maintain balance in ones physical body. Consequently, baths were often combined with sports and education. If he were alive today the doctors of the world would be hogging all his time but in fact he more likely would be at home as a fitness guru selling health club memberships.

It was this influence of the Greeks that caused the Romans to build thermal baths at mineral and natural hot springs. These spas were used for the recuperation of injured soldiers as well as recreation centers. Differing from their Greek predecessors the Romans felt that the baths themselves were more important than the gymnasiums. Whereas the Greeks liked to partake of the spa after a vigorous workout, the Romans focused on the relaxation, socializing and medical treatments. I like to think that the reason the Romans lasted as long as they did was because of they placed such importance on the spa.

More than just coming clean, the Romans made the spa experience a part of their society for medical treatment, worship and social gathering. Asclepiades, a Greek physician who worked in Rome, prescribed hydrotherapy for both therapeutic and preventative purposes. There were others that attributed healing and health to taking the waters such as Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) and Galen (131-201 AD). Galen preferred cold water in his treatment of diseases so as Americans we would consider his therapy sessions, “fun impaired.”

From Rome we have three separate types of bath. Baths at home (balnea), Private Baths (balnea privata), and state funded public baths (balnea publica). The aqueducts provided enough water so that every person in Rome could use 1400 liters per day. At the height of the Roman bathing culture these public bathing facilities grew into huge complexes with the capacity for thousands of people.

This focus of the bath was such an important part of the Roman society that everywhere the legions went they built their own in every land they conquered. We can find examples all over Europe as a testament to value they gave water therapy.

Eventually the Romans became more focused on the bath for relaxation and pleasure. Not that pleasure is a bad thing but if you don’t get out of the spa once and a while to take care of business we know from history that it could lead to the collapse of your empire.

History of the Spa, The Dark Ages

Believe it or not the rise of Christianity was also the decline of the bathing culture. You can’t really blame the Christians though since by this time the baths had fallen from their place of the healthy lifestyle to true dens of iniquity. The Dark Ages were not only dark, they also smelled pretty bad.

With the fall of the Roman Empire bathing was officially banned. Spiritual cleansing was deemed more important than the medicinal bath. Some of the bath complexes themselves were converted to churches while some of the elite aristocrat class could still take advantage of taking the waters. The general population became adverse to going anywhere near the water. It was not uncommon for people to go for years without bathing. Makes you glad you didn’t live back then doesn't it.

From the 13th century on, the baths began gradually to come back into favor. As the Moors began to spread their influence across Europe the public baths were rebuilt and once again the medicinal value of the bath as well as for relaxation came back into vogue.

Fear of disease and a lack of understanding about how it was spread led to another decline of the public baths in the 16th century. However some Italian doctors found some of the lost texts on ancient medical treatments and the therapeutic value of the water. By the end of the 1500’s two of them Bacci and Minardo had published articles revisiting the value of the bath for sound healthy living. Bacci believed that in order to truly benefit a person needed to be able to to lead a quiet orderly life in pleasant surroundings with good food and wine. Unfortunately that ruled out most of the population since they had neither the time for leisure or the money for the other ingredients.

At the turn of the 19th century, spas were being rediscovered and the bathing culture again grew to include more of the masses. Doctors were convinced that Mother Nature had a remedy for everything that ailed us in the form of some mineral spring. The principles of the medicinal use of thermal water (balneotherapy) and Hydrotherapy were published by Kneipp and Priessnitz. Kneipp took a holistic approach to the treatment of disease. While the spas and resorts focused on serving the wealthy, Kneipp focused his attention on on the common man.

With the interest in mineral waters and the development of hotels at springs were popular all over Europe and North America. Every spa resort had its own village sprout up around it complete with theater, casino and promenades alongside the bathing facility. The spa resorts became the place to be and be seen for the elite and a place for the artists to get their creative juices flowing. Baden Baden, Germany became the most glamorous spa resort in Europe.