We were lucky enough to be able to get a hot tub from Family Fund about 3 years ago. Evan has cerebral palsy and dystonia and the hot water and bubbles help a lot as part of his therapy. When he was little I just used to fill up a tub and he would float while I had a shower! He loved it, but he's far too big for it now, I still use the neck ring although I have just purchased a larger one (I'll update this once we've tested it).
The first year that we had the hot tub we used it a lot, but it was outside and I was always really concerned that Evan would get too cold when transferring him back inside to his shower. Last year we didn't use the tub, it was too miserable for so long that I never got around to it.
Back in February this year, Mum and I went for a spa, while sitting in their outside hot tub we came up with the plan to bring mine indoors.
SOOOOO.....this year I decided to bring it inside! And now I don't have to worry so much about Evan getting cold.
Setting up a Lay-Z-Spa Palm Springs Hot Tub.
To begin with I checked the measurements of the tub and measured the space in the conservatory, (my first idea was to put it in Evan's bathroom, but it was not going to fit). I covered the lino floor in plastic (in case of spills) and started setting up our Lay-Z-Spa Palm Springs hot tub.
Inflate the tub.
Position- check position- check again (really make sure that you are happy as there is no moving it once it is filled with 1000 liters of water!- I made sure that I could open the doors to the room fully and get Evan's shower chair right up to the tub- in the future I will raise the tub on pallets and use a hoist but we don't have one... yet!)
Fill with water- I used the garden hose.
Turn on and heat up.
Add chlorine.
Test it- is it going to work? This was quite nerve-racking- After the first use when my daughter soaked the wall as she kicked around in the tub, I decided to cover the wall with plastic, I used the windows to help secure it ( I will keep an eye on this and make sure that the wall remains mold free behind all of the protection). Oh and don't tell my mum as she just repainted that wall for me!
Towels- we got a lot of old towels and bath mats to cover the floor with.
Our room is a conservatory, so I will make sure that I open the windows regularly and check for any water, mold or damp. - so far so good!
When you buy your hot tub you might get the necessary chemicals included, I bought the starter kit from Amazon, but so far the only items I regulary use are the Stabilised Chlorine Granules and of course the dip strips. We also bought the Tranquil Spa Dead Sea Slats for hot tubs, we are yet to open the Eucalyptus (mainly because we used eucalyptus Doterra essential oil for Evan with no adverse reaction and then I used a eucalyptus bath oil a few times and linked it to an increase in siezures, and so I am a bit wary- and if you are wondering why I would risk using Eucalytpus, well because it is great for colds and coughs) but we really love the Lavender and the Coconut and Vanilla is amazing!
In the hot tub with Evan with jungle noises in the background, thank you Alexa! Evan absolutely loved his first time back in the hot tub. He was so happy and kept pushing his head into the bubbles and grinning. It made it all worth while, and I felt slighlty less crazy! I mean who puts a hot tub inside?
Bringing the hot tub inside means that we can use it more often and none of us have to get cold. My other daughters love using it, my youngest is in it all of the time, and with it 'in the house' it means she can go in it more often as I am close at hand to watch her; when it was outside she could only use it if an adult was also out there.
With the hot tub inside the house Evan can access water therapy a lot more, not only with me but with his wonderful personal assistants; they fight over who's turn it is to go in with Evan!
The plan in the future is to get a mobile hoist to use with the hot tub! I am working on it! Also I need to buy a few more tropical plants and some little lights.
Even I got to go in the tub the other evening, on my own, uninterrupted! Very rare! Bliss!
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