No matter what you treat it with all vinyl is rated by hours outdoors. Really top quality marine grade vinyl is rated for 1500 hours outdoors. That equates to about one hundred days of sunshine. I know what you are thinking, why would anybody put vinyl on something that is meant to be used outside? But that is not even the most common failure of the typical rigid foam filled spa cover.
What generally happens before the vinyl falls apart is that the foam gets so heavy you can not lift your spa cover by yourself. No matter how it is wrapped and sealed inside the cover, the foam fills with water. What happens is the little air spaces in the foam that are supposed to help the foam insulate your spa get filled up moisture. Here is a tip why the whole foam cover is doomed, if you never put the cover on your spa, it would never get heavy. If you just took a brand new spa cover out and put it on your picnic table instead of your spa, the vinyl would fall apart before the cover got heavy.
Why? Because the hot spa water is way below the bottom of the rigid foam spa cover. Some of that warm spa water turns to steam and rises up. Steam molecules are smaller than water. The steam works its way into the little crevices and spaces in the foam where it condenses back into liquid. If you live in an area that gets snow, the snow will land on the saturated foam and freeze the water inside it.
How? because just as heat rises, cold sinks. When it comes in direct contact with the foam it freezes the moisture. The warm spa water is not in direct contact with the bottom of the spa cover so it is in a loosing battle trying to beat the cold. The steam rises from the water, hits the bottom of the now frozen spa cover, condenses and falls back into the water below working like a radiator to actually cool the water.
You may look out at the snow piled on your frozen spa cover and think you have great insulation. But you would be wrong. Snow sits perfectly on a frozen pond too. It does not mean the pond water is still warm. So why does anybody still sell rigid foam covers? Well two reasons really. First, it has been the standard of the industry for nearly thirty years. When the acrylic spa began to be sold in the states, it needed to be covered with something to keep the debris out and to assist in keeping the water warm. Foam boards covered with vinyl was cheap and since everybody was selling the same thing it was all they needed to offer. Remember definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome.
The second reason is worse in my opinion. Spa dealers know that the cover they are sending you home with will need to be replaced again because it will end up the same as the one you are replacing now. They know that like clockwork every couple years you are going to need to get another cover if you intend on using your spa on a regular basis.
So what are your choices? Thanks to the internet you now have the world at your finger tips. Look on line for a different kind of spa cover. Find a spa cover that is not covered with vinyl that is rated by hours if your spa is outdoors. There are Spa Covers available factory direct that do not use rigid foam that is just going to end up to heavy to lift. If you plan on using your spa for the rest of your life like I do, you owe it to yourself to get a better kind of spa cover.
Marine vinyl like you find on the typical rigid foam hot tub cover, is rated for hours outdoors. Normally a 1500 hour rating is fairly standard for the top of the line products. This means that the standard of the industry is rated to last about 100 days. Seems dumb to put it on anything that is going to be used outside.
All vinyl even the best marine grades, will always crack and fall apart eventually if it is used outdoors. In areas of extreme temperatures and ultra violet, the damage occurs much more rapidly. That's why acrylic fabric was invented. It has been the material that other outdoor fabrics are judged by for forty plus years.
100% woven solution dyed acrylic with a fluorocarbon finish is manufactured here in the USA. Because the acrylic fiber is woven into a fabric it has a similar ability to breath without the drawback of rotting or shrinking like canvas. The great advantage to a fabric that breathes is that it won't readilty trap moisture where mildew can grow. If you ever had a rigid foam cover smell like mildew its because the vinyl traps that warm moist air from the spa and gives it almost perfect laboratory conditions in which to grow mildew. Since acrylic is the same stuff most spas are made of this material is incredibly durable. It doesn't crack in cold like vinyl, or fade like canvas. If you live near a marina every boat top you see out there in a bright color is this fabric. Anything else would fade out quickly, even the paint on the boat will fade before the acrylic fabric will.
Many years back a friend came by to see if I could repair his old sail cover. His sail cover had been on his sail boat for twelve years, through all the weather the northwest pacific coast could throw at it. On a sail boat, when the sails are not in use they need to be protected from the elements. Typically a sail is bundled and covered with a sail cover to keep it ready for use. The sail cover is used to protect the sail fabric from damage while stowed. My neighbors sail cover was made from Sea Grass Green which is a bold, fairly bright green. I explained to him that if I patched the cover with new material it would look terrible because new bright material would stick out like a sore thumb on the faded older material. I laid a piece of new material on his old cover to prove my point.
To my great surprise, the only difference between the old and new fabric was a little dirt. Once it was cleaned and patched, there was no difference between the new fabric and the old even after constant exposure for twelve years. If your spa is outdoors and your tired of replacing your cover due to sun damage you really need to get a spa cover that is offered in 100% woven solution dyed acrylic fabric.
Jeff Sliger has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Spa and Internet Marketing. The Author is a business owner with more than twenty years experience. A former Police Sgt, Pilot, Heavy Equipment Operator, Trained Mechanic that has written technical manuals and short stories. An accomplished motorcycle rider he enjoys riding the bac. Jeff Sliger's top article generates over 8100 views. to your Favourites.