We’re still in the hottest days of summer, so there is still many more hours full of sun-soaked hot tub lounging to take advantage of (before you turn it into your favourite cozy winter haven!). But thinking back on your last wonderful months of hot tub ownership, when was the last time you changed the water? With all the comings and goings of the season, it can be hard to keep track of when exactly your tub needs a complete water change. With all the family coming by for the long weekend next week, and cooler weather just over the horizon, this week is the perfect time to make sure your hot tub is in top shape to accommodate these varying needs. For those more mathematically minded, the rule is once every 90 days of usage. Now you know the “when”, but what about the how?
First Steps
Safety: Whenever you’re doing any maintenance on your hot tub, always follow these two steps first since you are working with electricity and water:
-Shut off the valves: Before dealing with the power source at all, make sure all your jets are open and the water supply and control valves are shut off.
-Turn off the power: For safety, turn off the power to the spa at the breaker panel.
Now that you can safely work with your hot tub, it is time to move on to draining the water.
Draining:
-The first step to draining all the water out of your tub is to locate the drain valve. On the side of your tub is the control panel; remove the door to this panel and on many hot tubs. Attach your garden hose, turn on the drain valve and safely let the water drain in a preferred location.
Cleaning:
-Once your hot tub is completely emptied of water, you can get down to the nitty gritty of the pre-refill cleaning process. Even though you’ve been maintaining your filters weekly with brushes and monthly with a chemical cleaner, the refilling process is a great time to make sure all your hot tub components are in perfect condition, especially if you are emptying with a view to winter storage.
-Clean the filter(s) and the filter housing and scrub down the entire inside of your hot tub. Make sure to use a hot tub specific chemical cleaner, as many household cleaners are too rough and may deteriorate the material. Also, make sure to use a soft cloth or non abrasive scrubber to apply the cleaner.
-Check all the filter spaces for any debris that might have gotten caught when the water was draining and give them a good rinse. Rinse out the whole tub to make sure all of the chemical cleaner has been safely removed. If you used your hot tub a lot this summer, as we hope you did, you might have needed to use a bit more cleaner; if so, give it an extra rinse before beginning the refill process.
Refilling:
-Turn off the drain valve and close the control panel. Replace all cleaned filters and check that all components are safely in place. Now, you can turn the electricity back on. Refill the hot tub with entirely fresh water. Once it’s full, run with all jets on high for a few minutes to clear out any air that might have made its way into the workings. Check water for desired levels, and if needed, adjust the chemicals, whether chlorine or bromine.
Relax and enjoy your fresh, clean hot tub, ready for the holidays and a brand new season of soaking!