What preps are you doing this week? Part 3.

[MissPrep]

I've just got the Lazyspa Miami, which is the smallest & cheapest one - they're about £260 at the moment, but tend to go up quite a bit in price in the summer.
It's designed to fit 2-4 people, I'd say you'd better be friends if you want 3 adults in it because you'd tangle your legs up a bit but for one or two there's plenty of room.
If you are much over 6 foot you would probably want the next size up.
I'm about 5 foot 6, when I sit up straight in mine the water is up to about my underarm level, but I tend to lie back a bit with the water up to my neck.

It fits in a 2m x 2m gazebo (actual external diameter is about 1800mm on the Miami) & if you get one in the UK you really need one or to site it inside. I frequently use it when it's raining.
I'm planning to build permanent surround for mine & insulate it so I can leave it out all year.

They aren't as good as 'real' hot tubs of course, the bubbles only come from round the edges of the pool when you put them on & will take the temperature down about 2 degrees in 20 minutes, but I love mine.

Bottom is padded & actually very comfortable to sit on even though mine is on flagstones.

If they pop however, they are the pit of doom to repair.

By the way, if you are looking at buying one be aware that they do not come with any of the chemicals you need at all, not even a sample so you'd have to buy them separately.

Filters are reusable & I swap mine out every other day, rinse them in hot water & washing powder then rinse them again - they last the season that way, the Miami came with 2 so you wouldn't have to buy spares but I bought an extra box on ebay.

Chemicals you need are hot tub dip test sticks (which test for chlorine levels, ph of water & alkalinity), ph minus/plus to adjust ph levels of water & chlorine tablets/granules to sanitise (they do a starter kit with enough to last you ages)
I believe some people use alternatives to chlorine as a sanitiser but haven't any personal knowledge myself of what they are.
There are other things you can buy - foam remover, water clarifier etc... but you don't absolutely need them to start with.


I begin by filling it from the hot tap as it takes forever to go from cold to hot, it will get up to 40 degrees but takes around an hour to raise the temp a degree or two so if you fill it with cold water you won't be in it that day.

This is my 3rd year with mine, my neighbour has one she's been running for about 5 years now.

By the way, the floor protector you can buy to go with it is essentially a jigsaw that makes the worlds thinnest circular carrymat (10mm thick) - it's worth thinking about something to go under them as the extra insulation cuts down on heating costs.
I've got the Lazyspa one, but if I was doing it again I'd get carrymats & tape them together.

It's a bit of a pain at first getting used to checking the water & changing the filter but doesn't actually take more than a minute to do once you get used to it.
I do it just before bedtime so if it needs chemicals adding they have the night to work.

For draining them they just have a plug at the bottom to pull & let the water just seep out, so you might want to consider a small pump if you need to direct the water away from the site you place it on.
How often you want to change the water depends on how often you use it, how much stuff is on your skin (deodourant, sunscreen, moisturiser etc..), how many people are using it etc...


You need space all around it to be able to do up the clips on the cover - not a lot but once it's full of water you are not going to be moving it.
You also need to think about a space to put the lid when you are using the tub - it has an inflatable lining so it won't stand up on it's own.
I prop mine up between a fence & the side of the tub.

On day one you could just fill it with water & jump in.
If you don't use the chemicals by day 3 the water will start feeling slimy.

It is delivered in a large unwieldy box, if you open it up you will find 2 boxes inside it, one with motor, one with other bits - much easier to just pull out the 2 smaller boxes & move them around.

Can't think of anything else off the top of my head about them it might be helpful to know.

[Slazanger]

<good stuff!>

Awesome thanks for the detail!, think one of the slightly larger ones is in order!

[Deeps]

Currently going over my First Aid stuff, making sure I've got what I think I need in the different bags, nothing too fancy and I'm well out of date so going from memory and having a nose online to see what's what. Apart from that just adding to the food stores with each trip to the supermarket. Most of my ebay purchases have been medical, not with any plan but I seem to be concentrating on that area at the moment.

[Decaff]

I've managed to pull the muscles in my chest which is causing me problems, it hurts to breathe so can't do anything much at the moment. Got antiinflammatories from the GP but so far no improvement. Very frustrating and the simplest of tasts leaves me out of breath

On a brighter note, one of the pumpkins has burst into flower and has another three more just about to open

Hoping we can get them planted out on Monday, if the snow has finished it's daily downpour that is becoming a blasted nuisance!

[Arzosah]

Ouch, Decaff! Hope that improves soon.

Medical supplies really are crucial, aren't they - if you don't have them when you need them, the simplest things can become real crises.

Not much doing here, except I'm excavating the understairs cupboard, which I expected to be full of spiders, but isn't - its full of mustiness turning to mould instead.

Need to update my antihistamines, though - I'm struggling to breathe at the moment, and they make it bearable, but the stock is getting a bit old now.

[poppypiesdad]

Home bargains , aldi and lidl all have anti histamine s in stock for much cheapness cheapest 39p for 16 I think

J

[Decaff]

Home bargains , aldi and lidl all have anti histamine s in stock for much cheapness cheapest 39p for 16 I think

J

They are good ones too, I have stocked up on both types (Cetirizine Hydrochloride and Loratadine) now I need to hunt down effective antiinflamatory medication!

[Arzosah]

Thanks for that

[womble]

I need to hunt down effective antiinflamatory medication!

Generic Ibuprofen... it's a "non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug" (NSAID). Most of the others are prescription, it seems. Interested to hear if there are any diclofenac or naproxen preparations that aren't.

[Decaff]

I need to hunt down effective antiinflamatory medication!

Generic Ibuprofen... it's a "non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug" (NSAID). Most of the others are prescription, it seems. Interested to hear if there are any diclofenac or naproxen preparations that aren't.

I got naproxen on prescription, I was taking ibuprofen but they didn't help much, starting to feel a bit better and I can lift things again hurrah!