My New Hot Tub Cover Looks Great!
(But It's Killing My Back Getting It Off)
Removing a normal hot tub cover is best handled by two people. If you use your tub alone or are not physically strong enough to wrestle it off your spa, you need to consider a Hot Tub Cover Lift.
Hot tub and spa cover lifts are mechanical devices that attach to the spa cabinet body or deck. There can be different methods of operation, but cover lifts allow one person to easily remove the hot tub cover from their spa. In addition to allowing you to easily remove the cover, it also serves to
keep the cover secure during a high wind. A hot tub cover is a heavy item with a large surface area and if not properly secured can be blown right off the spa endangering people, pets, and property.
Cover lifts are known by various other names, and you will see them referred to as lifters, caddies, slides and removers. There are three basic types.
The simplest is a "slide". This is a platform made of two metal rails. You flip back your top and slide it straight back onto the metal arms. Simple and quick, with nothing to wear out - except for maybe that expensive new hot tub cover you've just bought. The friction of sliding the spa cover back and forth might eventually damage the vinyl covering so this is something you have to watch carefully.
Another variety stores the folded hot tub cover in a vertical position so that it blocks the view on one side. This is useful if your neighbor's are getting too interested in your hot tub activities, but is a disadvantage in that it does block your view as well. This type of lift sometimes relies on a hydraulic arm or springs, which are parts which might break or deteriorate over time. One safety issue is whether the cover can be locked in the up position so there is no danger it can fall back down, injuring someone.
A third type of lift helps you to remove the hot tub cover and holds the folded cover behind the spa. It sometimes takes a little more effort to operate this kind, and you do need to have about a foot of clearance behind the spa for the cover. But the lower profile eliminates some of the issue of an obstructed view.
One item to research carefully is whether the lift you are considering places a lot of stress on the hinge in the center of your hot tub cover. This hinge was not designed to carry the weight of the cover, and the design of some lifts places a real strain on the center hinge. Just so there are no surprises it would pay to ask this question before making your purchase. There are some after market kits that can prevent this problem, but that is at an extra cost. Some lifts are designed to transfer to weight to the outer edge of the tub and eliminate the stress to the hinge.
The lifts are also designed to fit many different spa sizes and most of the hot tub cover lifts can be installed by the homeowner.