With the cold months almost upon us, the time has come to decide whether to keep your spa running over the winter or close it for the season. Depending on your decision there are several steps you need to follow to protect your hot tub from the elements, and keep it from damage that can result in expensive repairs.
During the winter months many people love the wonderful feeling of sitting in a bubbly warm relaxing spa, with a winter wonderland all around them. However with colder temperatures outside, the hot tub will take longer to heat to temperature and will need to run more often to keep heated, meaning your energy cost may go up. If you decide that you are going to shut down your spa for the season, you will want to make sure it’s properly drained before the weather gets too bad. Most hot tub damage that happens over the winter months is caused by freezing damage, which can end up costing more than simply running the spa year round.
If you do choose to enjoy your spa over the winter, here are a couple of things to keep in mind for the upcoming season:
- Changing the water in your hot tub when it is very cold outside is never fun and can be very difficult. So before the temperature dips too far below zero, go ahead and do a water change and full clean. As water changes and cleaning is recommended on a quarterly schedule, starting the new season with fresh, clean water will help to limit water issues over the coming months.
- Ensuring you have a high quality, well maintained hot tub cover is crucial to minimizing heat loss to the winter air when not in use.
- Another thing to keep in mind with winter use is that water levels should be checked regularly. If the water level drops too low the pump and heater will not come on, resulting in freezing cold water and potential damage to your spa.
If you decide that you are going to close your spa for the cold season, you need to properly drain and dry out the hot tub before winter is in full swing and things start to freeze:
- Flush your system and drain the water from your spa. Having any water in the plumbing over the winter can cause freezing and damage you hot tub.
- If your spa comes with an air blower, that will need to have the water removed from it too. Shut down the heater, and run the blower for between 30 seconds and a minute to eliminate the water from the system.
- The winter is the perfect time to do a really good clean on your filters. If they have seen better days, it may be time to replace them. If they are still in good working order, clean them and put them somewhere dry and safe for the winter.
- Once the hot tub is empty of water, loosen the plumbing fittings to allow the remaining water to drain out. Ensuring there is absolutely no water left in the lines is very important to prevent cracking from frozen pipes.
- You will also want to ensure there is no water left inside the jets. With a wet/dry vac blow air through the jets to guarantee all the water has been removed from the system.
- Tidy up any leftover water, making sure the inside is absolutely dry.
- As an extra insurance policy, you can add non-toxic RV antifreeze to your empty spa to ensure any water remaining in low lying areas does not freeze and cause damage. Simply remove your filter(s) pour the non-toxic antifreeze into the plumbing beneath where the filters go, and continue pouring until you start to see antifreeze coming up through into the footwell which should ensure all low-lying areas have been filled. Depending on the size of the spa you may need multiple bottles of antifreeze. We do not recommend automotive antifreeze as it can be very toxic and would require thorough cleaning when opening the spa up again.
- Once dry put the cover on and lock for the winter.
When summer wanes and fall begins to change the leaves its time to think about what you are going to do with your spa over the winter. Whether you decide to keep it open and use it on those chilly nights or close it and reopen in the spring, there are important steps to follow for both. Following these steps will help ensure your hot tub remains in perfect working order and can help avoid costly repairs later.