Why Is My Spa Cover Heavy?

Rick the Spa Guy

I get a lot of people asking me why their spa cover is getting so heavy, there are many reasons that can contribute to this dilemma. First I will discuss the obvious.

If you had an object of more than 10 pounds land on your spa cover it has most likely damaged the inside Styrofoam core and now the foam core is exposed to the water on the underside of the cover, and as you may or may not know Styrofoam has great absorbency potential. Even though the vinyl may look perfect, if the wrap that covers the Styrofoam on the inside gets torn it will take on water.

Now lets say you are in a windy area and just for a precaution you tell yourself to put a couple of bricks or planters or even rocks on the corners of the cover to hold it down, you may have just damaged the cover. The covers are designed with straps and locks that need to be screwed into the spa cabinet and then every time you are finished using the spa you insert the male part of the lock into the female part of the lock and this will hold the cover closed. (If installed properly)

Hurricane Straps

There are other options out there as well, you can purchase hurricane straps for your spa, these are long straps that can be attached on one side of the spa then lay the strap over the entire top of the cover and it should reach down to the opposite side where you install the other locks, now you have the straps going from the bottom on one side up and over the top and down the opposite side for extra wind protection.

One thing also to remember is that the life expectancy of a basic spa cover is 3 to 5 years as a rule, so unless you spend the extra money on a reinforced cover do not expect miracles. Sometimes there are no explanations as to why your cover is heavy except to say it is old and in need of replacement.

Many Cover Lifters are available

Another reason could be that when you take the cover on and off the spa, if you are alone you may tend to drop one end down on the ground or onto the spa because they can be big and bulky, but this too WILL damage the inner core. There are cover lifter's out there to assist you in the cover removal process they range in price from $199.00 to $299.00 depending on how easy you want the cover to operate.

So remember, it is not always the cover being defective or the spa guy sold you a junk cover, sometimes as much as you may deny it, it is the users fault. Sorry!!

Until Next Time...