Neighbour hates our hot tub

[Sleepregressionqueen]

We only bought our hot tub yesterday and set it up, kids been in it this morning from 8:45. Neighbour was round within 30 minutes she thinks it’s an absolute joke it’s too noisy she can barely hear herself think apparently. She is so much younger than us but miserable as hell!

she is quite nosey and is always on the street when any drama is going on with any of the neighbours so I kind of expected it.

of course I wouldn’t put the bubbles on at night (as much as I’d like to) so have told the kids only in the day.

we will probably only use it a few times a week.

Aibu what do I do?

Her kids are normally out in the garden before mine! 8:45 is fine everyone is up. It’s not the time anyways it’s the bubbles that she doesn’t like.

I'd hate it if it was beside me but I would accept that you have r to right (within social hours) to have one...

So what did you mean by 'she has nothing to get up for'?

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. Many people are just miserable and complain for the sake of it. Many of them are on MN though so this isn’t the best place to ask!

Sorry @Sleepregressionqueen I'm with your neighbour on this one!

What a silly comparison. Does your sprinkler produce a loud humming noise when it's on? Does it loudly produce bubbles? Two totally different things.

I'd really like one and was set to get one, especially as I sustained a serious spinal injury earlier this year and it would help with that, but we are seeing how the energy prices pan out first. We had even built a patio for it.

We've stayed in holiday accommodation several times and it would make sense to follow similar guidelines to the ones they provide. These usually require restricting use to after 10am and no later than 11pm. We'd never play music in the garden, hot tub or no hot tub. That's what headphones are for.

I don't think any of these things represent any great hardship or would impede anyone's enjoyment of a hot tub in their own garden. Our neighbourhood is a quiet one and I have no desire to alienate my neighbours.

I liked the advice to insulate the tub and pump: will be doing that. But first we'll see what electricity bills look like by spring.

OP - if yours is the kind of neighbour who complains if you sneeze, then she'll complain no matter what you do. But presumably there are others living in the vicinity as well. Act with consideration and your own conscience, use the thing at reasonable hours, and you shouldn't have a problem.

I don’t think you can compare hot tubs to paddling pools!
Hot tubs are, in my experience, annoyingly noisy when they are simply operating. Add the loud volumes needed to communicate over the noise. Add the shrieks if children are playing.
Anti social at any time, but extremely irritating early or late!

Hot tubs are an Infection control nightmare! Yuk

What I find unreasonable about this thread is the number of people flippantly saying if your neighbour doesn’t like the new, sudden, unsocial hours noise, then she should move to somewhere else. Such a silly solution. As if you are going to tell her that and expect relations to improve. Why even bother posting it.

Have we lost the art of consideration for others entirely.

OP, ask yourself the questions …
Is it noisy in itself ? What can I do to reduce the noise?
Does it make the kids noisy with excitement ?
Would another time be more acceptable to my neighbours ?
Could I place it somewhere less noisy in my garden so it’s less troublesome for the neighbour ? Or build a shed around it ?
If you and the Dc understand that her feelings also count this summer and if you are really going out of your way to make it easier on your neighbour then of course it’s NU to provide yourselves with one. Just kindly let her know that you are trying to be understanding of her feelings.

Yes MN does hate hot tubs and some of the things they write- infection tubs and kids shouldn't be in it etc. we have one and it is cleaned regularly and my dh monitors the ph and chlorine levels so it's not dirty- cleaner than your local swimming pool im sure! You can also change the temperature so in summer it's about 32 degrees - not too hot for kids!

But 8.45 is too early. No way I'd let the kids in it before 10am and then not all day. An hour here and there with strict instructions that there is no high pitched screaming or being loud generally. And no bubbles. Ours is up the back of our garden with no neighbours homes for about 30-40m. I wouldn't put it in a small garden as the noise does carry.

This person is your neighbour, you live next door to her, so I would have thought that having a reasonable relationship with this person would serve you both well. You knew that getting a hot tub would wind her up / annoy her but you went ahead and you did it anyway, and now you act bewildered that this neighbour came to you to let you know that it was causing issues for her. What did you expect? Honestly, you sound very entitled and very unreasonable. If you don't want to hear from people who have a differing opinion than yours, don't ask for people's opinions in a public forum.

Ultimate wannabe show off item. Disgusting things and very rarely maintained properly, haven for bacteria and shouldn’t be sold into residential houses!

We have a very live and let live attitude in our gardens with our neighbours, a hot tub would be the least of our worries if we decided to police each other! Carry on as you are. As long as it's not particularly late, or early, your garden, your decision. Don't let her ruin it, if we lived our lives for other people we wouldn't do anything, there's always a fun sponge somewhere.

Get some class and get rid of it. Tacky as hell and really nasty.
why on earth would you want to take a communal bath with your sons a few times a week?

Ooh a loud vibrating noise accompanied by squealing children at 8:45 in the morning.

Yup it's definitely the neighbour that's unreasonable here

Yanbu to have and use your hot tub in your own garden.

However… kids playing in it at 8.45am is unreasonable!

If you want to make a fuckton of noise then you could also move to a area where the neighbours aren't so close, hopefully there will be enough room for your noise and your entitlement.

@MarieIVanArkleStinks we have a hot tub (proper hard sided one) because I had a spinal injury and herniated discs. It really really helps with my mobility and pain relief.

It's normal to have noise from neighbours in the summer. Lawnmowers, parties, kids playing, pools/hot tubs, bbqs. In the last place I lived there was a man with autism and when he came to them he would spend hours everyday making bouncing noises and stimming very loudly.

Noone complained. We understood that it is part of life of living in a community. My dad is very particular so my parents live in a secluded space with a huge garden.

You’ll hate it too when your electricity bill comes in.

Can you talk to her and try to find a compromise? I don't think 8:45 is unreasonable personally but if she's on holiday and wants a lie in, or if she works shifts, there might be times when it would be less annoying.

If she won't work with you, I would say between 9am and 7pm is fair game.

Well, we're all perfectly entitled to do whatever we choose to, within the law.
Whether we should make an irritating arse of ourselves just because we can is down to personal choice.

This is an awful thing to say, and on that basis, YABVVVU. You don't have to understand her lifestyle choices, just as she doesn't have to understand yours.

You know that you're allowed a hot tub. You also know that the hot tub is noisy and irritating.

A reasonable person would appreciate that their choices were impacting on someone else, and time their usage to minimise the disruption. If you don't know when that is, ask her.

All you have to do is say with it getting warmer in the summer months, your kids are going to spend more time outside and you're aware noise can sometimes travel - are there any days/times which are particularly better/worse for her, so you can try to work around that when you can?

It's not a promise you'll be quiet all the time. It's an acknowledgement that you're upsetting her, but that you'll do your best to annoy her less. If she knew you weren't deliberately trying to wind her up, that would probably in itself make her feel better.

For all you know, she's studying for a degree at home and she can't think over the noise. You shouldn't be quiet all the time, but if you know your neighbours work from home during the day, do shift work, study from home, anything like that - you try your best to work around it. You can't always get it right, and your neighbours shouldn't stop you from living your life, but you should always try to be nice where possible.

I mean, who wants to live next to someone who hates them? You try to get on with your neighbours as much as you can for an easy life. When you fall out with your neighbours, things can escalate...

I would continue to let the kids use it, perhaps after 10am. I do agree with a previous poster you may be in for a shock when you get the electricity bill. We have a hot tub, and have solar otherwise there is no way I would consider having one they cost a lot to run.