Helpful Tips

The silence and relaxation of the age old-Japanese-style of tubbing has been around for centuries. A wide variety of medical conditions and injuries can be helped with the heat of a hot tub. Hot tubs promote relaxation and stress relief.

Arthritis suffers get relief from aches and stiffness.

Muscles are relaxed and the warm water decreases muscle tension allowing greater flexibility. Adding jets to your tub can soothe inflamed tissue and relieve pain.

Nasal and bronchial passages are opened with the rising steam off the water, helping to maintain upper respiratory health.

Tension headaches can be eased with your time in the hot tub.

The increased blood flow created by hot water can help the with diabetics who suffer from circulatory problems. Many therapists, trainers and professional sports organizations use warm-water therapy to reduce pain and improve cardio health by increasing the heart rate and lowering blood pressure.

Harvesting the Rain

Water is collected or harvested from roofs of buildings via catchments such as gutters. This water is used to supply a portion of the household water requirements. Houses can be designed to maximize the amount of water that is collected.

Water quality may vary depending on your geographical location. Highly populated urban centers will have more contaminants than rural water which is more pure. The water collected can offer a source of soft, low sodium water. Rainwater is excellent for laundry, car washing, baths, hot tubs, swimming pools, toilet flushing, irrigation and livestock. Rainwater when filtered and treated is a good source of drinking water and water for food preparation.

There are large savings if you are paying for your current water supply. Rainwater is an excellent alternative to very expensive drilled wells. You can waste a lot of money on a drilled well and get nothing in return! It is better to invest your money into something that is more reliable.

Portable Water Storage

For remote locations water cisterns can be used as storage containers, which is refilled by a local water supplier.

The most obvious answer to this question is wood is beautiful! Trees breath in carbon dioxide and breath out oxygen. The carbon dioxide is locked up in its trunk and will be released slowly only once the wood begins to rot and return to the soil. Wood is a solution to Global Warming rather than a cause.

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is the recognized international approach to assess the environmental merits of products or processes as set out in the ISO 14000 series of standards.

LCA includes the entire life cycle of a product, process, or activity, from extracting and processing raw materials to manufacturing, transportation and distribution, use, maintenance, recycling and final disposition.

It includes environmental impacts such as acid rain, air pollution, ecological toxicity, fossil fuel depletion, global warming, habitat alteration, human health, indoor air quality, ozone depletion, smog, and water intake (current cradle to grave system). Based on LCA, wood products have proven to be one of the most environmentally responsible building products. Where materials are designed to be returned safely to the soil or to flow back to industry to be used again, wood is a material that can be recycled or reused and ultimately is biodegradable. With good forest management practices, wood is the most environmentally responsible building material.

Relative to the wood design, the steel and concrete designs:

– embody 26% and 57% more energy in its raw material extraction, transportation and manufacture;
– emit 34% and 81% more greenhouse gases;
release 24% and 47% more air pollution;
– discharge 4 and 3.5 times more water pollution;
– use 11% and 81% more resources from a weighted resource use perspective; and
– produce 8% and 23% more solid wastes, respectively.

No data was given for plastic as a building material but it is probably fair to assume that it is far worse than steel or concrete.

From Canadian Wood Council “Sustainable Building Series No. 1”

Investing in a 100 % heartwood, clear western red cedar barrel tub from Forest Cooperage is a smart long term choice. Adding preservative or stain is not necessary since the wood is naturally decay resistant, and has a great aesthetic quality. However, that does not mean that proper maintenance is not required, or that you can’t stain it if you prefer that look.

If a stain is not applied, the wood will turn a silver grey colour. If you do choose to use a coloured stain, make sure to choose a water borne penetrating stain and not a latex or a solvent-based finish. Those choices will inevitably peel and flake away. Do not stain the inside, just the outside and the top edge.

If the water in a wood burning tub is drained after 48 to 60 hours, then no chemicals are required. Just leave one to two inches of water in the tub to maintain the swelling on the wood. When you are ready to use the tub again, simply drain that minimal amount and lightly scrub the interior with a long handled scrub brush and mild soap. Rinse it out and add fresh water

If your water source is limited, install our circulation and filtration system for wood-fired tubs. This allows for an ionizer to sterilize the water with very little bromine added, and prevents algae growth. Our electrically heated cedar tubs use the same water sanitation regime as plastic tubs, and the bromine can be minimized down to 1/3rd by using a mineral ionizer.

With our Clear Blue Ionizer, bromine is best used in moderation, as one part per million is all you need. Wood has proven antiseptic properties, so the amount of required chemical additives is reduced.

With our filtered and heated hot tubs, you will still want to drain the water every three months or so. Prior to doing so, you should use a line cleaning product to clear out the plumbing. Once the tub is drained, you can rinse it, and then use a water and vinegar solution, and a gentle scrub brush, to clean the interior.

If dirt and grime builds up on the exterior, you can brush that off as well, and give it a rinse. If you see algae building up on the exterior, you will want to brush that off as well. When cleaning, ensure you brush with the natural grain of the wood.

If you need more information on cleaning and caring for your tub, please get in touch!

Below is a document outlining the dimensions for our 6′ hot tubs. Please review before pouring a concrete pad for your new hot tub.

Below is a document outlining the dimensions for our 2 person soaker tubs.